BBQ Mop Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is mop sauce made of? ›

Most mop sauces are variations on the same theme, though the ratios of ingredients tend to vary by protein and application. In Texas, you'll usually see savory mop sauces out of beef stock and beer (best used on brisket), and in the Carolina's, whole hog mop sauces tend to lean HEAVY on the vinegar, salt, and spice.

The best time to apply your mop is right after the crust has started to form. Many people are under the impression that you should never open a smoker or grill while meat is cooking. While you shouldn't leave the lid open for long periods of time, it is okay to open the smoker or grill to spray or mop your meat.

To use the mop on ribs, apply it to the ribs every 30 minutes to an hour while they smoke. You don't want to disturb your ribs too much or let heat and smoke escape by opening your smoker too often.

With so many variations and styles of barbecue sauce, homemade over store-bought is the way to go if you want full control over how your sauce tastes.

Sometimes called a sop, a mop isn't just another kind of barbecue sauce. It is a thin, watery solution that drips over meat adding moisture to combat the drying of an open fire. Think of it this way; a sauce is applied with a brush, like a paintbrush. A mop is applied with, well, a mop.

Texas's beefy barbecue cuts are often cooked with savory "mop sauce" or "basting sauce" — so called because it's applied with a mop. Steven Raichlen, author of The Barbecue Bible, describes the sauces as more of a thin "glaze" that moistens the meat and adds flavor as it smokes.

Mop sauce is thinner in consistency than bbq sauce, often with a vinegar base. The mop sauce is used to baste meat every 20 minutes or so over a long cooking time on the grill, or smoker, at a low temperature. BBQ sauce should be applied at the end of cooking meat since it's thicker and has a higher sugar content.

The trick is so good, she says, she sometimes does it even with really fresh, beautiful ribs. Essentially, the vinegar solution "cleanses" the meat and makes the flavors shine through without any "gamey" flavor.

The dry rib creates a crust - enhancing the flavor of the ribs without adding moisture. The wet rub takes a dry rub and adds moisture to the mix. A dry rub is best used on food that that is cooked faster. The wet rub is best when applied generously and cooked in slowly.

Water: to control the temperature of an actual wood fired grill, sometimes a spritz of water will drop the grill surface down just enough to prevent burning, as well as imparting some surface moisture to the meat.

What happens when you soak meat in apple cider vinegar? ›

An apple cider vinegar marinade will not only make the meat tender but will also kill all the bacteria on it. Mix ½ cup vinegar, 2 tbsp oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp chilli flakes or chilli powder, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper powder, 1 tbsp parsley or any other herb and 1 tbsp soy sauce.

Found in the eastern half of both North and South Carolina, Eastern-style vinegar sauce has the unique honor of being the oldest barbecue sauce in the country. Given its origin in the 13 colonies, it's literally where American barbecue was born, at the hands of enslaved chefs.

Straight cider vinegar is used as a marinade, before cooking, as a baste during cooking and as the primary ingredients of a finishing sauce served on barbecue at the table. The secret of using vinegar with barbecue is to give it time to work it's way into the meat so that you won't be left with a strong bitter flavor.

So use Stubb's Moppin' Sauce and you too can say “Ladies and Gentleman, I'm a cook” …just like Stubb! Ingredients: Water, Soybean Oil, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Paprika, Spices, Corn Starch, Contains less than 2% of: Garlic, Cane Sugar, Tapioca Dextrin, Lecithin, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum.