[TRACE] And the winner is... [GASP] [ANNIE] What?!

[BEEP] [TRACE] Today we are talking about every Southerner's favorite food: barbecue!

And the most important part of it: the sauce!

We'll be making three of Alabama's iconic sauces and really putting them to the taste test with a few lesser known ones.

So let's get saucy!

[MUSIC] I'm Trace Barnett.

Welcome to Garden Party.

Today we're going to start off our sauce adventure by making Alabama's most iconic sauce... the Alabama White Sauce, made famous by Big Bob Gibson's just right up the road in Decatur.

The main component of this recipe is- for all you mayonnaise haters out there... is mayonnaise.

But luckily, the mayonnaise is what gives us that really good creamy feel to the sauce, and it's a really good base that just kind of brings everything together.

To our cup of mayonnaise, I'm going to add in a fourth of a cup of apple cider vinegar.

The apple cider vinegar is going to be a commonality throughout the day with our sauces.

And what the apple cider vinegar does, it gives that really good bite.

And it also just breaks everything down.

So all of the sugars, juices, horseradish, whatever we're using.

I'm going to add just a tablespoon of prepared horseradish.

I'm going to add in a tablespoon of lemon juice just for a little brightness.

And a helping dash of hot sauce.

So that's the great thing about making your sauces at home, is you can make them as hot or mild or anything you want.

You can also make them in large quantities too.

I love using a whisk when I'm making my sauces, because I'm able to really dive down and dig up those ingredients that are kind of hanging out on the bottom.

Plus, it really incorporates all of the ingredients well together and you won't have any clumps.

So when you come across the Alabama White Sauce, it's so speckled with pepper and so beautiful.

So I went a little extra, so... pepper to taste, but put in a lot.

I'm also going to add just a little bit of garlic powder to give us just a little bit of depth of flavor there.

Whisk that all together.

Let's do a little taste test first.

That's the great thing about sauces.

So whatever your sauce tastes like at initial taste, that's what it's going to taste like the rest of the time.

So there's plenty of time and ease to adjust as you work through your sauce.

[LIP SMACK] Tastes absolutely perfect.

I'm going to transfer this to the fridge, and I'm just going to let that chill.

Now, if you've made this fresh, let it chill for at least an hour or so just to bring all the flavors together and allow them to mellow.

You can totally make this sauce up a couple days beforehand, and actually, the longer that it sits in the fridge, the better it's going to taste.

So I'm going to put this in a cool spot and I'll be right back.

Our next stop on our saucy adventure is central Alabama, where we'll make a Tomato Vinegar- based Sauce that's perfect on ribs, barbecue, chicken.

It's very similar to the barbecue sauce that you're used to and when you think of barbecue sauce.

It's really going to bring back a lot of nostalgic memories.

So to start this, our tomato base will be ketchup.

I know.

And you don't want to use a homemade ketchup or anything you really want that just tried and true old timey, classic tomato ketchup.

Directly in a pot, we're going to simmer this on the stove just at the end to thicken it up and bring it all together.

It's also really good to serve warm, too.

I'm going to throw in a fourth of a cup of apple cider vinegar.

Give that a good whisk right at the beginning just to kind of get that ketchup dissolved into our vinegar here.

Throw in an ample dash of hot sauce.

You can see there are some ingredients that are repeat offenders here.

And one is heat and one is sugar, which I think is every Southerner's favorite two combos.

Or it is mine at least.

I'm going to throw in a fourth of a cup of packed brown sugar.

I'm just going to loosely break that up.

I'm not really going to dive in to that because as the sauce warms up, it will break down.

A dash of Worcestershire sauce.

Try spelling that.

I can barely say it.

Next, let's add some flavor bombs.

I've got smoked paprika for a little smoky flavor, little heat, some black pepper, ground mustard, and a little secret ingredient that might sound a little unusual to you.

I have a little dash of all spice.

I always love a little dash of all spice or cinnamon if I'm doing a very tomato-heavy dish.

It just really gives it that little bit of "what's in there?"

Now that I've got all my ingredients mixed up, I'm going to transfer this to the stove and just bring it to a little bit of a bowl over medium high heat, and then I'm going to reduce it to simmer.

I really just want this to hang out on top of the stove 10 to 15 minutes just to warm and thicken up.

And you might want to serve this warm too because it adds that little bit extra [CHEF'S KISS] to your meat.

Let's go to the stove.

[BUBBLING] We're back from the stove and our sauce is bubbly and warm and married together beautifully.

A great thing that you can do, especially if you're going to use this sauce right in the midst of summer, is to just roast some tomatoes from your garden, and then add that to your sauce right at the end.

It adds a little bit of texture, and it's also really pretty too.

And I'm done with that sauce.

That's all there is to say.

[LAUGHS] We're going to keep on heading south on our saucy journey and end with a mustard-based sauce that's like sunshine in a jar.

It's tangy, zippy and sweet and wonderful on everything from pork chops to okra.

To start this mustard-based sauce, I have combined two mustards here.

And I have combined just regular old Plain Jane yellow mustard, and I've added just a little bit of Dijon in there, just because it's my favorite.

Stir that well, just kind of get a little air in there and fluff it up.

I'm going to start by adding just a good amount of black pepper.

And then of course, a little bit of honey that's going to give us that little bit of sweetness that we want in contrast with the little zippy-ness of that delicious mustard.

Get that last little drop in there.

My bees work hard for that.

Little bit of brown sugar, some apple cider vinegar.

Give this a little stir, too.

One of my favorite ways to make sauces also is I love to make them in actual measuring cups because it's the perfect way to pour them.

And it's also the perfect way to store them if they need to chill or something like that.

So these sauces are easy to double, triple, add whatever you want, but check out our web page for the base recipe to get started.

Now let's add in our little flavor profile here.

We just got- same contenders: onion powder, garlic powder, just a tiny bit of cayenne for a little heat.

And then we have some salt.

Of course, all the seasonings are to taste too, so if you don't agree with one or more, change it to something you like.

[LIP SMACK] Mm.

Delicious.

So now that we've got our mustard sauce made up and ready to go, this of course is just like all of the other sauces and easily stored in the refrigerator for up to a month.

You can totally make this beforehand.

Be ready for your party with a beautiful flavor bomb.

Sauce is very important to Southerners.

I think it's pretty much a pillar of our institution of cuisine here.

That's one comment people say about Southern food.

It's they're like, "your recipes are real saucy!"

The sauce brings back nostalgia.

It brings back ingredients that are very, you know, specific to your region.

Heather, our queen here, does not love, like, the vinegar-based sauce.

But to me, who grew up in North Alabama, that's very nostalgic for me.

It's very important to people to have a good barbecue sauce.

We're here with two very important Garden Party crew members, going to help taste test a little bit today.

[ANNIE] Hi, I'm Annie.

[KALLI] I'm Kalli!

[TRACE] And they are going to be our official on-camera taste testers.

All of the behind the scenes people are tasting too, but we've got our rubric here handy.

We have our blank canvas of barbecue, and we are ready to sample away.

Y'all ready?

[ANNIE] Yes.

[KALLI] I'm ready.

[TRACE] I can't wait to hear- So we've got an Alabama native and... [ANNIE] I'm a Mississippian.

[TRACE] So I'm interested to see what you think about these Alabama sauces.

[ANNIE] Yeah, yeah.

[TRACE] First things first.

Let's start out with this.

I hope the name doesn't give it away: a little bit of white sauce.

There is your official cup.

[ANNIE] Just based off of look, I love seeing the pepper in there.

Seeing the contrast.

It seems like a good viscosity, a good texture.

[KALLI] It's got a good tang to it too.

[TRACE] I like that a little bit of tang that it has, a little bit of citrus in there.

[ANNIE] Yeah, that first bite, I'm like, woo!

Like, you know, it wakes you up.

It's good at like.... [TRACE] And you can't tell that it's really mayonnaise-based at all, can you?

[ANNIE] No, no.

[TRACE] It has no like mayonnaise texture.

So the Alabama White Sauce is, I think, probably the most recognizable barbecue sauce in the state.

For some reason, it just works so well on chicken.

That's my favorite thing to put it on.

My recipe is a variation on a good family friend of ours, Betty Colburn, and her teeth are in my bathroom so can tell her you like the sauce after.

[LAUGHS] So this is going to be our vinegar pepper version.

So this is like super North Alabama, super Appalachian.

This is probably the most stand out texture that we have in our sauce lineup here.

As you can see it's very thin.

[ANNIE] Yeah.

Oh I smell it.

Like, the moment you handed it to me, it's just like... [TRACE] And it smells- you can instantly kind of get that vinegar bite, [KALLI] Oh yeah.

[TRACE] And then also not only from the visuals of the heat floating on top, but you can smell it.

[ANNIE] Mhm.

Yeah.

I know I'm a little intimidated, but I'll go for it.

[KALLI] It's good.

It's got that good vinegar taste, but there's like a sweetness to it... [TRACE] Just that little bit... [KALLI] ...so it's not too much.

[ANNIE] Mhm.

[TRACE] What you think?

[ANNIE] Yeah, I can drink it.

[TRACE] So Vinegar Pepper is the traditional sauce that I grew up on.

It's very Appalachian.

Of all of the sauces, I think it probably has, you know, been made the longest.

The sugar sweetens it.

The base is the actual apple cider vinegar.

Of course the added pepper flakes, a little pepper sauce.

I mean, that adds to the heat factor.

So, you know, you leave it overnight in the refrigerator for a few days and it really mellows out into this wonderful sauce that also can be made and used in a slaw.

Next up is our Tomato Vinegar.

And this is our central Alabama.

This is going to be probably the most kinda- I'm not going to give you any!

[ANNIE] I need my sauce!

[TRACE] This is going to be the most iconic both in texture, flavor, look, feel.

[ANNIE] Yeah, I can get the ketchup right away which I think is a good thing.

[KALLI] It's not too tomatoey.

But yeah, it's like your classic, like, red kind of mild barbecue sauce.

[TRACE] And it's got a little bit of bite to it, too.

[KALLI] Yeah.

[TRACE] Just that little bit of in the back.

[KALLI] It's subtle.

The Tomato Vinegar Sauce is very much like the classic standard barbecue sauce that you think of.

This is one of the only ones that requires cooking simply just to thicken it up and kind of marry it all together.

Like, say, I'm doing some ribs.

And I add that almost as like a sticky kind of glaze.

So that's a lot of uses.

That's one of the best sauces.

So of course this one is a little bit different as you can see in the color, and I love the color of this.

I think it just makes any dish just so beautiful.

[ANNIE] I'm intrigued by this one.

[TRACE] Of course, this was very reminiscent to me of like honey mustard dressing, which is super popular with kids.

[KALLI and ANNIE] Yeah.

[KALLI] I like this one too.

Like I love honey mustard.

So it's like that kind of good balance like you said.

[TRACE] And what I love about this is versatility.

So it can go from like barbecue to a chicken tender to a salad, like no problem at all.

[ANNIE] Or like on a hot dog?

That would be incredible.

[TRACE] Oh, a hot dog for sure, with a little relish?

So good.

I mean, it's essentially honey mustard, but since we're putting it on barbecue, it's a mustard barbecue sauce.

And I love the color.

You know, it's sunshine in a bottle, and it just looks like summer when you put it on a dish.

Especially pretty when you mix a little chow chow on top.

And I love how, like, all of the regions kind of have these influences.

So the mustard sauce is very much that Carolinas kind of influence there.

Ok, so this is going to be another one that's going to be a little different in terms of texture that you're not so much used to, a little thinner.

This one has another secret ingredient that I want y'all to see if you can pick up.

That's why I'm not going to say what this one is first off.

[ANNIE] Mm.

I mean, off the bat, I'm kind of getting that Worcestershire.

[TRACE] Got- for sure Worcest- "Worcest-shure?"

[ANNIE] "Worcest-shure."

[TRACE] Is there another ingredient that comes through in tthere?

[KALLI] I'm trying to... [ANNIE] Mm.

It's definitely sweeter.

[TRACE] So we've got blackstrap molasses in there and sorghum syrup.

[ANNIE and KALLI] Mmm!

[TRACE] So molasses, I think, is one of those ingredients that you either love or hate anyway.

Immediately controversial.

I love that little bit of kind of smoky depth of flavor it adds to it.

And it has that really nice sticky glaze.

You could even use that on Thanksgiving turkey if you wanted to.

And this is going to come back and be more of, again, kind of a traditional sauce that we're used to.

So what's crazy to me is all these different sauces are so different in color, [ANNIE and KALLI] Yeah.

Mhm.

[TRACE] and they're so different in taste, but a lot of the overlapping ingredients are the same.

This is our Wiregrass Red.

So this is, you know, another South Alabama, Central Alabama kind of staple.

[KALLI] It kind of has a smokiness just in the smell?

[TRACE] I love that little bit of smoke.

[ANNIE] Mhm.

And I like there's like a tiny bit of heat on it, like a little.

[TRACE] Very subtle.

So that's just a tiny tiny little bit of heat that you just- I just feel like you need that.

Summery.

[ANNIE] Yeah!

Yeah yeah yeah yeah.

[TRACE] You know when you're hitting the Wiregrass, when you're headed to the beach and the grass turns dune-ish.

[LAUGHS] Real wiry!

Like the kind of wire you can cut a piece of cheese with.

[LAUGHS] This was in the top three that I thought would rank highest as well, because it kind of has the same similar nostalgic, classic things.

The notes that you want to hit on a classic barbecue sauce.

I think it's the traditional sauce that we're used to, but it's just oomphed-up a little bit more.

Last but not least!

And this one, I think was the one that got the most questions from the crew.

[ANNIE] Uh huh.

[TRACE] And this is one of my favorites too.

So this pecan-spiced version is a citrus-pecan spice, super spicy roasted pecans in there.

Now this one's great if you're doing like a pork loin.

If you're doing a really good like thick cut pork chop, you can totally take this and puree it to make it more of a smooth barbecue sauce like we're used to.

I like it chunky, especially if you're using it over a good piece of pork.

[ANNIE] Mhm.

[KALLI] Mm!

That one's interesting, but I dig it!

[TRACE] And what I love most about this one is it's very much [ANNIE] Mm!

[TRACE] one of the sauces that you can have during the holiday season.

[ANNIE] Yes, definitely.

That's what I was- [TRACE] You get that citrus, the citrus spice.

[KALLI] Mixed with pecan?

Mhm?

[TRACE] You get that little bit of the roasted pecan.

[ANNIE] The lemon is- the citrus is just so fresh and so nice.

[TRACE] The Pecan Spice is definitely the most controversial because it's also probably the least heard of.

Some people on our team even question if it exists.

And it's also a really good sauce if you're doing a really good cut of pork.

So if you're doing a really good thick cut, bone-in pork chop, if you're doing a really good pork loin, it's the perfect kind of glaze and sauce to serve over that because it's really pretty.

The totals have been tallied.

Drumroll please!

[DISCORDANT TRUMPET FANFARE] And the winner is... the Wiregrass Sauce!

[ANNIE] What?!

[TRACE] Yep, the Wiregrass sauce.

[ANNIE] That's crazy!

[TRACE] Followed closely by Alabama White Sauce.

And then the Tomato Vinegar.

And the Pecan Spice was the least important.

[KALLI and ANNIE LAUGH] [TRACE] And Kalli, you're from the Wiregrass region, right?

[KALLI] I am, and this was one- this was like in my top two.

I loved the heat behind it.

I like the smokiness.

It was so good, so... perfect.

yeah.

[TRACE] The nostalgia.

Now that the official winner is in, let's plate up here and make us a barbecue sandwich.

[ANNIE] Thank you.

[TRACE] With our winning sauce.

I'm just going to put mine on a napkin I guess.

Cheers.

[ANNIE and KALLI] Cheers.

[TRACE] It's kind of wild how you can taste the flavors of a whole state just, like, in one bite from a simple barbecue sandwich.

Happy barbecuing!

[MUSIC] So let's get saucy!

[LAUGHS] So let's get saucy.

[LAUGHS] Let's get sauc-ayyyy!

[LAUGHS] Sounded like very WWE.

[CREW LAUGHS] Yeah.

It's like I need to be in a bikini.

[CREW LAUGHS] I don't know why I'm adding that inflection.

I feel like it's important.

Hold on.

We have two very special guests here today from the Garden Party crew.

[ANNIE] Hi, I'm Annie.

[KALLI] [LAUGHS] I'm Kalli.

Sorry, sorry.

[KALLI and ANNIE laugh] [KALLI] I thought you were going!

Go ahead- [ANNIE] Ok, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.

[CREW] Oh, oh!

On the napkin!

[SMACK!]

[TRACE] I got him!

He's- [CREW CHEERS] [TRACE] He's wounded, smush him!

[TRACE] I don't want to get him in the barbecue!

[CREW] Ew.

Ew!

[CREW LAUGHS] [TRACE] I'll write you a check for $50 if you eat it.

I ate a ant for like 20 bucks once.

A big one.

[MUSIC]