No-Cook

For more than fifty years, Alabamians have enjoyed the flavor of steak soaked in a very distinctive soy marinade. In fact, many of the soy-based steak marinades on the market today originated in Alabama. What began as a seasoning for steak has turned into an all-purpose marinade that tastes great on chicken, pork, and vegetables. Keep in mind when making recipes with soy sauce as an ingredient that your results will vary greatly depending on which brand of sauce you use. Their flavor profiles differ significantly. I like La Choy soy sauce for use in marinades, although I switch to Kikkoman when only a splash is necessary. In recipes like this one, the soy sauce you choose will determine whether your food is edible or disposable!

Mojo is a name that originally branded several varieties of hot sauce from the Canary Islands. Now recipes and uses of mojo are spread throughout the tropical regions of northern South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The place of origin of a particular mojo recipe defines both its ingredients and its uses. Ingredients in mojo sauce can include olive oil, garlic, citrus juice (sour orange, lemon, lime), paprika, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. This flavorful sauce can be used on breads, potatoes, salads, and as a seasoning for meats and vegetables. This recipe was made as a condiment for whole roasted pig. The flavors are a complement to the sour-orange marinade used in Cuban Pig (page 163). The flavor emphasis in this recipe is placed on the acidity of the lime juice, the garlic, and oregano. Mixed with butter, this sauce can be turned into a great topper for sweet potatoes and bread.

Horseradish is a member of the mustard family, and grating or grinding this edible root releases the volatile oils that produce its signature bite. Mixing the ground horseradish with vinegar tames the spicy heat. German immigrants began growing horseradish in the Mississippi Basin in the late 1800s; today, six million gallons of prepared horseradish are produced there each year, which is 60 percent of the world’s supply. A traditional horseradish sauce is always a great partner with beef and can be as simple as a combination of whipping cream and prepared horseradish. As with any sauce based on whipping cream, the viscosity of the sauce is dependent on how much whipping you do. Here lemon juice and Dijon mustard add a bit of flair to the sauce, while mayonnaise adds a creaminess you can’t get from the cream alone.

In my years of cooking at barbecue competitions, I’ve noticed that judges’ barbecue taste preferences follow trends. In the 1990s, barbecue coated with semisweet tomato-based sauce or even a vinegar sop mop appealed to the average judge. As the years passed the consistent winners on the circuit were using a very sweet tomato-based sauce. These rich glazes started a new trend in competition, whereby most all competitors started sweetening their sauce. The following recipe is one of my favorite sauces, which I still use in competition as a sweet glaze for pork ribs. This glaze falls in line with the “sweet” trend but still delivers a flavor that doesn’t overpower the pork.

Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, serves as the state’s east-west dividing point in Carolina barbecue. To the east of the city, whole hog is the meat of choice and simple Eastern Carolina–style vinegar sauce is the preferred slather. West of Raleigh is the land of the pork shoulder, and the “sauce” is referred to as a “dip.” Most Western Carolina dips can be characterized as a vinegar/ketchup–based sauce. Dips can be used as a baste mop, a finishing slather, or a post-cooking soak for the meat.