In North Carolina, most people make a simple cayenne pepper-infused white vinegar sauce that they drizzle over the meat. I’ve made it before, and it’s okay. In South Carolina, that basic sauce is augmented with mustard. If you ask me, this is the best sauce for barbecue that’s already flavored with a rub. Think of it like ketchup for a stack of french fries. A little goes a long way.

I’ve tried several variations on the theme, and this is the recipe I’ve come to love the most. Here’s everything you need:

South Carolina-Style Barbecue Sauce

• 1/2 cup coarse ground mustard
• 1/2 cup yellow mustard
• Almost 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/4 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

There’s nothing really to say. Just mix everything together in a bowl.

I add a little less than a third of a cup of apple cider vinegar so I can add more if it needs it. It’s not an exact science. If the sauce is too sour for your taste, add a little ketchup until the sugar masks some of the bitterness. Then again, if you don’t like the sour taste of vinegar, you probably should just go buy a bottle of KC Masterpiece. This is a dipping sauce for simple barbecue, not a basting sauce for grilled meats.

I’ve developed a recipe that strikes the right balance between spicy and sweet and has an earthy flavor that sets it apart.

Here’s everything you need:

Chad’s BBQ Baked Beans

• 1 53 oz can Van Camp’s Pork & Beans (with 1 cup of liquid removed)
• 1 14.5 oz can Cannellini Beans (a.k.a. Great White Northern Beans), drained and rinsed
• 1/2 pound Bacon, diced
• 1 large Bell Pepper, diced
• 1 medium Onion (red or yellow or both), diced
• 5 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup Ketchup
• 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar (packed)
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce (low sodium)
• 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Ancho Chile Powder
• 1 teaspoon Smoked Spanish Paprika
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Lots of people start their recipes with cans of Bush’s baked beans, but I think that makes it hard to control the sweetness of the sauce. Van Camp’s is tomato-based and very mild-flavored, so it makes a better base. Let the can settle for a while so all the solids sink to the bottom. Open the can and scoop out 1 cup of the liquid. Next, drain and rinse the cannellini beans. They have a meatier taste than navy beans and add a white-ish color to the dish. Then chop the bell pepper, onions and garlic.

Chop the bacon and cook it over medium-high heat in a dutch oven until crisp. Remove the cooked bacon pieces and let them drain on a paper towel.

Pour off all but a few tablespoons of the bacon fat and return the pot to the stove top. Add the chopped pepper, onion and garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook them until their juices evaporate and they start to brown around the edges. All you’re doing is getting rid of the excess moisture and cooking the raw taste out of the medley.

Next, mix the sauce ingredients (ketchup, worcestershire, sugar, vinegar, chili powder, paprika) in a separate bowl. Make sure to break up any lumps. If you wanted to use this mixture as a base for a Midwestern-style barbecue sauce, you’d just have to thin it with water and bourbon, add a little mustard powder, and simmer it until the sugar melts and the spices mellow.

When the onion mixture is finished cooking, add the beans and sauce to the pot. Simmer on low with the top off for about an hour. When you’re ready to serve, mix the bacon pieces back into the pot.

I usually make this dish a day early and pour it into a 2.5 quart casserole dish. An hour before my guests are supposed to arrive, I pop it into a 375° oven for 30 minutes covered, then remove the lid for another 30 minutes to let the sauce thicken. Add the cooked bacon at the 30 minute and mix well

People rave about this recipe.