Mustard BBQ Sauce Recipe: How to Make Mustard BBQ Sauce

Carolina mustard BBQ sauce is a tangy, sweet, and spicy condiment with a yellow mustard base. Hailing from the Southern United States, the sauce’s mustard foundation makes it more pungent than tomato-based BBQ sauce. With the common alternative name of Carolina Gold, this type of sauce also has a yellow hue rather than a deep red one.

The ingredients of this mustard-based sauce—including apple cider vinegar, honey, and brown sugar—make for a tangy and sweet marinade perfect for smoked and grilled meats such as pulled pork, baby back ribs, beef ribs, brisket, and chicken.

Originating in South Carolina, this tangy sauce has roots stretching back to the eighteenth century. During that time, the area saw a large influx of German immigrants who brought along the custom of flavoring pork with mustard-based sauces. Over the decades, barbecue lovers across the Carolinas (and the country) took a liking to the tangy, sweet, mustard-based BBQ sauce, which quickly became a regional favorite.

With a complex balance of savory, sweet, and acidic flavors, this unique BBQ sauce complements a variety of smoked and grilled proteins. Here are some of the most popular barbecue dishes with which to serve Carolina mustard barbecue sauce:

1. 1. Appetizers: Serve this sweet-and-savory sauce as a dip for appetizers like crudité, pigs in a blanket, and more.
2. 2. Chicken wings: Toss fried, grilled, or smoked chicken wings in this pungent yet sweet sauce for a tasty game-day snack.
3. 3. Grilled chicken: Brush this mustard-based sauce onto your BBQ chicken, a lean alternative to pork, during the grilling process.
4. 4. Grilled pork chops and ribs: This pungent sauce pairs well with most grilled pork dishes, including grilled pork chops and ribs.
5. 5. Pulled pork: It’s common to serve this mustard barbecue sauce as part of a pulled pork dish. Toss shredded pork butt in the warm BBQ sauce and pile it atop a bun with creamy coleslaw for a pulled pork sandwich. To make a pulled pork platter, serve the sauce alongside the prepared meat with classic barbecue side dishes.