The Results Are In

After a city-wide poll of thousands and thousands of people, the results are in from the Barbecue Sauce Challenge. And, the answer is? Depends.

Yup, there are two distinct schools of taste here. First, the girls. They liked the sweeter sauce. The Stubb's Mesquite-Flavored Liquid Smoke contains vinegar and is, as such, sweeter than the Wright's Liquid Smoke. So, this was the favorite among the girls. In fact, not just favorite, it was unanimous.

The other group, the boys, preferred the richer smoke but less sweet flavor of the sauce made with the Wright's Liquid Smoke. Again, unanimous.

What does this mean to me? I have more testing to do. The first obvious test is to test the Wright's base version against Wright's with a little extra vinegar. Also, Test the Wright's plus extra vinegar recipe against the Stubb's Mesquite.

Another test I'd like to try is varying the vinegar used. Right now, I'm using a distilled white vinegar made from coconuts. Hey, it's the Philippines, it's cheap and plentiful. I'm thinking apple cider vinegar instead.

There are also a couple other kinds of sugars here. Stuff I've never played with. I'll be testing those, too.

This sauce experimentation isn't over. Lots to try.