Charlotte Happenings is your monthly guide to events and things to do in and around Charlotte, NC.
Issue link: http://charlottehappenings.epubxp.com/i/731598
sweet tomato hen many Americans hear the word barbecue, they think of a sweet, thick sauce of tomato mixed with brown sugar or molasses. is style of sauce is versatile, which suits the mix of pork, beef, chicken, turkey and more found inside Kansas City smokers. Just west of Charlotte in Gastonia, Ray's Country Smokehouse-Grill makes all of its sauces in house, but its signature molasses sauce, using local molasses, is the most popular. All of the meat at Ray's, including pulled pork, ribs, brisket and chicken, is dry rubbed and served with sauce on the side. e molasses sauce is also used to make candied bacon. "We put the bacon on the grill, coat it down with the molasses sauce, and it caramelizes like candy," says owner Ray England, who got into the family business age 12 when he cooked chickens with his father. e Southern Sweet sauce is one of the most popular at e Smoke Pit in Concord. Southern Sweet is one of seven sauces the restaurant serves. Lexington-style, South Carolina mustard and Alabama white sauce are available, too. "It goes well with all of our meats," says restaurant partner Jeremy Beaver of the Southern Sweet sauce. e meat offerings include pulled pork, smoked sausage, beef brisket and barbecue chicken. A Kansas City-style sauce shows up at City Smoke in Uptown Charlotte, too. e sweet sauce is offered along with a vinegar-based option. e two complement the lineup of pulled pork, brisket and ribs. "Barbecue is one of those personal preference things," says Pierre Bader, owner of Sonoma Restaurant Group, which includes City Smoke. "Everyone is very passionate about what they grew up on." Regardless of where your taste buds land and loyalties lie along the line of the never-ending regional barbecue debate, one thing's for sure: e variety of styles and sauces offered in Charlotte set the stage for a hearty and delicious national taste test. • • • Photo courtesy of Asterisk Creative meat: burnt ends + ribs OCTOBER 2016 33