Sunlite Black BBQ Sauce (Kentucky)

The first sheep came over with Columbus on his second voyage and were grown more for their fleece than their meat. Demand for wool kept the US herd up near 60 million head through WWII, and it has been on a steady decline since then, down to about 6 million head today. Tender young lamb is still a popular meat, but far less popular than beef, pork, and chicken. When a lamb is no longer producing enough wool, more than 1 year old, it is slaughtered for food and the meat is called mutton. It has a distinctive and gamier taste than younger, more succulent lamb. As with so many other BBQ meats such as pork ribs and beef brisket, mutton found its way to the low slow smoker because it is tough, full of connective tissue, and less desirable than lamb. And why Western Kentucky? Once upon a time, in the 1800s, Kentucky was the largest lamb producing state. It has now fallen to number 34. But the tradition of BBQ mutton lives on in dozens of barbecue joints and church socials. The cuts of choice are shoulder and rear leg.

In Western Kentucky the BBQ is mutton, and the sauce is vinegary, spiked with Worcestershire sauce. Here's a recipe for black BBQ sauce inspired by Moonlite Bar-B-Q Sauce & Dip. This thin tart sauce cuts the rich fat, making it perfect for use as a deeply penetrating baste as the meat cooks or as a finishing sauce.

2 cups water
½ cup Lea and Perrins Worcestershire
½ cup distilled vinegar
½ tsp. white pepper
7 Tbsp. brown sugar
¼ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. Morton’s coarse kosher salt
1¼ tsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Mix all the ingredients in a pot and simmer for 10 minutes.

Because it has a high acid content, it can keep for months in the refrigerator.

Makes 3 cups.