Carolina vinegar and light-tomato barbecue sauce

What it is

Light tomato barbecue sauce is one of the South Carolina sauces that use vinegar as their base. It is thin and sharp, and tomato appears only as a modest addition, usually ketchup. Its flavour and consistency sit between the clear vinegar and pepper sauce and the thicker, sweeter tomato sauces of other barbecue traditions.

Several accounts describe it as a vinegar and pepper sauce with ketchup added, and some add more heat from cayenne or hot sauce.

Where it fits among South Carolina sauces

South Carolina barbecue is usually described through four sauces: vinegar and pepper, mustard, light tomato and heavy tomato. The vinegar and pepper sauce is generally called the oldest. Wikipedia links it to Native American basting traditions and places it most often in the Pee Dee region.

Historians disagree on how many distinct sauces the state has. Robert F. Moss argues that there are really two regional sauces, sweet mustard and spicy vinegar. The light tomato style is therefore best read as a variation on the vinegar base rather than as a separate tradition with its own documented history.

A formulation that is not tested

The research formulation for this record combines cider vinegar, water, ketchup, sugar and seasoning. It is an original, untested branch that stands apart from documented regional recipes. No proportions, cooking times, temperatures or storage limits are established by the sources, so none are given here.

Because the sauce is thin and acidic, it is sometimes used as a mop or a table sauce. The research does not establish which practice applies to any specific pit or dish, and a reader who wants a tested sauce for storage must find a source that gives one.

Notes

The sources do not agree on where the light tomato style is found, and they do not date it. The formulation here is an untested research branch, and it is not a preserved or room-temperature sauce.