Marvelous mustard

5 days in the Low Country and what did I eat? Shrimp, shrump, and more shrump. And two pounds of yellow grits. 

Day one we went to Whalelys and had fried goodies from the marsh - oystas, scallops, shrump. Succulent.
Day two it was fried whiting, cabbage, grits. Day three shrimp, grits, collards. Day four whiting, grits, cabbage and the best Key Lime pie I've ever had from Kings Farm and Market - the crust was so flaky and the custard was just the right balance of sweet and tart - I have to learn how to make that. Day five we hit Fishnet Seafood just outside of Charleston for fried platters.  Breakfast each day, shrump n grits.

I don't know the last time I ate so much fried food...when in Rome...

Unfortunately we weren't able to try any BBQ on account of the pork thing but I took a stab at Low Country BBQ sauce tonight and it was a toe tapper.  In the Low Country BBQ sauce is mustard and vinegar based as opposed to tomato (or ketchup) based - this sauce is clearly a derivative of the tangy onion mustard sauce that tops the grilled lamb, fish, and chicken dishes of Mali, Senegal, and the like.

I love BBQ sauce but lately I haven't really been using it because the majority of the sauces contain HFCS.  I know quite a few people that "make" good sauce, generally by starting with a bottled base and doctoring it up with onions, peppers, sweeteners, etc and cooking it until it reduces to a thick sticky consistency.  I used that as my guideline and went to work - onions, garlic, peppers, crushed red peppers, brown sugar, molasses, honey, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, and of course mustard.

My sauce ended up having a complex taste - sweet, tangy, spicy - and was thick; next time, I'll puree the veggies for a better consistency.  My husband wants to grill beef tomorrow so that we can use the rest of the sauce; tonight it was chicken thighs, collards and kale, and baked sweet potatoes. I was actually tickled with the success of the sauce, I'm just hoping that I'll be able to recreate it on demand.