September 9, 2010 at 5:39 pm
(5) Tom says:
I
made Tom’s recipe and it’s gritty. No gound up peppers in mine. It’s
the paprika that’s making it gritty. Other than that it’s not to bad.
April 15, 2008 at 3:40 pm
(6) Jack Clark says:
The
gritty texture . . . I asked one of the AB’s people about that the last
time I was there. He said it was ground-up dried peppers. Gotta work
that in to the recipe somehow. Wouldn’t be the same.
May 10, 2008 at 5:38 pm
(7) Patrick says:
Since
I eat at AB’s regularly, I decided to make this recipe. While not
exactly like the AB classic, isn’t half bad. I modified the ingredients
just a bit to cut down on sugar and increase spicyness. My version
follows and I think it is a closer match:
1/2 CUP BASAMIC VINEGAR
1/2 CUP RED WINE VINEGAR
1 CUP WATER
3/4 CUP PAPRIKA
1/3 CUP YELLOW MUSTARD
1/8 CUP BROWN SUGAR
1/8 CUP SALT
1/8 CUP WORCHESTIRE SAUCE
1 TABLESPOON ONION POWDER
1 TABLESPOON GARLIC POWDER
1 TEASPOON A LITTLE BLACK PEPPER
1 TABLESPOON HOT SAUCE- BRUCE’s LOUISIANA
June 1, 2008 at 3:39 pm
(8) Frank from St. Paul says:
Last week we got some mexican sauce which was called “achiote”
made with annato seeds. Seemed very similar, might be part of the
graininess and taste of the never to be duplicated AB original.
The restaurant is a wonderful experience. Everybody was having a good time.
June 1, 2008 at 3:39 pm
(9) Frank from St. Paul says:
Last week we got some mexican sauce which was called “achiote”
made with annato seeds. Seemed very similar, might be part of the
graininess and taste of the never to be duplicated AB original.
The restaurant is a wonderful experience. Everybody was having a good time.
June 30, 2008 at 5:50 pm
(10) Richard says:
When
I lived in Chicago, a friend who went to school in KC used to drive to
Bryant’s annually to refill a water-cooler bottle full of Bryant’s
sauce. He said the secret ingredient was pig’s blood.
July 22, 2008 at 1:04 pm
(11) sherryb says:
Are
you kidding?!? really, pig’s blood? if so, it must be the best pig’s
blood in the world? Why do so many people want to re-creat this sauce?
when they can go to the store and buy it??
December 26, 2008 at 2:57 pm
(12) A says:
With all due respect, I tried both of the recipes and they were quite disappointing, I found them to be quite rancid.
I have been making BBQ sauces for just over 4 years now (Yes, I’m
still learning) and I found that there was something missing (tomato
sauce?) something of that nature, I have concocted something similar
which uses almost the same ingredients but with tomato sauce.
I realize that Bryant’s has been around for(100 years?) but there has
to be something missing, until I ever make it to KC I will get the
“experience” and maybe then I will be able to put my finger on it…
I appreciate the input that everyone has posted, it was worth a shot trying it out.
December 29, 2008 at 10:47 pm
(13) Shoe says:
I
am good friends with Paul Kirk (KC Baron of BBQ) and he has ‘broke’
this recipe before, but would not disclose the whole recipe to me. But
he did advise me that one of the main spice ingredients is crab boil
spices. Sadly…I am still working on the rest.
July 19, 2009 at 6:28 pm
(14) candace says:
He sells this sauce by the bottle. Pigs blood is not an ingredient. Tomato paste is an ingredient.
September 17, 2009 at 9:54 am
(15) Richard Adams says:
Brown
sugar is just white sugar with either light or dark molases mixed in
(thus light or dark brown sugar). For 1/2 cup light brown sugar add 1/2
tsp. molases and mix well (it really does eventually mix in). I live
in Kansas City, MO.
September 17, 2009 at 10:04 am
(16) Richard Adams says:
AB’s
sauce is not typical KC tomato based. It is vinegary. It has some
tomato paste in it. If I used Patrick’s recipe, I would add 1 tsp.
celery seed and 1/2 small can tomato paste. Celery seed is very strong
so don’t use more. I am not the same Richard from comment 9.
September 17, 2009 at 10:34 am
(17) Marvin Stamm says:
The
Travel Channel is showing a barbeque show featuring Arthur Bryant’s,
which must be why all the interest. Starting with patrick’s recipe, use
1 cup apple cider vinegar. Who ever heard of balsamic or red wine
vinegar in Kansas City in 1905?
Add 1 tsp celery salt and ground dried red cayenne or jalapeno peppers,
about 1 tsp. And black pepper should be 2 or 3 tsp. There is your
gritty quality. And 1/2 cup brown sugar. It is supposed to be vinegary
so no more sugar. I also live on KC and am 87 years old. I know my
additions to patrick’s recipe are the real deal.
October 27, 2009 at 5:53 pm
(18) Tim D says:
What
about the ’sage’ flavor it has a lot of. I see no sage in the recipe
listed. That’s what I like sooo much of in AB original sauce!
January 27, 2010 at 7:50 pm
(19) arkminer says:
Well,
dang.. i just threw away the bottle but the last thing listed is LARD…
When you see the large bottles in the store, there are several layers.
I’m not sure why, but when A. Bryant’s was sold to a corperation the
taste has not been the same. In my opinion. Plus, the size of the
sandwiches are smaller. don’t eat at any of the stores except the one at
18th and Brooklyn
February 14, 2010 at 9:53 am
(20) normzach says:
two
attempts with bryants rub and bbq on ribs – first time just the rub,
second time just the sauce – both times discarded ribs as the paprika
and cayenne pepper in the rub and sauce were over bearing (paprika
listed as no. 1 ingredient) and left an very unpleasant after taste. rub
and sauce consigned to the trash.
will not recommend
February 25, 2010 at 8:03 pm
(21) Arkminer says:
Normzack, guess that why there is about 100 BBQ places =)
June 24, 2010 at 6:37 pm
(22) Appie says:
Oh yeah, TRY THIS:
2 cups water
1.5 cups white vinegar (that’s right, you fancy bastards!)
1 (8oz) can tomato paste
1/4 cup lard
1/4 cup molasses
2 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp ground celery seed
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dry mustard
‘Nuff said, end of the thread!
August 30, 2010 at 11:22 am
(23) diana says:
I
was there just yesterday and there is definitely cumin in there. I
couldn’t put my finger on that taste until I remembered that, to me
anyway, cumin tastes like B.O. smells (haha). Hand-ground Cumin &
celery seed (or at least rough ground) would also add to gritty texture
as well. By far, the best ribs I’ve ever had. Now…onto try Memphis ribs!
December 26, 2010 at 1:43 pm
(24) Rick says:
Well,
obviously, personal tastes vary…A LOT! And regionally, people tend to
like what they grew up on and have already cultivated a taste for.
I don’t have such preconceived notions. Being from L.I., NY, I did not
grow up on BBQ. I have lived in VA for the past 30 years and learned to
enjoy BBQ. I have also eaten at ABs and loved it. I am searching for a
great sauce and can’t stand commercial sauces found in stores which are
so sweet they reek of sugar. I will have to make it myself. Even if I
were not a type 2 diabetic, I don’t like sweet stuff as part of a meal
except for side dishes (e.g. cranberry relish), dessert, or snacks. So I
was encouraged to see that there are BBQ sauces that are vinegar based
rather than molasses based (yech) or corn syrup based (double yech) .
I realize it only sheds partial light, but the bottle of Arthur Bryant’s
Rich & Spicy Sauce says the ingredients in the bottle are:
INGREDIENTS: WATER, TOMATO PASTE, BROWN SUGAR, VINEGAR, MUSTARD
(VINEGAR, WATER, MUSTARD SEED, SALT, TURMERIC, SPICES), SEASONING
(SUGAR, MUSTARD FLOUR, SPICES, DRIED GARLIC, DRIED ONION, SALT, SODIUM
BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVE), SPICE.
I don’t know if what they put in the jars differs from the sauce at
the restaurant (other than the sodium benzoate), but clearly if the
recipe doesn’t have tomato paste and brown sugar (not molasses, then it
can not be correct.
July 31, 2011 at 6:24 pm
(25) Mark Socha says:
I
tried all of these recipes, I don’t think any are all that close. I’ve
been working on this for three months and have sampled about a gallon on
sauce, and today, July 31, 2011, I think I have come up with the
closest yet (according to my taste buds). I’d love to hear comments or
suggestions:
Mark Socha’s recipe:
1/2 cup distilled vinegar (all other recipes use too much)
1.5 cups water
1/2 cup paproka
1/4 mustard (this is what gives it the orange color, and I believe to be the secret ingredient)
1/8 cup kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup lard
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cummin
Cook over medium heat, bring to a boil, let cool.
This recipe is so close it’s not even funny. I read everyone’s
suggestions on ingredients. Someone said Arthur Bryant once bragged that
his sauce was not tomato based. But the bottle says it has tomato
paste. And lard.
But, the sauce has changed over the past 30 years. When I first tried
it, it was not thick, but runny, and if you got some under your
fingernails, you couldn’t wash it off, it had to wear off. Back then it
was a lot more orange in color. It was a lot spicier in 1980. But for
the most part, except for the texture, it has stayed mostly the same. My
recipe is similar to the old, original.
I’d love to hear comments.
August 20, 2011 at 9:36 pm
(26) Brian says:
Great job, I feel like I’m back in KC. Is there anyway to get it a little thicker?
August 22, 2011 at 3:23 pm
(27) Mark Socha says:
To get this thicker, try 1 cup of water rather than 1.5 cups, or a little tomato past
October 24, 2011 at 11:59 am
(28) Zack Hensley says:
Mark! I just tried this recipe with a few little tweaks but it was PERFECT!
I added 2 teas. Of tomato paste a tablespoon of brown sugar, and a
teas. Of chayenne ( like things on the hotter side) I did a cup of water
instead of 1.5
All I all It was thick and beautiful and exactly like AB’s
I think I’ll be making it for a long time! Thank you!
October 24, 2011 at 4:53 pm
(29) Mark Socha says:
Thanks.
My daughter makes her own cloths (shirts, dresses, etc). It costs more
for her to do that, plus the time, than it would to go out and buy the
cloths. She asked me the other day, why don’t you just go out and buy
the sauce. I asked her why she doesn’t go out and buy her cloths.
End of conversation.
December 1, 2011 at 1:41 pm
(30) Tony Berry says:
Why do I think that I am tasting tumeric, which I love, by the way…?
February 4, 2012 at 8:08 pm
(31) Bill Smith says:
I
do believe we have a close recipe here. I first posted in 2007. And
getting rid of the exotic rice and balsami vinegars is a great start.
People ask why we just don’t go buy it…..well they just don’t understand
that for some people, they have an innate desire to duplicate a good
recipe. It’s sort of all about the challenge, I think. Having a son
who lives in KC, I always have a bottle. They are given to me at
various Christmas and birthdays, but it’s still fun to try to come up
with a close recipe. But believe me, knowing the origins of Arthur
Bryant at 17th and Brooklyn in Kansas City…..it was a pretty simple
recipe. It may have changed some through the years but it’s still the
best I’ve ever had. However, everyone has different tastes.
Bill Smith
March 7, 2012 at 4:50 pm
(32) Mike P says:
I
used to live in KC back when Aurthur was still alive. When you went
into the place there was always a 5 gal. water bottle full of sauce or
two in one of the windows on the ledge, which caught the afternoon sun.
The bottle had distinct layers of different ingredients, some clear. I
always assumed this was a curing process for the sauce. This was not
in any kind of refridgeration. You slipped the guy making sandwichs a
buck and your sandwich was so huge you could make 3 or4 more from it!
The french fries were incredible and the oil may have rarely been
changed. There was iced mugs of Pabst Blue Ribbon for $.75, before it
was ironic to drink it. I had heard at the time that people had done
some lab analysis on the sauce and could not crack it exactly. Heading
back next week to KC and will stop by 18th Brooklyn store. From ratings
I see online it is no longer KC’s most popular spot for BBQ, but it is a
classic in my book even if a little of the MOJO has slipped away.
May 5, 2012 at 2:50 pm
(33) Tom McHale says:
Boy
a lot of comments since I posted in 2006. I’ll try Mark’s receipe
sounds good. Innthe early late 70’s early 80’s I used to visit TWA and
always made it to Arthur Bryant’s for a rib sandwich – butcher paper,
couple of slices of white bread and a rack of ribs and sauce. Can still
taste it.
May 14, 2012 at 7:31 pm
(34) Thomas Z says:
Mike p
That counterman was Richard Ainsworth. Not sure of spelling.
Richard had HUGE hands, and could put a pound of meat on your sandwich.
If you got a combo ham, beef, or pork or turkey, you would be eating
all day. The fries were handed out in the same way.
When I was going as a youngster, the old municipal stadium housed both
the KC As and the Chiefs. I remember well those bottles of sauce ageing
in the front window. I also remember the bull mastiff that prowled
behind the counter, cleaning up the scraps.
The beer was served in real glass mugs, with about 3/8 inch of ice coating the interior. Great memories.
May 28, 2012 at 8:17 pm
(35) MJ says:
I assume it’s Original sauce people are trying to reproduce. I’ve tried Rich & Spicy and it’s not especially interesting.
Based on color, consistency, and taste, I think there is a lot of
achiote paste in the Original sauce. Achiote paste is available in
little boxes in Mexican or Puerto Rican markets, near the bouillon
granules.
Achiote paste is made from the orange-red coating from achiote seeds (AKA annatto) with some salt, garlic, and cumin.
I’m going to try Mark’s recipe, but expect I’ll be substituting achiote for the paprika.
June 1, 2012 at 10:09 am
(36) Zaaaguy72 says:
Marks
recipe is very close except for one key element. AB uses “double
strength” pickle juice as the vinegar element. Why do you think you get
a big handfull of pickle chips with every sandwich??
June 8, 2012 at 2:04 pm
(37) Danny Breeds says:
I’m
looking forward to trying Mark’s recipe this weekend. I’m going to
follow it exactly except for a dash of sugar and some tomato paste to
thicken it just a bit. I’ll report back on Monday.
I’m with others on here. There is just no way Arthur had access to
Achiote sees or the exotic vinegars. However he made it, it was simple
ingredients that he had access to in KC. I think Mark’s is on the money
and maybe someday, I’ll even have the guts to try the pickle juice as a
substitute for the vinegar. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if that’s
what Arthur used.
Arthur Bryant’s remains the only restaurant I’ve driven 500 miles to
eat at. Woke up on a winter morning in Minneapolis, had the hankering,
and drove to KC for dinner. Nothing beats it.
June 14, 2012 at 1:25 pm
(38) Danny Breeds says:
So
I made Mark’s version of the sauce with the ingredients plus the tomato
paste and brown sugar. And unfortunately, the first version of it was
inedible. The power from the white vinegar was frankly repulsive. I
had to throw it out. But, there was enough there that I definitely
thought Mark was on the right path.
So, I made it again. This time, I used Apple Cider Vinegar. I also
cut it down even further to a 1/4 cup. And I’ll be damned if I didn’t
have the closest thing to Arthur Bryant’s BBQ sauce. Here is the final
version that I think nails it with my additions to the quantities as
well:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (all other recipes use too much)
1.5 cups water
1/2 cup paprika (Spanish if you can find it)
1/4 mustard (this is what gives it the orange color, and I believe to be the secret ingredient: Mark is probably right)
1/8 cup kosher salt
1 Tbsp black pepper
1/4 cup lard
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Cook over medium high heat. Bring it to a boil, remove from heat and
let cool. Transfer to a jar with a tight seal and let sit for at least
24 hours. The sauce will thicken sufficiently in this time. It will
still be loose than a standard KC sauce, but will stay together.
As others have noted, you could try to use a pickling liquid in place
of the vinegar. I didn’t have any on hand to try that. But the key to
the recipe is that a little vinegar goes a long, long way. Thanks to
Mark as I believe he laid out the correct path to the finish line. I
hope my advancements brought us further to our goal.
July 2, 2012 at 12:30 am
(39) keith popely says:
Thanks, Danny. I’ll be trying your version tomorrow or the next day.
July 13, 2012 at 9:34 pm
(40) Bill says:
I
don’t know about y’all but anything with that much paprika In it is
gonna taste like mud. Anyone that makes this is gonna end up throwing it
away.
July 18, 2012 at 1:24 pm
(41) Danny Breeds says:
Bill,
While you are obviously entitled to your opinion, I find it
interesting that you simply deride the effort without suggesting one of
your own. Here’s what I know. I had a BBQ for 20 people this past
Saturday. I made this sauce. I didn’t have to throw any away. Next
time, I should probably plan on making more. But hey, I’m sure it was
just that these people didn’t know any better right?
Reduce the amount of paprika if you think it’s the key. But at least
grace us with your infinite wisdom regarding the AB secret recipe since
you claim to know how things will taste just from seeing them on the
Internet.
July 21, 2012 at 5:56 pm
(42) Allan C says:
Have
made this recipe for about three months now since I first saw Mark’s
posting. Have never had to throw any away and use the amount of paprika
posted. I’ve always used the apple cider vinegar and today will try
the tweeks Danny’s brought to the recipe. Incidentally, I don’t use any
brown sugar. We love this sauce.
