Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce Recipe
This authentic Carolina Gold BBQ sauce is a sweet and tangy mustard-based condiment that’s absolutely delicious on pulled pork, chicken, or ribs! A golden yellow sauce on a pulled pork sandwich is an irresistible South Carolina tradition you won’t want to miss! Make this easy recipe in only five minutes!
Serve with slow cooker root beer pulled pork.
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As someone who was born and raised in South Carolina, when I think of barbecue, I envision a big heap of pulled pork, piled on a bun and completely smothered with Carolina Gold BBQ sauce. With some extra sauce on the side as a dip, for good measure.
This golden bbq sauce may not be dominant (or even available!) throughout most of the United States, but it’s my personal favorite of the various regional barbecue sauces. And once you try this easy recipe, it may become yours too!
Recipe inspiration
My family grew up going to Bessinger’s famous weekend buffet in Charleston, SC, filling up on Southern macaroni and cheese, banana pudding, and of course, pulled pork saturated with yellow barbecue sauce. While the buffet is no longer available, the restaurant is still in service and is the place to go for a “Big Joe” pulled pork sandwich and one of their giant battered onion rings.
I based this particular recipe on Bessinger’s Carolina Gold sauce. I consulted the ingredient list on their commercially bottled sauce and played with the ratios until I had something that tasted the same.
What is it?
Carolina Gold barbecue sauce is a sweet and tangy mustard-based BBQ sauce found primarily throughout the “Mustard belt” of South Carolina, which encompasses the Midlands and Lowcountry regions of the state. These days you may also find it in certain areas of Georgia.
The sauce originated from German immigrants who came to central South Carolina at the end of the 18th century, bringing their families, a large Lutheran population, and a love of mustard on pork.
You’ll mostly find this golden sauce on whole hog pulled pork, as well as on pulled or shredded chicken and occasionally on ribs. It is usually added at the end of cooking or used as a condiment.
What does it taste like?
Carolina Gold sauce is mostly tangy, a bit sweet, and completely delicious. It has a distinct mustard flavor, but with a good recipe it’s a well-rounded blend that’s more than the sum of its parts.
While different iterations of Carolina Gold sauces can vary in sweetness, they’re rarely as sweet as your typical red ketchup-based barbecue sauce. Some versions contain so little sweetener it’s almost like eating straight mustard, but this Bessinger’s-style sauce has enough brown sugar to balance out the harshness of the mustard.
The signature flavor in this recipe comes from prepared yellow mustard, brown sugar, and vinegar. Supporting ingredients like ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and Frank’s Red Hot add depth, character, and a little kick to the sauce.
Where can I buy Carolina Gold sauce?
They sell mustard-based BBQ sauce in many of our regional grocery stores as well as in many BBQ restaurants around the state, but you may not have that same luxury unless you live in South Carolina’s Mustard Belt.
While you can buy some on Amazon, it can be rather pricey. I recommend making your own homemade bbq sauce with this Bessinger’s copycat recipe for an authentic South Carolina barbecue experience without a hefty price tag.
Ingredients
This Carolina gold bbq sauce recipe has the perfect balance of sweetness, tang, a little heat, and some spices using these simple ingredients!
How to Make Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce
It couldn’t be more simple to learn how to make Carolina gold BBQ sauce! All you have to do to make your own South Carolina mustard sauce is mix all the ingredients together!
After mixing the ingredients, give it a taste. This recipe doesn’t start off overly sweet or overly hot, so you can add more sugar or hot sauce to taste.
Refrigerating the sauce for a couple hours or overnight will help unify the flavors, but you can also use it immediately.
Simmering the sauce
Simmering the sauce on the stovetop is quick way to blend the flavors faster. Just add all ingredients to a medium saucepan, heat over medium heat until the brown sugar is dissolved, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Use immediately or let the sauce cool to room temperature before storing in the fridge.
This mustard-based sauce stores well in the fridge for up to a week in a mason jar or other airtight container.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- No need for fancy mustard here! Just use some prepared yellow mustard like French’s or Heinz.
- Serve this sauce on slow cooker pulled pork, shredded chicken, or ribs, with extra on the side!
- To use this sauce like a true South Carolinian, you’ll want to mix the sauce with the cooked, shredded pork until it’s coated throughout. Then, drizzle some more on top or use it as a dip too!
- Add honey, extra Frank’s hot sauce, mayo, whole grain mustard, or bourbon for a tasty variation on the traditional sauce.
- Simmer this sauce on the stove for a few minutes or let it sit in the fridge overnight for the flavors to really meld together!
Recipe Variations
This recipe makes a great base for some equally tasty variations of the Carolina style sauce!
- Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce – Swap the 2/3 cup of brown sugar for half a cup of honey.
- Bourbon Mustard BBQ Sauce – Add a couple tablespoons of bourbon to your sauce (to taste) and simmer the sauce for a few minutes on the stove.
- Spicy Mustard BBQ Sauce – If you like a spicy sauce, add some extra Frank’s Hot Sauce or some cayenne pepper, to taste.
- Creamy Carolina Gold Sauce – Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of mayo for a creamy twist on the sauce! I use Hellman’s myself but many Southerners swear by Duke’s.
- Whole Grain Mustard BBQ Sauce – I often add a huge spoonful of whole grain mustard to my pulled pork before mixing in the Carolina Gold sauce. It adds a nice caviar-like texture and a bit more of that mustardy kick!
How to Use Mustard-based BBQ Sauce
The clear and classic choice here is pulled pork. I love it with this slow cooker pulled pork, made from pork butt simmered in root beer to infuse the meat with a little extra sweetness. Chicken and other cuts of pork are other great options!
Here are a few meats that are delicious with this traditional bbq sauce.
- Pulled pork
- Pulled pork sandwiches (with or without a little coleslaw for some crunch)
- Chicken wings
- Chicken legs
- Shredded chicken
- Pork chops
- Pork ribs
- Pork tenderloin
For a truly South Carolinian experience, try one of these side dishes with your barbecue:
- hush puppies
- fried okra
- cornbread muffins
- skillet cornbread
- Charleston red rice
Carolina Gold barbecue sauce also makes a great dipping sauce for your hush puppies, fried okra, and even french fries!
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Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup prepared yellow mustard
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 6 tbsp ketchup
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp Frank’s Red Hot
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients and mix well. Add additional brown sugar or hot sauce to taste, if desired.
- Refrigerate several hours or overnight to allow flavors to blend better, but you can use this sauce immediately. You may also simmer the sauce over medium heat on the stove for a few minutes to help unify the flavor.
- To use this sauce like a true South Carolinian, mix it with pulled pork or shredded chicken rather than just drizzling it on top.
I ran out of yellow mustard and used mostly Dijon instead. I used it for jackfruit “pulled pork”. I am not a fan a sweet sauces but love zesty ones. This was not sweet to me and had plenty of zest/spice.
I’ve never had this before. Going to make this next time we bbq.
Did you end up trying the recipe yet? I’d love to hear what you think!
Great mustard sauce! I made it for the 1st time the other night for pulled pork, and it was delicious. I simmered mine for a few minutes to dissolve the brown sugar better (not crazy about the gritty texture). I was also good as a chicken marinade. I cant wait to try on Kielbasa. I think my next batch will have some cayenne in it for a little extra kick, but it was fabulous as is. Thanks for sharing this recipe
Cayenne would be a great addition! So glad you liked it!
Great sauce. How long will it last in fridge?
It is very very close to Bessingers, but not exactly. But still a good sauce. I accidentally added 3Tbsp of cider vinegar, so I used one less Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, so that may have changed the flavor slightly. It only made 16oz though. That is fine since there is only two in the household.
I was born and raised in Columbia SC, spent 20+ years in the Lowcountry, so when I moved to the upstate 26 years ago, I really missed Bessingers BBQ restaurants. Guess I’m telling my age as I’ll be turning 64 on the 7th of September.
So thank you for making a copycat recipe that is close to the real thing.
I’m glad this recipe helps bring the Lowcountry back to you! Let me know how you like it with the ingredients as written and see if it tastes closer to what you remember!
This sauce was great! I had this sauce on wings in a bar in North Carolina a couple years ago! The dish was called 24 karat gold wings! This sauce definitely tasted just like the sauce when I added it to my wings! I made sure I didn’t make it to sweet! Thanks for the new recipe I’ve added to my book!
Running low on supplies, and didn’t want to have to run to the grocery store for some sauce to put on some boiled chicken breasts I was shredding. Found your recipe and had to improvise a bit. I used about 1/3 of the amount called for and subbed: Dijon mustard, Tamari, brown sugar, Sriracha sauce, and apple cider vinegar…the only ingredients I had. Made a scant cup of sauce, which was just enough for the two shredded breasts. Tastes yummy. The chicken in sauce is marinating in the fridge til time to heat it. Thank you!!
I’m glad my recipe inspired you and I hope you enjoyed your chicken!
Thanks for the recipe! When I found out I was diabetic, I haven’t been able to have bbq, and using your recipe but substituting Splenda and a bit of molasses for the brown sugar I can have bbq again. Thank you so much! It’s great!
It’s so hard when health issues require you to avoid buying premade items in the store! My sister has to make just about everything from scratch between all her family’s health requirements. I’m so glad you are able to enjoy your BBQ once again!
My husband makes a wonderful tomato based BBQ sauce and I was looking for a Mustard Based BBQ sauce to go with my “first ever” attempt to make pulled pork. This was it! It is now my favorite BBQ sauce. My granddaughter gave it “11 stars out of ten!” When she said … “enjoy it now, because it won’t taste the same the next time grandma makes it,” I smugly presented a printed out copy of this recipe and said “I followed it exactly!” So now you can make it whenever you want. I’m about to make another batch to give to some of my friends as gifts. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Thanks so much for your wonderful review! It’s really a great sauce with pulled pork. Glad to make you and your granddaughter happy!
I’m from western North Carolina, (home of Lexington BBQ), & while I love Lexington style, as well was “typical” North Carolina vinegar style sauce, I also love too.
One slight correction.tip, Either North Carolina sauce is still my go-to for pulled pork, but I’ve found that South Carolina Mustard BBQ sauce is great on chicken & absolutely incredible on beef short ribs. I can also say that Heinz Carolina Mustard BBQ sauce is pretty great when you don’t want to make your own. I swear by all of Heinz’s pitmaster developed BBQ sauces, as I’ve tried them all & I keep every flavor on hand so I can match the right sauce to the right cut of meat. However, as I’m fixing short ribs tomorrow, I’m going to try this sauce recipe right now.
Hey Mark, what is Lexington style BBQ? I do like a vinegar style BBQ sauce too on ribs but always mustard on my pulled pork! How’d you like the recipe?
Caroline, you say in /2017 comment that you’re surprised people haven’t heard of mustard-based sauce but then you don’t know about Lexington-style BBQ sauce. I think it is much better known outside of the Carolinas than mustard-based sauce. My husband is from upstate South Carolina and he never heard of mustard-based sauce until I told him about it when I was preparing for a cooking presentation that had an oven-cooked pork butt.. Usually one learns something about their subject before presenting it. BTW, the recipe is delicious!
Thank you for this! I’ve been looking for a mustard BBQ sauce, just mixed up a half batch, and it’s already delicious and exactly what I was looking for. Can’t wait to see what an overnight in the fridge does for it.
Yess!! I’m so glad you liked this! Thanks for sharing!
This is such a great BBQ sauce! I loved it with your pulled pork recipe. I’ve never made a mustard based BBQ Sauce and this one did not disappoint! Thanks for the great recipe!
Awesome!! I’m so glad I could introduce you to the glorious deliciousness of mustard-based BBQ! Hope you enjoy the recipe for many years to come!
We loved this! I’m from a southern family ranging from the Carolinas to Tennessee to FL. This is much better than many of the restaurants around here! We’ve served it many times with pulled chicken on hawaiian sweet rolls for a quick dinner, and I actually just used it as marinade and roasting sauce for a roast pork shoulder and it was AMAZING! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
(I forgot to mention that I only found this recipe a couple weeks ago, but have used it at least 2x a week since because the recipe makes so much sauce) 🙂
That’s so great to hear, Lindsay! I actually used it for some pulled pork sliders with cole slaw on the sweet Hawaiian rolls too – it’s a great combo! I’m so glad you and your family like it!
I have never heard of mustard-based bbq sauce before. The fact that I’ve lived in New England most of my life might have something to do with it. This sauce is something I need to try out. It looks delicious!
Mustard-based BBQ sauce is very regional! I thought it was all of SC but according to some BBQ region maps I’ve seen it’s really only in a section of the state (both SC cities I’ve lived in are in the yellow-sauce region), and maybe a little bit of Georgia – so I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of it before! But it is ubiquitous here, and I promise you’ll love it if you try it with some pulled pork! Let me know how you like it!
I can’t wait to try this, Caroline! I have never heard of it before. And so easy! Time for some more pulled pork here with your sauce!
PS – glad I am still on the email list! And glad to have you back! xo
Thanks for inspiring me to get back on the email train, David! I’m surprised how many people outside of SC haven’t heard of yellow BBQ sauce! I knew they probably hadn’t had it but I thought more people would at least know about it! On the other hand, it is a hyper-regional thing! It really is so easy to throw together, and the pulled pork is easy to make too! (recipe here: https://www.pinchmeimeating.com/slow-cooker-root-beer-pulled-pork/) Just takes a little time to shred. Please let me know how you like it! I’m happy to share the love of our local cuisine!
I have made quite a few bbq sauces, but never a carolina. And it HAS been on my list! Thanks for sharing and this is going on my to make list!
Excellent!! I think you’ll really enjoy it! Definitely have it on some pulled pork or pulled chicken, and let me know how you like it! Always happy to spread the love of some of our local cuisine!
We served this sauce with your root beer pork, and it was soooooo good! Just like the mustard sauce I remember from Charleston! Maybe even better!
Yay!! I’m so glad you liked it! It’s nice to be able to have your favorite regional foods even when you’re not there, isn’t it?