photo taken from Pigtail Brands.

I stumbled across Mathew Hanna in the LowCountry BBQ Group on Facebook and was introduced to his sauce this way. As you guys may know, I’m from NC originally but my parents live in SC so I’ve grown to embrace both NC and SC style BBQ sauce. And now I’m a Florida girl and make mango guava BBQ sauce- gotta represent the culture!

So how did Pig Tail Brands out of Charleston, SC end up with a fabulous, vinegary-with-heat yet slightly sweet NC style sauce coming from the land of M

ustard based sauce? It beats me. Big Ed’s Heirloom Barbecue Sauce is just what I’m looking for when I’m making pulled pork sandwiches and don’t feel like making a big batch of sauce on my own.

When looking for a good vinegar based sauce, there’s always a key component: pepper flakes. If your vinegar based sauce does not have large chunks of pepper at the bottom, then it is not true NC style vinegar based sauce. Big Ed’s has large chunks of pepper at the bottom, a sure sign there is a good kick, but not over-powering.

While this sauce could compliment all types of meat, I still find it mostly suited for pork. I made grilled cornish game hens with this that I marinated, basted and also served with additional sauce but I still find myself envisioning this as perfect on a pulled pork sandwich.

The packaging is cute and reflects the Palmetto State’s great style and this would be a welcome addition to my line up of stocking stuffers. To try Big Ed’s Heirloom BBQ sauce, go to http://shop.pigtailbrands.com/