Upgrade Your Barbecue Sauce with a Little MSG and Thank Us Later

Whether you’re frying chicken wings or smoking a rack of ribs, barbecue sauce is an essential condiment for hearty meals prepared at home. While there are dozens of high-quality, store-bought barbecue sauces on the market, nothing beats a batch made from scratch. Basically, barbecue sauce is usually made from tomato sauce or ketchup, vinegar, sweetener, and Worcestershire sauce. Of course, flavor fanatics tend to jazz it up with added ingredients to give it a bolder, brighter, more robust flavor. From garlic to soy sauce to liquid smoke, there’s one ingredient you should consider using to transform your barbecue sauce, whether homemade or store-bought: MSG.

MSG is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, an amino acid found naturally in many foods like cheese and tomatoes. Revered for its strong umami taste, introducing a pinch of MSG into your barbecue sauce recipe can deepen its flavor by providing a layer of savory goodness that complements the characteristic smoky sweetness of a great barbecue sauce. Not only does MSG invite a new flavor to barbecue sauce, but it can also enhance the flavors of the condiment’s other ingredients, amplifying the spirit of each individual element of the sauce.

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Tips for Adding MSG to Barbecue Sauce

Adding MSG to barbecue sauce is no more difficult than adding salt or other spices to the condiment. There are, however, a few tips to keep in mind to maximize the umami presence in your barbecue sauce.

Just because MSG has a rich, flavorful profile doesn’t mean you should use a lot of it. In fact, a small amount is enough. This sodium salt packs a punch and you don’t need more than a pinch in a single serving of barbecue sauce. Even if you’re feeding up to six people, you shouldn’t use more than half a teaspoon. However, if you think the sauce could benefit from a little more umami, add an extra pinch and taste as you go.

Pay attention to the other ingredients in your barbecue sauce. If you use other umami-rich flavors like Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, or miso in homemade barbecue sauce, reduce the amount of MSG you use in the condiment or swap one for the other. If you’re using ultra-sour or sweet ingredients, you might benefit from a little more MSG to balance out those flavors.

Don’t just throw MSG into the finished product as a garnish. Make sure it is dissolved in the barbecue sauce by stirring or simmering to prevent large granules from disrupting the sweetness of the condiment.

Busting MSG Myths

You may know MSG not because it can improve barbecue sauce, but because of its bad reputation and the misconceptions surrounding it. However, you shouldn’t think twice about using this flavorful ingredient in your cooking, and there are many more reasons to add it to your barbecue sauce than not to. Although many myths surround MSG and its nutritional value, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration notes that MSG is “generally recognized as safe.” MSG has only one-third the sodium content found in salt, meaning that using it as a partial substitute for salt can reduce your sodium intake — a dietary practice that, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Social services, improve the heart. health.

Some people report experiencing headaches and other adverse symptoms after consuming foods containing MSG. However, scientific studies have failed to consistently support these claims, and symptoms are more likely attributable to factors such as psychological expectations and other ingredients.

Finally, the stigma around MSG is ending. Don’t believe the false myths: incorporate MSG into your barbecue sauce to give it a stronger, bolder, more savory flavor.

Read the original article on The Daily Meal.