Why You Shouldn't Get Excited About Fast Food Barbecue Sandwiches
If you enjoy BBQ fare and appreciate the convenience of sandwiches, eating a barbecue sandwich can be a good choice. This type of fare is a fixture on the menu at any barbecue restaurant, but you'll also occasionally find it at fast food eateries. There might be a part of you that leans toward buying your barbecue sandwich from the latter type of restaurant — perhaps because it costs a little less money, or maybe because there's a fast food establishment near where you work or live. Unfortunately, you're likely to feel underwhelmed with the food — especially if you've previously eaten a barbecue sandwich at an authentic restaurant.
Lack Of Real Smoke
Authentic barbecue restaurants smoke a lot of their meats, and this includes the meat that the kitchen staff uses to build sandwiches. When you eat an authentic barbecue sandwich with meat that has been smoked, you're getting a deep and complex flavor that can make every bite immensely enjoyable. Conversely, fast food establishments rarely smoke their meats. Instead, it's common for these eateries to use liquid smoke — an ingredient that mimics the taste of smoke. It's always better to go for the real thing, and this means choosing a barbecue restaurant's sandwiches over those at a fast food restaurant.
Overly Sweet Sauce
Sauce is an essential component of a barbecue sandwich, but it's important for the sandwich to not only have the right type of sauce, but to also be sauced properly. Too little sauce can result in a dry sandwich, but too much sauce can be unappealing, too. At a fast food restaurant, you'll often find that the sauce is simply too sweet. It may contain a significant amount of sugar or corn syrup, both of which can dominate your palate. The homemade sauces at authentic barbecue restaurants are carefully sweetened and sandwiches are not doused in these sauces.
Improper Sides
When you buy a barbecue sandwich at a fast food eatery, you'll almost certainly order fries as a side dish. While you might be satisfied with this combination of tastes, fries aren't a standard side dish when it comes to ordering barbecue fare. At an authentic barbecue restaurant, you'll get to enjoy homemade sides that are more traditional. These can include baked beans, corn bread, mashed potatoes, apple sauce, spicy green beans, and a host of other options — each of which is more exciting than everyday fries.
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