In BBQ, sauces are used to flavor, marinade, glaze, and as a condiment or topping for grilled and smoked meats, especially ribs and chicken.  History places the origin of BBQ sauce to the first American colonies of the 17th century and can be found in recipes and cookbooks (both English and French) over the following two centuries.  Much like chili in Texas, these sauces were less about gourmet ambitions and more about masking the often off-putting odors and flavors of “aged” meat in a pre-refrigeration society.  The origins of these sauces isn’t particularly complicated, take the traditional tastes and flavors of the predominant immigrant population, add in the most similar ingredients that could be found locally, and mix with some good old American ingenuity, and you have the roots of a tradition that has only grown stronger and more popular over the last two centuries.  South Carolina mustard sauce, for example, can be traced to that region’s German settlers of the early 18th century.  …