BBQ Sauce Reviews | Ratings of the Best Barbecue Sauces

Mar
4
2010

4 Star, All, Mild, NC, Sweet By brian | No comments yet

Big Billy BBQ Sauce (4/5)

Guest review by Paul Zonfrillo from Team ZBQ

The best way I can describe this sauce is KC BBQ meets Carolina Vinegar sauce. It is on the thin side for consistency, has a noticeable deal of acidity, but it is balanced out by a good dose of sweet. The result is a full bodied base to the sauce.

The spiciness is done very well in this sauce. It produces a pleasing back heat that builds as you continue to eat the sauce - most noticeable if you are trying a few spoons from the jar, but it never overwhelms. There are chunks of red pepper flake - about one or two per tablespoon of sauce. Ingredients that contribute to the heat also include cayenne, chili powder and liquid smoke. In lower amounts, as in this sauce, I find that liquid smoke tends be less of a smoke component and more of a heat enhancer. A number of other spices such as nutmeg, allspice round out the flavor. The sauce has the “one flavor” feeling that I like, no ingredient really
dominates, and they all work together to make one taste.

It is not a very aromatic sauce, you get a ketchup and vinegar sort of aroma. It does have highly processed ingredients in it such as ketchup and high fructose corn syrup. I am not opposed to these ingredients on philosophical grounds, but the very best sauces seem to shy away from these ingredients in high proportion.

The sauce worked well on boneless grilled chicken breast. I marinated the chicken in Italian dressing, applied mustard and a chili based rub and finished with the sauce. The sauce worked really well as a flavor layer, since it is not overpowering. I suspect it will work very well on pulled pork. I could also see using this as part of a mop sauce for ribs or pork butt, perhaps mixing it 50/50 with some apple juice or beer, though Big Billy does offer a mop sauce as well that is mustard base. Overall, a very solid and pleasing sauce.

Smell 3
Taste 4
Consistency 4
Ingredients 3
Label and marketing 4

Website: bigbillybbq.com

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Feb
25
2010

4 Star, All, General, Gluten-Free, Mild, Sweet By brian | No comments yet

Gayle’s Sweet N Sassy Apple Cider Smoke (4/5)

When I received my first plastic pouch filled with BBQ sauce, I wasn’t sure what to think. Quickly I learned this new sauce from Gayle’s has great ingredients, excellent/unique packaging, a bold apple/smoke flavor and it’s somewhat famous. It’s not too thick and not too thin, which makes it versatile for most types of cooking you might want to do with sauce. (Tangent: And by the way - is there really a need for ketchup anymore? BBQ sauces like this one, can really replace ketchup anywhere you might have considered using it - hot dogs, hamburgers, fuggeddaboutit). It’s starts out mild with a hint of apple cider vinegar and then finishes with a bold smoky taste. It could be a tad thicker, and it could be a little bit less vinegary, but I’m stretching to find the negatives here. Try it yourself!

Continue reading Gayle’s Sweet N Sassy Apple Cider Smoke (4/5) →

Feb
16
2010

5 Star, All, Fruit, Sweet, Unique By brian | 2 comments

Smokin Willie’s Shanghai Style BBQ Sauce (5/5)

Ah yes, another five star sauce. I’ve been pretty much addicted to this one since it was sent to me and I’ve tried it on everything from Angus beef burgers (gifts from Omaha Steak Co) to mac & cheese to grilled chicken and grilled cheese sandwiches. It’s a great all purpose sauce that I can’t get enough of. Great sauce that you should try if you like Asian-style soy/hoisin type sauces.

Smell 5
Taste 5
Consistency 5
Ingredients 4
Label and marketing 5

Here’s what Bill Kelley, the owner of the company, has this to say about the sauce:

I love to cook Chinese, Japanese and Thai food at home and wanted to develop a versital Asian sauce for the Grill to compliment my other two BBQ sauces. Most of the Asian sauces are soy based and very thin and seemed to roll off the meat when I brushed it on. I wanted something thick and rich that would stay on the meat when brushed on and that is how this sauce was developed.

Here’s more, from Bill:

All natural and contains no high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives or MSG. Smokin’ Willie’s is a thick and rich Asian inspired BBQ & Grilling sauce. Use on Sea Food; Ahi Tuna, Salmon, Fish, Shrimp, Scallops and Ribs, Pork, Beef, Chicken and even Stir-Frys. You can make a Chinese Chicken Lettuce wrap to rival the best Chinese restaurant right in your own kitchen.

Ingredients: Hoisin Sauce (Sugar, Water, Sweet Potato, Salt, Modified Corn Starch, Soybeans, Spices, Sesame Seeds, Wheat Flour, Garlic, Chili Peppers, Acetic Acid) Lite Soy Sauce, Brown Sugar, Tomato Paste, Distilled Rice Vinegar, Garlic, Sugar, Modified Food Starch, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Carmel Color (a natural food color), Garlic powder, Seasonings (contains Soybean Oil & Natural flavor), Onion Powder.

Website: smokinwillies.com

Feb
12
2010

3 Star, All, Mild By brian | No comments yet

Stubby’s Barbeque Sauce (3/5)

The numbers tell a fair amount of the story, but I’d urge folks to try this. The taste is something for those of you who like the sweet stuff, but the consistency leans towards the “can I stick this meat product in a pool of it and let it sit overnight” variety. For backyard grillers, this will be somewhat of a challenge to quickly grill a piece of chicken or pork or steak and have this coat said product without burning off or using a whole bottle.

Having said that, if you were to bath a meat product in this concoction, you’d end up with somewhat rather tasty - leaning on the side of extreme sweet BBQ sauce. I could envision a crock pot filled with cocktail wieners bathing in this sugary-tomatoey-vinegary juice. The spices are in good proportion and the spices are plentiful enough to taste.

Got a crockpot or willing to bathe your brisket in this stuff? It’s worth a shot.

If you’re a backyard griller, you might opt for something a bit on the thicker side.

Smell 3
Taste 4
Consistency 2
Ingredients 2
Label and marketing 3

Ingredients: tomato concentrate made from vine ripened tomatoes, distilled vinegar, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, salt, garlic, onion, paprika, natural flavors.

Marketing thought: I am starting to develop a theory here. Stubby’s has been in business 57 years. And like many other sauce makers that originate from a live BBQ joint, some of the sauce are great and some are not so great. The success of a restaurant does not at all mean their bottled version of sauce will

a) be close to the same taste as what they serve in the restaurant, or

b) be any good at all.

This is a good sauce don’t get me wrong, but maybe not in same league as their restaurant, which is could be something special (based on second hand internet knowledge, that is found here).

Website: stubbysbbq.com (for some reason this wasn’t working for me)
Phone: 1.800.36.sauce

Dec
20
2009

2 Star, All, Unique By brian | No comments yet

Momm’s Famous BBQ Sauce (2/5)

It’s not inedible, it’s just different. Almost like a combination between Russian dressing, a vodka pasta sauce, and BBQ Sauce, it’s not what I consider to be a natural complement to backyard grilling. The mixture seemed to have gone slightly wrong somewhere and wow, I couldn’t even sit near the bottle too long with the cap open. The taste wasn’t quite as bad, but that malodorous vodka-pasta sauce scent really lingered in my nasal passages.

Continue reading Momm’s Famous BBQ Sauce (2/5) →

Dec
5
2009

4 Star, All, Mild By brian | No comments yet

Backyard Grill BBQ Sauce Review (4/5)

Before looking at the ingredients, its a full-flavored KC-style sauce with a solid onion-garlic infusion that I would recommend to anyone looking for a flavorful KC style sauce with a little extra spice. Nothing too fancy or different, but tasty.

After looking at the ingredients, the perspective changes and you get a different picture altogether…

Continue reading Backyard Grill BBQ Sauce Review (4/5) →

Nov
9
2009

2 Star, All, Mild, NC By brian | 1 comment

Tarheel Premium BBQ Sauce (2/5)

Continue reading Tarheel Premium BBQ Sauce (2/5) →

Oct
4
2009

5 Star, All, KC, Mild By brian | No comments yet

AJ’s Mesquite Barbecue Sauce (5/5)

First impressions can be deceiving. A quick glance at this bottle, and you might be inclined to expect a generic taste from a mass marketer of multiple types of foods - all of which probably don’t taste all that good.

But I love it when I’m wrong.

Continue reading AJ’s Mesquite Barbecue Sauce (5/5) →

Sep
22
2009

4 Star, All, NC, Spicy By brian | No comments yet

McCane’s Original Pit Sauce (4/5)

Continue reading McCane’s Original Pit Sauce (4/5) →

Sep
19
2009

4 Star, All, Mild, Sweet By brian | No comments yet

Nebby’s Best Barbecue Sauce (4/5)

It’s all about the fire and what happens in it. And although it took me awhile to realize it for this particular sauce, Nebby had this figured out from the start and remained confident that his sauce would stand up to my criticism. This is a story of a sauce that at first glance appeared thin and tasted a bit bland but turned out to be a huge winner after the heat of the grill. What would have happened to Michael Jordan if he simply accepted the fact that his high school coach said he had no talent? What if Babe, the pig who turned out to be a huge winner, had internalized that others thought of him as the runt of the litter. What if I accepted the fact that others found it amusing and perhaps silly that I was spending a lot of time reviewing BBQ sauces?? Well, winners push on - and Nebby’s has a winner here.

Aroma - 4 somewhat ketchup-like with undertones of garlic and pepper.
Consistency - 4 a bit on the thin side but holds remarkably well to meat.
Flavor -4 before cooking 3 after cooking 5 an excellent blend of sweet and tangy.
Marketing and Packaging - 5 good looking label, comes with a free basting brush!

Website: Nebby’s Best Barbecue Sauce

Sep
5
2009

5 Star, All, Fruit, Spicy, Unique By brian | No comments yet

Grandville’s Gourmet BBQ Sauce - Tropical (5/5)

I think a lot of companies get the execution of fruit-based BBQ sauces wrong. The concept of eating barbecue sauce with fruit is a bit odd for some who are used to garden variety (no pun intended) sauces that don’t taste much like typical fruits and vegetables.

Continue reading Grandville’s Gourmet BBQ Sauce - Tropical (5/5) →

Sep
2
2009

1 Star, All, Spicy By brian | No comments yet

Olde Cape Cod Chipotle (1/5)

In a previous BBQ Sauce Review, I’ve tried to advise others to avoid the Christmas Tree Shoppes when purchasing BBQ sauces. I should take my own damn advice. I don’t even know why I bother to review this stuff. I guess it shows a nice balance of the good and the really bad. Not everything can be a 3, 4, or a 5.

Continue reading Olde Cape Cod Chipotle (1/5) →

Aug
31
2009

4 Star, All, Spicy By brian | No comments yet

Captain Curts Famous Boss Sauce - Hot (4/5)

A great tasting sauce. Not too much variation from the mild sauce in terms of flavor, but I noticed something slightly unusual here - usually on a label for spicy BBQ sauces, you can quickly determine what ingredient is making the sauce hot. Usually it’s some kind of pepper, either in spice, extract, or natural form.

Continue reading Captain Curts Famous Boss Sauce - Hot (4/5) →

Aug
28
2009

3 Star, All, Spicy By brian | No comments yet

Fork ‘N Halo BBQ Fire and Brimstone Sauce (3/5)

Like breaking off a little piece of Hell and mixing it with some vinegar and tomato sauce, this stuff will certainly torture you with heat. If you believe your mouth should deserve the fire and brimstone treatment, then you might like it. If you’ve been reading me for a little while, you might know that I’m not a big “let’s see what really hot stuff I can stick in my mouth without it melting” kind of a guy. I tend to enjoy a more sophisticated heat that can sometimes accompany BBQ sauce (more “back of mouth” heat versus total mouth melt if you know what I mean).

Continue reading Fork ‘N Halo BBQ Fire and Brimstone Sauce (3/5) →

Aug
25
2009

2 Star, All By brian | No comments yet

World Harbors Mesquite BBQ Sauce (2/5)

Buying BBQ sauce at Christmas Tree Shops is so backwards it’s funny - wrong season, wrong store. I can safely bet that the bargain shoppers that this store appeals to wouldn’t dare spend more than 2 dollars on a BBQ sauce, and that’s a shame. There’s some really incredible stuff out there, but not available at the Christmas Tree Shops, which is where a well-intentioned friend found me this sauce. High fructose syrup starts the ingredients off on a bad note (usually it’s tomatoes for this kind of sauce) and while the initial sniff is actually a quite tempting smoky garlic scent, it’s the aftertaste that’s the killer - like a bad piece of meat rotting in your mouth. Not yummy.

Smell 3
Taste 1
Consistency 4
Ingredients 2
Label and marketing 3

website: http://www.worldharbors.com/Mesquite.html

Aug
24
2009

General By brian | No comments yet

BBQ Sauce Giveaway Winners (5&14)

Looks like BrooklynQ and RyDogg win this time. Congratulations to these fine BBQ’ers!!

I will be contacting you to get your mailing address and have David Ashley send you a sampler pack of these fine sauces.

For everyone else, I’m sorry. Please don’t be sad and think “oh i never win contests.” We will try to get another contest going soon. Hopefully before summer ends!

To be sent an email reminder when another giveaway is happening, please enter your email address here:

http://www.bbqsaucereviews.com/contests/

And I promise not to spam you unless I’m giving you something.

Brian, BBQ Sauce Reviews

Aug
17
2009

General, Unique By brian | 16 comments

BBQ Sauce Giveaway: Mad Dog Sampler

ga3-mad-dog-bbq

I really love sauces that mix the mild with the mysterious, provide the sweet and a special treat, and add thrill to my grill. Sorry, I was just watching Captain Curt’s video again, and was caught up in a world of BBQ rhyme.

And if Captain Curt’s sauce represents the Don King of the BBQ sauce industry, then David Ashley’s Mad Dog sauces might be it’s James Taylor, with a fine story to tell and a clean, natural appearance. If you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out on a critical component of the BBQ sauce world - Mad Dog Sauces.

I reviewed Mad Dog Original back in April (here), and followed that up with Mad Dog Ultra Hot (here) a month later. All natural, high-quality ingredients, excellent stuff … It seems like every time I turn the page (on the web that is) I see that Mad Dog is winning another award.

Now is your chance to get two bottles for nothin!

Two lucky winners will each receive a two bottle sampler pack of (1) Mad Dog Original and (1) Mad Dog Ultra Hot.

Simple Contest Guidelines

Comment on this post about anything - maybe say something nice about the sauce or this blog. Give me some new business ideas or something! Whatever! Just a comment will enter you.
Enter a comment below by Sunday August 23rd.
Winners will be chosen randomly via the Piper method and announced on Monday August 24th.
If you are new to this site, please enter your name in the contests mailing list to be notified of contests in the future.

Thanks,

Brian

Aug
16
2009

3 Star, All, Mild, Unique By brian | No comments yet

Rasta Joe’s Sweet BBQ Sauce (3/5)

Continue reading Rasta Joe’s Sweet BBQ Sauce (3/5) →

Aug
14
2009

2 Star, All, Mild By brian | No comments yet

Country Bob’s Barbeque Sauce (2/5)

Country Bob is a great guy and a marketing machine - maybe it’s because Christ is his C.E.O. (it says that on the website and all of the marketing materials feature heavy usage of bible passages). However, if one looks past the biblical references, there’s a lot this company is doing right - distribution at Walmart and giving away free bottles of their All Purpose Sauce to anyone who wants one is a good start if you can afford it. But to me, the sauce is more of a Kraft discount BBQ sauce replacement and not something I would consider to be tasty. Their All Purpose Sauce might be better and it’s free - so why not give it a try?

Smell 2
Taste 2
Consistency 4
Ingredients 3
Label and marketing 5

Aug
12
2009

5 Star, All, Spicy By brian | No comments yet

Grumpy’s Black Label BBQ Sauce (5/5)

Excellent ingredients, label, taste, smell, consistency. A great balance of sweet, spice, and tang that won’t burn your mouth off. The addition of natural hot sauce, habanero powder, cayenne peppers, and oriental hot mustard heat up your mouth to a slow simmer, but don’t take it to the level of scoville novelty like some spicy BBQ sauces. After grilling the flavor remains strong and some of subtle spices come out. The ingredients stay all natural - using tomato paste and vinegar instead of ketchup and using dark brown sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. Simple yet elegant website and label. Clearly, Grumpy is a guy who knows what he is doing.

Smell 5
Taste 5
Consistency 4
Ingredients 5
Label and marketing 4

website: http://www.grumpysbbq.com/index.php

Aug
10
2009

4 Star, All, Mild, NC By brian | 2 comments

Blue Ribbon Carolina BBQ Sauce (4/5)

A great tasting BBQ sauce from a great BBQ joint in Massachusetts (yes that’s where I’m writing from). This hits the mark with a combination of great taste, smell, and packaging. I love the tallboy-style glass bottle for BBQ sauces.

I was a little surprised at how thin it was (not the best for backyard grillers) and the fact that they felt the need to put in some artificial coloring. Regardless this is excellent on a pulled pork sandwich to put on a plate and dip your cornbread into it. Try it in person - the next time you are near Arlington or Newton MA.

Smell 4
Taste 5
Consistency 3
Ingredients 3
Label and marketing 5

Aug
7
2009

5 Star, All, Unique By brian | No comments yet

BBQ’n Fools Signature Teriyaki Pepper (5/5)

Best way to describe this is a nice gooey teriyaki/soy sauce with a little bit of heat. This asian-style sauce is far from the traditional KC-style BBQ sauce we’re all so used to seeing and trying. For example, this doesn’t have any tomatoes or vinegar. This Yaki sauce has served me well in kicking up several of my favorites including stir-fry’s, grilled chicken sandwiches, kabobs, and wings. Straight from the bottle it’s very salty (main ingredient is soy sauce) but the magic of the grill takes the edge off when applied properly (when the cooking is 80-90% done). All in all, something nice to try when you are looking to quickly brush some sauce on a piece of meat and have everyone thinking you’re an Iron Chef with a specialization in Asian cuisine.

Smell 5
Taste 5
Consistency 5
Ingredients 4
Label and marketing 4

Jul
8
2009

3 Star, All, Mild, Sweet By brian | 2 comments

Emeril’s Sweet Original BAM Barbecue Sauce (3/5)

Emeril is a huge brand that pulls in over $150 million a year in revenue across it’s media, restaurants, and products. This is a minor speck in the portfolio and (maybe because of that) it’s average at best. Another victim of the “large brand on auto-pilot” phenomena. The good qualities of the sauce include a strong garlic and pepper aroma; the weak qualities include the ingredients selection and a flavor that is a little strange.

Smell 4
Taste 3
Consistency 4
Ingredients 2
Label and marketing 4

website: Emeril’s Wikipedia page

Jun
30
2009

2 Star, All, Mild, Sweet By brian | 1 comment

Sticky Fingers Memphis Original Barbecue Sauce (2/5)

To sum up this sauce, it’s yet another mass produced “looks like it’s from a small mom and pop store variety sauce but actually from a fairly large corporation” variety. And that’s not always horrible. It’s when the sauce is loaded up with ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, MSG, and artificial flavors - that is what turns me off. The flavor is overly sweet and the consistency is thin. This is not to say the franchised Sticky Finger locations (16 across the Southeast) are not fantastic. This sadly happens sometimes when a brand gets big fast and they start stamping the logo all over without regard for quality in each and every item.

Smell 4
Taste 2
Consistency 2
Ingredients 2
Label and marketing 3

website: stickyfingers.com

Jun
12
2009

4 Star, All, KC, Mild, Sweet By brian | No comments yet

Millers Secret Sauce Original BBQ Sauce (4/5)

Paul Miller has been making this sauce for about a year and a half. Not long ago, he produced his first official batch and shipped me out a few samples. I suggest you try it out!

From Paul

“Well I started making my own sauce a few years ago and after many, many hours over the stove I finally had something that I loved and wanted to put my name on it. After about 45-50 try’s I finally narrowed down my recipe. For awhile now friends and family kept asking for more and for me to bottle it. So after about a nine month process I finally have my first production run done.”

It’s a classic KC style sauce and I do have a weak spot for classic KC style BBQ sauce - the flavor really packs a punch with a unique but subtle blend of herbs and spices. The onion is there but not overpowering. The garlic is there but wouldn’t kill a vampire or ruin your next kiss. It could be considered a bit on the sweet side, but most folks I know who BBQ don’t mind a little extra sugary substance.

For a couple of negatives, the consistency and the ingredients could use improvement - a bit too much corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup (there are reports on both sides, but I do believe this stuff really is bad for your health). Also the sauce was a bit on the thin side.

Other than that, the flavor was great both before and after the grilling experience. After being grilled it tasted just like those KC Masterpiece BBQ chips. Yum! And the reddish brown color and specks of actual spices will always - to quote Martha Stewart - be a good thing.

Smell 5
Taste 4
Consistency 3
Ingredients 3
Label and marketing 4

Ingredients: Tomato Concentrate, Distilled Vinegar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Honey, Brown Sugar, Water, Liquid Smoke, Butter, Molasses, Chili Pepper, Spices, Dehydrated Garlic, Dehydrated Onion, Salt, Natural Flavors, Jalapeno Powder, Anchovies, Tamarind Concentrate.

Website: Miller’s Secret Sauce Facebook Page

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