Bullseye Original Barbecue Sauce (4/5)

BBQ Sauce Review - Bullseye Original Barbecue Sauce (4/5)I’d like to advocate for only the little guys in the BBQ sauce world, as if all the big companies couldn’t make a good BBQ sauce product. But I’d be wrong, and quite a hypocrite, if I didn’t give Bullseye props and a solid 4/5. It just tastes great.

Way back in my high school days I used to have a crush on the Bullseye Burger… and when BK would release it at specified, “limited time offer!” periods in the summer time, I’d eat them like they were going the way of the 8 track. Luckily, I’ve gotten past those dark days and have tempered my fast food intake for the most part, although I will relapse on special occasions – like when I travel for business. Good thing the Rodeo Burger is a permanent member of their value menu. 🙂



Smell: Smoky and sweet. The “natural smoke flavor” ties in well with the molasses scent, followed by hints of onions and garlic.

Taste: Sweet and smoky.

Consistency: Barbecued or grilled it thickens and glues to the meats.

Packaging: The well known bulls head logo makes us think Bullseye invented BBQ Sauce. Although it’s just a solid design from the folks at Kraft (or their branding people).

Ingredients: Tomato Puree, Molasses, Vinegar, Salt, Modified Food Starch (less than 2%), Natural Smoke Flavor, Mustard Flour, Dried Onions, Spice, Dried Garlic.
Nutrition Facts: Calories per serving – 60, Total Fat – 0g, Sodium 330mg, Total Carb 13g (12g sugar), Protein – 0, Calcium 2%, Iron 4%

Wikipedia Entry for Bullseye BBQ Sauce

Bonus: Bullseye commercial (from the 1990s).

Site Editor, BBQ Sauce Lover, Family Guy, Hi Tech Marketer by Day. He recently wrote the Ebook “How to Market Your BBQ Sauce” which can be purchased on this site.

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Comments

  1. LINDA STANHOPE says

    I FOUND BULLSEYE CHIPOTLE SAUCE “ONE TIME” WHY CAN I NOT FIND IT AGAIN. I HAVE BEEN TO 5 DIFFERENT GROCERY CHAINS.
    P L E A S E TELL ME WHERE I CAN BUY THIS IN HOUSTON TEXAS 77079

    • not likin that crapola says

      bulls eye bbq sauce — the first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup– this crapola is for cows

      • Please contact Kraft and ask them to change Bulls Eye BBQ Sauce back to their original formula without corn syrup. It has been a recent change that they modified and are now using corn syrup. PLEASE join me in this complaint. Their web site still claims they do not use corn syrup so I am suggesting they change the recipe back rather than updating the web site. I’d rather pay a bit mroe adn get the great tasting NON corn syrup recipe that they sold last year.

        • I stopped reading BBQ sauce labels once I found Bull’s Eye didn’t have HFCS, but glad I recently read the label just to be sure once more and found it does now contain HFCS! I wrote Kraft and expressed my displeasure and that I would stop buying it. I did contact them through the Bull’s Eye website; we’ll see if I get a response. Told them I’d now be buying McCormick’s which doesn’t have HFCS – even at triple the price – it’s worth it!

        • I can guarantee that Kraft doesn’t care one little bit what you or anyone else thinks of their lousy corn syrup in Bull’s Eye Barbecue sauce. That’s just the way large corporations are. Do what I do…. make your own. There are copycat recipes that taste great and do not contain HFCS (unless you want to use it.) Call the phone number on the label, and find out for yourself.

    • I found it at the dollar tree!

  2. Hmm.
    It’s hard to track down these Kraft people.

    Kraft, being the owner of the Bullseye BBQ Sauce brand, has a website on the sauce (http://www.kraftfoods.com/bullseyebbq/) but the contact us link is broken. In fact, the Contact Us links are broken on their corporate webpage too. Kraft also has a store/product locator – which is also broken. WTF.

    My recommendation? Get some Chipotle Pepper sauce (made and packaged like Tabasco sauce)… and add it to Original Bullseye. Or try Sweet Baby’s Ray’s – their Honey Chipotle sauce is nice (I gave it 4/5). OR if you really want the real deal… order it online. I found it here: http://www.grocerygogo.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=30704

    Good luck,
    Brian

  3. Chris Russo says

    I actually went digging for reviews on BBQ sauce when it occurred to me I’d start putting my own online. Seems like you and others have that covered, however. 🙂

    Anyway, just out of curiosity I looked up a few sauces to see what your thoughts are, and was surprised to find I wasn’t the only one that felt that Bullseye was just a really good sauce.

    I feel kinda criminal buying in huge quantities and slathering it all over my grilled foods… but the stuff is really quite good. Much better than any other “supermarket brand” I’ve had.

    Anyway, just wanted to let you know I enjoyed the site and the reviews.

    • Bullseye was the best tasting sauce until they changed the recipe this year to now include corn syrup and it has compromised the flavor and quality for sure. Please contact Kraft and ask them to change the recipe back and not include any corn syrup. They have not updated their web site where they boldly sate that they do not use corn syrup. Please urge KRAFT to change back! I will pay slightly more for the original recipe rather than compromising taste and quality..

  4. Bryant Davis says

    Looking for Sponcers for Primo Grilling Event May 10th 2008

  5. I am handicapped and limitted as to how much time I can spend doing meal prep. so I am always on the lookout for acceptable short cuts. Bulls Eye is one of those. I no longer feel the need to fix a sauce from scratch and make a point of keeping plenty on hand. My family thinks I am still making my special bar-b-q sauce from scratch and am not about to tell them otherwise. Enjoy!!!!!!!

  6. New Recipe Bullseye is terrible! They have removed the high fructose corn syrup (probably due to the high price of corn) and the sauce has lost its thickness and much of its taste. They have ruined the best bbq sauce on the market.

    • Wow.. someone who actually WANTS HFCS?

      • I disagree . The sauce tastes best without corn syrup. Last year they did not have any corn syrup in it and now they do. Terrible change. Please complain to Kraft to have them go back to NO Corn syrup!

  7. I noticed that the Guinness version was thin, nothing like the Original. I thought it was just that version. Now I’ll have to look for a new sauce.

  8. David, what are you talking about? HFCS is crap and doesn’t belong in bbq sauce or any foods for that matter. The new recipe made with real sugar is so much better.

    • Bob please read some other recent reviews on Bullseye BBQ sauce. It WAS the best when it had NO corn syrup but this year, 2013, they made a change and it it now has corn syrup in it and it is terrible. Call Kraft and leave your request that they drop it out and go back tot he 2012 recipe.

  9. bullseye original is the best by far than any sauce you can get off the shelf. it is the by best by far hands down than any other sauce i have ever tasted. i cannot wait to try their other sauces. iam hooked on bulls-eye.

  10. I an American living in Thailand and found Bull’seye by accident. For a long time it was the only BBQ sauce I would buy – But……the only source I had for it stopped selling it and now sells only other brands. Luckily, I found a clone recipe for Bull’seye, made it and now do not buy BBQ sauces at all. I just keep the clone on hand at all times so that when my family and I want BBQ we have a goodly supply.

    Bon appetite!

  11. what year did bullseye come out?
    and please, if you love your customers, you’ll keep it around forever.

  12. LINDA STANHOPE:

    you can find it at………

    Fiesta

  13. All of the Wal-Mart stores in North Texas have pulled Bullseye from shelf. WHY ?

    I found some at our local Maw & Paw store bought the whole case.

  14. I agree with David (comment #6) above – the new Bullseye recipe is terrible. It has lost is original flavor by removing the corn starch and its thickness. The sauce is watered down and has a completely different taste tasting more vinegary like other BBQ sauces on the market. Plus, the color changed from darker to lighter and it just does not taste the same. VERY UPSET – THIS WAS THE BEST TASTING BBQ SAUCE ON THE MARKET and I will now have to find a new one but am not optimistic that anything will taste like the original Bullseye. Please bring back the original – you guys were the best!
    -Mark

  15. I’ve only had the newer non-corn syrup recipe but I’m in love with it.

    • Scott, Please complain to Kraft as they have change the Bullseye BBQ sauce this year (2013) and it now has the corn syrup and it is no longer the great tasting and good quality that it was.

  16. On finding Bullseye on the shelf – here is my theory. It was a small company getting a lot of attention for its good quality BBQ sauce. It might have been taking sales away from Kraft BBQ sauce, or at least had the potential of doing that. Kraft bought Bullseye and in a short time you can’t find it on the shelves any more. I think Kraft was willing to buy the company to shut it down and get rid of a competitor.

  17. This is my favorite cheap bbq sauce, and I’m so glad they took out the high fructose corn syrup. I hope others follow.

  18. This is the only BBQ sauce I eat. I have food sensitivities and must choose my food wisely. I don’t understand why Wal Mart discontinued it in my TX, NM area either. I found some at a Big 8 store, thank God. I hope they never take it off the market.

  19. P.S. I’m glad they took out the HFCS.

    • Michelle, Please contact Kraft to complain as they have made a change this year to now include corn syrup and it no longer has the great taste it did last year without any corn syrup

  20. We first tasted Bullseye back in the 80’s from sample packets at an Air Force Airshow. After trying it, we never used anything else. It was awesome. We can’t find it anywhere either. Useless Walmart doesn’t carry it anymore and we’ve tried other stores and nothing. We are quite upset about it. If we could find it somewhere, we also would buy it by the case.

  21. I was told about Bullseye back when I used to be a meat manager at a store on the coast of Maine by a salesperson and to take a sample home and try it that it was the best, so I did and it was damn good I recomended to all my customer and they all tried it. it was a thick, dark color, and would stick to the steaks without dripping off as you cooked that was about 20 years ago. Now I fine that its like putting ketchup on a piece of meat and trying to bar-b-que, it’s not as thick, the color is lighter, not to mention the taste is gone, but if you go to any of your fast foods places that serve Bullseye for thier dipping sauce you’ll fine that it’s the same old brand that we fell in love with…so what gives??? I guess what I’m trying to say is if they can pack and ship the good stuff to these food chains why the hell as a customer they can ship it to our stores, we are customers too!!! I’m all done with Bullseye’s sauces and will be telling my customers to try something new!!! VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!

  22. I agree with Mike. Bulls Eye changed their formula recently to something thin and watery. It just drips off the meat when you’re trying to barbecue. They’re probably trying to save money, but the result is that after 30 years of buying nothing else, I’m now exploring other alternatives. There’s an old saying “Don’t mess with success,” and another that says “It’s 10 times harder to attract new customers than to retain the ones you already have.” By messing with success, Bulls Eye had just lost a steady customer.

  23. franz hespenheide says

    Be advised: Kraft has changed the “Original Bullseye BBQ Sauce” ! IT IS NOT THE SAME AS THE
    ORIGINAL SAUCE !!! They have changed the ingredients so that the sauce is lighter in color, runnier in consistency, sweeter in taste, and less spicy. It is no longer my favorite BBQ sauce. They have reduced the amount of molasses and increased the amount of corn syrup. Therefore the sauce is sweeter (too sweet) and has more calories per serving. The FTC should make Kraft delete the word
    “original” from the label because they have substantially changed the product !

  24. Pro-HFCS dudes, all is not lost. First, HFCS is not a good thing to have in anything you eat. Second, I understand the feelings about the thinner consistency, though I don’t think the taste is much different. Nevertheless, what I do is follow the lead of America’s Test Kitchen: let’s say you have a couple 18 oz bottles. Empty ’em in a sauce pot, add a half cup of ketchup and half cup of molasses. Throw a quarter cup of cider vinegar, a bit of brown mustard, some garlic and onion powder, and pow, you are golden again. It takes no time at all and you’ll have your thickness and dark color back and it’ll taste wonderful. And no heinous, unhealthy HFCS. I just did it yesterday for the umpteenth time and it tasted great.

  25. Man I agree with the pro HFCS crowd. I used to LOVE this sauce it was the secret ingredient to one of my best BBQ recipes. I stayed away from eating BBQ after changing my eating habits but recently I decided to cheat.

    I saw the bottle say new formula no HFCS I’m thinking “big deal as long as it still tastes the same right?” WRONG! This new sauce is runny and has no thickness to it. It was a real disappointment when I talked up my recipe only to be disappointed by the BBQ sauce.

    I went back to the store again hoping they kept a “throwback” version for the guys that still love the original recipe and renamed it something different like the Kansas City Texas or Carolina, nope! All say sugar and not HFCS.

    I’m done with Bullseye and I’m gonna go experimenting with different sauces until I get that exact taste I’m looking for. I even considered adding Karo syrup to the Bullseye, I might do that and see how it turns out.

  26. This sauce goes way back with me I started with Kraft, then Bulls eye, then KC masterpiece and so on But all in all it is great

  27. Soapboxpreacher says

    I’ve said this before, for a grocery store brand sauce this stuff is great! no other grocery store sauce is this good. It is all natural, no High fructose corn syrup, it doesnt have a chemical taste to it. I however do not like sauces in plastic bottles. they tend to have a plastic taste. In glass…no problem. But the new no HFCS version is pretty good to me.

    • Come to Canada! They still say Bulls Eye in glass bottles here for some reason although I prefer the thinner plastic bottles I buy in Michigan. BTW anyone know where the Texas style went? It was the best!

  28. the HOT SOUTHERN CAJUN was my favorite. Could only get it from Canada bad can;t seem to get it from there anymore.Buy it by the case.

  29. Never tried the hot southern cajun – but I think I met one on a trip to New Orleans !!!

  30. I don’t understand why Kraft stopped making the Bull’s-Eye Thick n Spicy sauce. I believe they stopped making it about 2-3 years ago. Now they have all these other flavors which to me tase like crap. My motto is “if something is not broke then don’t fix it”. Sometimes people try and be too fancy when things are fine just the way they are.

  31. I found that Bullseye has a great real smokey flavor as well as no high fructose corn syrups. That is why I chose it. I am cooking two slabs of ribs right now. One is the guiness beer Bullseye and the other is hickory smoke Bullseye. I am smelling all kinds of flavors. I have the bestt rib recipe ever as well. I seriously love the thickness of the bbq sauce as well.

  32. All you folks lamenting the move away from high fructose corn syrup are absolutely crazy. I’m no super health nut, but I definitely try to avoid that stuff whenever possible. Despite what the corn lobbyists will tell you, it is highly processed, and both its inclusion in many food products on the shelves and our love for processed and preprepared foods mean we eat way to much of it whether we want to or not. Plus, it just doesn’t taste as good.

    I specifically started buying Bulls-Eye BBQ sauce because it doesn’t contain any HFCS, and I think it tastes just fine to use on occasions when I don’t feel like making my own BBQ sauce. Try adding some chipotle Tobasco or Cholula hot sauce to the Sweet & Tangy sauce. It’s great!

    • Please join me in complaining to Kraft who in 2013 has started using corn syrup and the Bullseye BBQ sauce has lost its superior flavor and is terrible now. It will NOT continue to win any contests with this recipe. I’d rather pay a bit more than compromise quality with a cheaper sweetener.

  33. I think the people responsible for HFCS have invaded this site and infected it with their spurious points of view. The Bull’s Eye BBQ sause (without HFCS) is highest test rated BBQ Sause in the country. This is probably why WalMart pulled it from their shelves … “our customers don’t appreciate quality”.

  34. Michelle says

    But it’s now back on the Wal Mart shelves at the store in my area. It wasn’t for a while though, probably while they were making the change in ingredients.

  35. I like the Bulls Eye advert! They are great!

  36. i can drink the whole bottle by its self

  37. I think all of the pro-corn syrup posts are all from the same guy. The same, sad guy. With that said, I just bought a bottle of bullseye at the fresh grocer in Philly and it contained corn syrup now. What gives?

  38. Just bought a bottle of Bull’s-eye Original and it NOW CONTAINS HFCS. We were using the product because it did not contain high fructose corn syrup but it is now the FIRST ingredient on the label. I will be returning it.

    • Yes, return it and contact Kraft directly to complain. By the way, this change has been recent as my old bottle was the original recipe with out corn syrup. I bought a new bottle and thought I must have bought the wrong flavor but then I realized that the compromised flavor came from the fact they changed to high fructose corn syrup. If enough of us call and complain after returning bottles to the store, they will listen. I have experienced two companies who tried to cut their costs by using corn sweetener and they got so many complaints that they went back to their original recipes without it. (Juice Squeeze by Crystal Geyser back in 1995 or so and also Branola Bread in early 2000 something.)

  39. Yep, I bought this brand because it had no HFCS in it, but bought 2 bottles last weekend without reaffirming and as I peeled the label to open the cap I looked at the ingredients again to find *sigh* HFCS. I am so angry! It was the ONLY sauce on the shelf without it at walmart and it was affordable! Now, nothing separates it from the cheapo stuff… I can buy bad quality at half the price.

  40. Hey Brian,

    Good review. I agree with you that there are far better sauces out there, made by companies that put care into each individual sauce (as opposed to mass producing it as Kraft does with Bull’s-Eye).

    That said, I did try Bull’s-Eye Original for the very first time today. It really wasn’t bad, as far as mass produced brands go!

    A question: have you tried any of their other flavors? Are any of them worth it? As I said, the original is pretty good; are any of the other flavors as good or better?

    Thank you for your thoughts!
    Matt

  41. Bullseye USED to be a decent BBQ sauce. Then for some idiotic reason, they decided to start making it with High Fructose Corn Syrup. As long as they make it with HFCS, won’t be in our cupboard.

  42. agree it didn’t have high fructose before.psst off

  43. I agree.I stocked up on bulls eye and now I’m stuck with it. full of HFCS not healthy corn makes you fat.

    • Dawn, return it and contact Kraft directly to complain. By the way, this change has been recent as my old bottle was the original recipe with out corn syrup. I bought a new bottle and thought I must have bought the wrong flavor but then I realized that the compromised flavor came from the fact they changed to high fructose corn syrup. If enough of us call and complain after returning bottles to the store, they will listen. I have experienced two companies who tried to cut their costs by using corn sweetener and they got so many complaints that they went back to their original recipes without it. (Juice Squeeze by Crystal Geyser back in 1995 or so and also Branola Bread in early 2000 something.)

  44. Go read my post from October 7, 2010 at 2:41 pm I havent bought Bullseye since

    Thank You Kraft for listening to your customers. Now that I hear the HFCS is back I’m going to buy some. They must have lost a some money to Sweet Baby Rays or something.

    Sorry to burst your bubble Dawn but the ORIGINAL recipe always contained HFCS.

  45. Robert Currall says

    Shame on Kraft to change their formula on the Bull’s Eye to include Hi Fructose corn crap. And call it ORIGINAL. I’ll buy another brand thankyou

  46. Debbie Stone says

    Kraft says they are changing formula of Bulls-Eye BBQ sauce to NOT include HFCS-Now in the year of 2014 it still says it here in NC. Did they really take it out, or did they just say that they did so we would buy it. Totally crap-

  47. I think in general, Kraft products have gone downhill. Cracker Barrel cheese used to be top-notch; now it is ”Meh” (try Cabot’s Vermont). I quit buying Kraft BBQ sauce when I noticed half of it was falling off the meat. I like Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory & Brown Sugar, but recently noticed the main ingredient is HFCS. Now, I don’t have the constitutional aversion to corn syrup some do (sugar is sugar, biochemically), but it should not be the leading ingredient in a sauce.

  48. Dear Linda.
    Shut THE HELL UP! GOW Many times can you beat a goddamned horse to death??? Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!!!!

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