Holy moly - it almost took four months to review this product! Bill, and many others waiting for their sauces to be reviewed, my apologies! I will spare the long explanation, but I can guarantee you I’ve been busy (kids, work, computer issues, weddings, etc) but I’ve remained BBQ’ing the whole time. I’ve had various varieties come in from all over the world country, and I gotta say this sauce stacks way up there. With it’s deep red hue and a deep complex flavor to match, this sauce has been my favorite around the house for the past few weeks. In fact, it’s the only sauce my wife has been referring to by name. The other ones she just kinda points at - this one? Or how bout this one? :) For that and for the reasons listed herein, it gets my highest rating of 5 stars.
After a new baby daughter and a hard drive crash, I’m back up and saucing. So first off, thanks to the friendly woman who sent me the free samples of Borderline Gourmet’s Chipotle and Habanero. And aahh… well… you just might not want to read the rest…
BBQ Sauce vendors - it seems like this is a huge opportunity for you to serve a market that is confused by too many choices and not enough nutritional information on each label. If I were in the business, I’d quickly introduce a line of the Gluten-free type… stick it in Whole Foods or someplace like that…
Seriously- if anyone is still reading this blog - there is a steady stream of people searching for Gluten-Free ingredients, recipes, and foods. And it’s increasing. The question for a manufacturer is to determine if the gluten-free thing is a long-term trend (good) or a short-term fad (bad). Diet soda = trend. Jolt / OK Soda = Fad.
There are several good blogs out there for people wanting more info such as this one, I am Gluten Free, from a woman in Massachusetts who suffers from Coeliac Disease.
I want to start listing some commercial gluten-free varieties and link to some recipes here.
These are all ready to go in my pantry. I will do the review with the most votes.
Bone Suckin Mustard
Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q Habanero Red Sauce
Stubbs Smokey Mesquite Bar-B-Q Sauce
Emeril’s Sweet Original BAM! B-Q Barbecue Sauce
Edited Jan 12th: It has been decided. Last time I reviewed Big Bob Gibson’s sauce, I slammed em. I grilled tonight… and I should have a review up by end of the week… stay tuned!
Wait. I thought BBQ Sauce Reviews did the reviews. What’s going on here??
Looks like the tides have turned and BBQ Sauce Reviews has gotten a review from a VERY honest and respectable BBQ site - White Trash BBQ. The complete review is here. The dude looks at the site from a few angles and praises most of our unique approach… Needless to say, we’re pretty excited about being noticed by a BBQ guru!
Here’s a few excerpts:
“It’s been awhile since I recommend another website, but I have a good one for you today. It’s called BBQ Sauce Reviews. The site’s been up about 6 months now and I’ve enjoyed reading their reviews. I don’t always agree with them, but it’s always a good read.”
“I was surprised when I first started to read the reviews that the authors took into consideration the taste of the sauce after it had been cooked on the meat. That’s something I’ve always thought was the absolute ONLY way to review a barbecue sauce. Unfortunately, that’s not how it’s done at the competitions. Usually, barbecue sauce is reviewed only straight out of the jar. And that’s a pity. The magic of the heat and the smoke can transform a sauce. Sometimes they shine after the fire, other times they fall apart. I really applaud the reviewers for taking this into account.”
“I do love that the guys over there come up with all sorts of boutique sauces and they still review the mass market sauces. When you get a chance, stop by BBQ Sauce Reviews. You’ll be glad you did.”
Thanks White Trash BBQ, and thanks to anyone else enjoying our reviews and telling others about the site.
There’s so much wrong with this sauce, it’s hard to begin. A noxious taste is still in my mouth, like a mud pie - but worse. I’d rather eat dirt than this stinky, synthetic blend of cheap ingredients. I’d rather drink oil (not car oil, more like olive oil which isn’t so bad…)
The best part of running this website is the fact that people are sending me free sauces. The other part is meeting people from different places… People have come from a variety of backgrounds - large multi-national brands, US only brands, successful regional brands that are trying to expose their sauces to larger audiences, and sometimes people send me sauces in their early “infancy stage.”
I gotta admit, I am a little skeptical of just opening up anything in a bottle mailed to me, however after a brief dialog with Chuck himself, I was put at ease, and eager to have a taste. Along with two glass bottles of his Drunken Pepper Spicy Barbeque Sauce, he sent some of his STB spices, as well as a paper survey for reviewers to complete - an excellent way to get feedback indeed. Currently this is not something you can buy, but hopefully with some of the comments from other reviewers and yours truly, this will change in time…
Phil Ford, a real estate appraiser and father of four in Raleigh, North Carolina, developed his sauce around 1987 while trying to copy his mother’s recipe for a western North Carolina-style barbecue sauce.
The resulting all natural, fat-free, fragrant blend of ingredients include: tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, honey, molasses, mustard, horseradish, lemon juice, onions, garlic, peppers, natural hickory smoke, natural spices and salt.
This one gets BBQSR props for a magical combination of quality ingredients, simple packaging, clever name, and well balanced flavor. The only thing I found slightly lacking (a stretch) was that the consistency was a bit on the thin side.
The smell is wonderful - a sweet yet complex aroma with hints of apple, mustard, lemon, onions, and the “smokiness” that all barbecue sauces attempt. I could see putting this on almost anything - I think I want to try this on swordfish next, then a Bone Suckin Burger after that.
The first time I tried this stuff was a long time ago, during my college days, before I knew much about BBQ and grilling… and I had slathered the stuff on before the meat was ready for a barbecue bath. The result was a less-than-tasty, blackened mess. Bad experience for a bad griller - I blame it on the beer I was drinking at the time.
But my most recent, and sober, experience was a meal of half rack of ribs and a few chicken wings all done the right way, when the meat is at about the 75th percentile of BBQ cookage. This way, the sweets didn’t completely die and I was able to take in one of the best natural- ingredient sauces on the market…
In the category of awful contests where people make complete fools of themselves, the Grillmaster (aka Chip Mcafee) ends up with what appears to be charboiled rocks on a frisbee. Disgusting. Another special appearance by our friend Bullseye.
Meet Wayco. Some common Q+A on this video… Does he have a problem? Nope. Is he crazy? Not to me. Do I like this guy? Um… yeah, I guess I do… check out the cameo by our good friend Sweet Baby Ray.
Over at Atomic Shopping, the sales for an affordable chocolate fountain fondue-type machine are going well until Barry recommends filling it with BBQ sauce.
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.
Bob Gibson was big… around 6 foot 3 and weighed between 275 and 295. Nowadays, he’s dead, but oh boy back in the day, growing up in rural Alabama as a rail line worker, he’d invite folks over to his house where he’d barbecue practically all weekend long. Hell yeah! They say he never met a stranger (because everyone already knew of him - get it?) For more on the history of Bob, watch this nicely done 4 min video.
Anyway, what started as a backyard BBQ turned into a hugely popular restaurant (one frequently called one of the top ten BBQ joints in the country) and a wide offering of sauces, including the 4 recently mailed to me:
Championship Red Sauce
Habenero Red Sauce
Original White Sauce
Backyard Mustard Sauce
I’ll get to the other sauces soon enough, but let’s jump into the tasting of the Championship Red Sauce, shall we? While the BBQ joint in Decatur Alabama receives accolades for being a fine purveyor of slow cooked pork and poultry, it is now a fairly substantial merchandiser. Which kinda sucks.
As high tech as me having this blog could be considered, I’m still a traditionalist in some respects. I like my rock-stars to be completely crazed lunatics that are caught up in drugs I’ve never heard of. I’d rather play real live tennis or go to a bowling alley, than play it a pretend version on a video screen… gamers. And for BBQ - I like underdogs - and I give natural BBQ sauces a boost. I’m sick of eating things I can’t spell - which is where this particular sauce lose a lot of it’s appeal for me. There’s a bunch of preservatives (I guess you gotta have a shelf life), a bunch of artificial flavors, some Worcestershire sauce, and TWO STEAK SAUCES?! It’s like Bob’s relatives were raiding the pantry to find the crap to load up this bottle. And it’s obvious with the two “Best Ever” Awards emblazoned on the bottle I’m sure the stuff has sold very well and perhaps prepared very well at the festivals… but I think the sauce itself is kinda weak.
Don’t fall for this bottle marketing BS:
“It took my family over 70 years and four generations to perfect this barbeque sauce recipe. Not until we were convinced that this thick red sauce was the best barbeque sauce in the world would we place the Bog Bob Gibson’s name on it. We hope you enjoy this unique flavor.”
If you watch the video above, it looks like it took about nine months to make the sauce. Hmm. The internet age is here, and I’ve got my eye on you, BBG! And also - you spelled barbecue wrong. C’mon Bob!
The sauce did win several awards, which I would attribute to BBQ technique and not the sauce itself (my guess is that it’s substantially different that the crap they put in bottles). Those awards include some big ones:
Won First at American Royal International Barbecue Contest Kansas City, MO
Rated Best at Memphis in May International Cookoff, Memphis TN
On to the Rating
Enough stumbling around and vague chit chat. I’d give Big Bobs Championship Red Sauce a 2 out of five.
Here’s why:
Packaging OK presentation and representation of the overall brand. These guys win awards and should certainly brag about em… I’d recommend working in a little more Bob into the overall picture.
BBQ Sauce Consistency
The video told me alot… they aimed for a thick sweet sauce, and ended with a somewhat thin liquid (at least the bottled version). Use some Xanthan gum next time! Just don’t get it from China. Also you couldn’t see to many spices flowing out with this sauce - it screams I am mass produced all over it. Bob - what the fuck, man?
Taste and Smell
First sniff is like ketchup with hints of Worcestershire - simple, plain, nothing special. After reading the ingredients (after I ate) and seeing (and imagining) steak sauces being dumped into this sauce, I pictured A1 steak sauce combined with Open Pit BBQ sauce. Then I threw up. Just kidding. I thought of a drunk dude in a kitchen mucking around with the items available to him - yummy - here’s some soy sauce, oh and some steak sauce, molasses, oh Natural Smoke - nice!
I cooked up a few bucks worth of drumsticks to test it out, and - it was OK. I tend to think most BBQ chicken is good. Especially when I cook it. But this variety lacked zing or standout qualities. I really can’t say it was good; it seemed fairly plain. When I basted on the sauce I needed tons of it, because it was so thin (even with my new kickass bristle baster). And the ingredient overload just kinda makes me think the restaurant is numero one for these guys, and they probably don’t use anything like this mass produced variant of the real thing. Bob and Family. Hook us up with the real thing!
Ingredients:
Water, high fructose corn syrup, tomato paste, distilled water, brown sugar, molasses, salt, worcestershire sauce, onion, soy sauce, modified food starch, spices, 2 types of steak sauce, smoke flavor, sodium benzoate, potssium sorbate, beef flavor, garlic, lemon juice concenrate, natural and artificial flavors.
Nutrition Information:
Calories per 100 grma serving 52 Total fat 0g Cholesteral 0mg Sodium 280 mg Total carbs 12g Protein 0mg Vit a 8% Vit C 4% Calcium 2% Iron 0%
After a little BBQ sauce hiatus I am back and more ready than ever to keep grilling - throughout the winter. That’s right - throughout the cold New England winter. Maybe I’m crrrrrazy.
Globally, weather has been pretty flaky recently, so I’m guessing we either have the snowiest, coldest winter in history - or the most mild winter ever. Unless Al Gore fixes it by then
Stick with me folks… I’ve got Big Bob Gibson, Trader Joe’s Bold & Smoky KC Style, Sticky Fingers Carolina, Bone Suckin Sauce, and Bullseye Bar-B-queued up!
The same company that conceived and delivered the magnificent Carribean Calypso failed to excite my tastebuds with a somewhat toxic smelling/tasting mixture of Water, Sugar, Soy Sauce, and Molasses.
Luckily - I did not puke.
Also - here’s an interesting example of where a hard slanted marketing direction takes a beating. When you think of New Orleans nowadays, what do you think about? How’s about a monster of a storm called Katrina. I don’t think about eating BBQ when I think of unfortunate people devastated by natural disaster.
Cool label, but random/poor marketing on the bottle: Paying the Blues it’s Dues… 3 cents from every bottle goes to supporting the blues… in Memphis TN. I thought I was supporting New Orleans.
This stuff just tasted like plastic and ruined my dinner.
Clearly marketed towards big loud chopper owners, the references aren’t too strong enough to turn off those of us who aren’t bikers.
How many references to Harley’s can you find on this bottle? I found 5
The manufacturer describes this as “an aggressive, crimson-red, tomato-based sauce riddled with spices you can see, smell and taste,” and I’d agree.
This sauce was easily the best of a recent batch of three random varieties I just got in. The consistency was thin yet stable and clung to the meat well. There was just enough heat (provided by cayenne peppers) to really add life to really tasty set of wings. This one really is unique in that it provides the three major BBQ flavors: sweet, spicy, and sour (tangy). If you are looking for something that tastes slightly different, has no preservatives, and supports really loud forms of transportation - this one is for you!
Smell: Nice with a very natural scent.
Taste: Sweet, sour, and a dab of spicy. Unique, yet not overpowering.
Consistency: One tiny nit is that it pours a little thin, but you can really see the spices as they flow out of the bottle and into intermediate basting container… and it clings well to ________ (insert favorite meat here).
Packaging: Fun “Harley-marketing”, but cheap plastic bottle. Guess it’s good if you’re like me with a kid or kids running around grabbing everything they can!
You can call me names, and slap me silly, but you won’t change my mind. I love Miracle Whip. On sandwiches, as a burger condiment, with cake and ice cream.
I discovered this magic combination last year after catching a big striper (striped bass) on Martha’s vineyard. On our boat we caught enough fish for an extended family gathering with about 12 people. We had the fish filleted and bagged for easy transport home. I cooked it half using a Bobby Flay Orange-Mango sauce recipe from one of his books (which my wife got autographed from the man) called Boy Meets Grill. The other half was cooked in a ginger terayaki sauce. While the bass cooked, I “whipped” up some of my Miracle Chipotle for a dipping sauce with the ginger terayaki bass, using about a teaspoon of Tabasco Chipotle flavor for every couple of heaping tablespoons of Miracle Whip (hint: start slow and stop when it tastes really good).
The taste combines the tangy-sweet zing of miracle whip with a fine smokiness that will enhance just about any type of BBQ, especially grilled fish. Probably could use mayonnaise too… if you are turned off by the Whip.
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White Trash BBQ is the story of a fire obsessed guy, living in Brooklyn, with a dream of producing award winning, competition busting, real Barbeque. Come live the dream as he compete's around the country in the KCBS Championship Barbecue circuit.
National Barbecue News is the world's number one publication dedicated to the sport of barbecue. News, recipes, products, and cooking contests for restaurants and barbecue enthusiasts.
The best part of running this website is the fact that people are sending me free sauces. The other part is meeting people from different places… People have come from a variety of backgrounds - large multi-national brands, US only brands, successful regional brands that are trying to expose their sauces to larger audiences, and sometimes people send me sauces in their early “infancy stage.”
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.
Also you couldn’t see to many spices flowing out with this sauce - it screams I am mass produced all over it. Bob - what the fuck, man?
Clearly marketed towards big loud chopper owners, the references aren’t too strong enough to turn off those of us who aren’t bikers.
