Store Bought BBQ Sauce Survey

[Buckeye_Local]

Question of the day = My fav store bought BBQ sauce in Bullseye, I want to try other brands to see if I like any others better. What do you think about Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce? and what is your favorite brand of store bought BBQ sauce and what flavor?

[Kontxesi]

Sweet Baby Ray's is our go-to brand. I like the original and the hickory/brown sugar.

I'm not sure if it is a regional thing, but if they sell it in your area, you should try Bone Suckin' Sauce. It's thinner than your typical bbq sauce, but it tastes absolutely fantastic.

[bruce9432]

Only on the internet but Jeff Foxworthy's Original Grilling Sauce is really good, however, the postage ups the price

[madeliner]

Open pit

it is nice and tangy and does not have liquid smoke in it (don't like that stuff at all!)

[jrvedivici]

I just posted this on another thread but since I have discovered Sweet Baby Ray's it is my go to BBQ sauce for all needs. If I want it spicey for BBQ wings with a kick I'll add some cayenne pepper to it...but by far hands down my favorite BBQ sauce.

[John Francis]

I like Trader Joe's All-Natural Barbecue Sauce. Besides tasting good (on the sweet side), it's probably healthier than some others; the ingredients list is water, tomato paste, sugar, distilled vinegar, corn starch, salt, spice, molasses, natural flavor, caramel color, onion and garlic.

[alliegator]

Sweet Baby Ray's is my usual sauce, but more recently I've been dropping in at Buffalo Wild Wings to buy bottles of their Hot BBQ. That stuff has a good kick and is seriously addictive.

[Enigma3]

We like a variety of bbq sauces.
We are close to Dinosaur BBQ and we like the original and Wango Tango (for a kick). Their dry rub, Cajun Foreplay, is good too.
Been a big fan of Arthur Bryant's original on pork, pulled or ribs. Wonderful unique taste.
Regular choices are Cattleman's, KC Masterpiece, and Jim Beam.
We use Stubbs for a marinade.

[LindaWhit]

I've stepped away from Sweet Baby Ray's because it has HFCS. Bought Bullseye for my pulled pork a few months ago and *love* it. Will be my go-to (with some doctoring as I did with the pulled pork).

[mcf]

I never bought it because its total sugar content was higher than most desserts I eat. In 2 TBS!

[LindaWhit]

Hence the "Sweet" leading adjective in its name. :-)

[mcf]

Yes, I know, but with 1/3 the sugar it would STILL be sweet! There's sweet, and then there's SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET. :-)

[LindaWhit]

Looks like a lot of people like SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET. :-)

[mcf]

I KNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!? :-)

[biondanonima]

I love Maull's, but it's only available in St. Louis and nearby areas, so generally I make my own. Most nationally available brands are too sweet and not complex enough.

[Westy]

Another vote for Maull's.

[mike0989]

I like a vinegary spicy sauce. With that in mind I go for either Stubbs spicy or Bone Suckin spicy. These are both more in line with what I make myself. KC and the others are just too sweet for me.

[Antilope]

In this order:

My own homemade to which I add Hickory liquid smoke.
Sweet Baby Ray's (I usually use this in recipes like BBQ Ham & Pineapple pizza sauce).
Bulls-Eye.
KC Masterpiece.

[Janet from Richmond]

Our favorite is Bone Suckin' Sauce, especially for pork.

http://bonesuckin.com/

[Big Bad Voodoo Lou]

My new favorite bottled barbecue sauce is from a homegrown restaurant empire on the rise, 4 Rivers Smokehouse, based right here in the Orlando area. They first opened in 2008 and now have three extremely popular local locations. They're probably the best barbecue in Florida, and their Signature Sauce is awesome (and well worth a try via mail order, for all you non-locals).

http://www.4rsmokehouse.com/featured-...

[chocolatetartguy]

I've liked a couple of the Jack Daniel's sauces. Don't really remember which but they had a touch of sweetness.

[juster]

No votes for Head Country? Here's one! It's not too sweet, has some tang, and is flavorful, not one-dimensional. I don't know how widely available it is, but I'm in New Mexico, and I know it's not from around here. Only in certain stores, though. It's my and my SO's fave. Has anyone else even tried it? (mcf, it has 11 g of carb and 5 g of sugars per 2 TBS. not sure which you're looking at.

[THoey1963]

I like the Stubbs Spicy. But agree, tastes differ from person to person, YMMV...

[cantbeatgoodfood]

First i enjoyed kc masterpiece,then it was sweet baby rays,now i really enjoy Guy Fieri bourbon brown sugar sweet & sticky sauce,sold at local shoprite,Very Good sauce!!

[Midlife]

I've recently found Peter Luger Steak Sauce at a local market. Not technically a BBQ sauce, but really, really good. A little pricey, perhaps, but I had to try it and have gotten hooked.

[Jeanne]

I make my own - as others have said, it is so easy and so much better.

I will use Bone Suckin Sauce. It's very good and very close to what I make myself. It's becoming easier to find in stores, too.

www.bonesuckin.com

[aynrandgirl]

Legends BBQ Habañero

[alkapal]

just tried "garland jack's secret six" texas style bbq sauce (original flavor) from kraft. wins in head to head with kc masterpiece (original flavor) in yesterday's test.

good texas=style tangy tomato-based not-really-sweet sauce, with medium not gloppy body. medium spice, with a little heat. having just gotten bbq from texas in south texas, this sauce was a dead ringer for the bbq joint stuff. two thumbs up.

though not tested head to head, i think i might take this over sweet baby ray's.

will do a head to head with cattleman's next.

[jumpingmonk]

I'm currenly using Rufus Teauge's as my sauce of Choice. I use the "Honey Sweet" but I like my sauce really sweet and not really spicy at all, so someone with more conventional tastes might do better going for the "Touch of Heat" (or for people who like to burn, the "Blazin' Hot")

[Clams047]

KC Masterpiece original gets my vote for store bought. However, I always pick up two jars of Williamson Bros when in the Marrietta GA area which lasts me about half the year. .

[Leadmine]

The most praise I've gotten from folks I've had over for ribs were the times I've used Sweet Baby Ray's or KC Masterpiece - both bought on sale with coupons that ended up being pretty much free. Not my personal favorites, but most folks tend to like sweet sauce for ribs. Pretty sure there's a style of KC - maybe the original - that doesn't use HFCS.

[Cheez62]

My favorite store-bought is probably Cattlemen's Still on the sweet side for me, but I can doctor it different ways, depending on what it's going to sauce. Sweet Baby Ray's is good, but just too sweet for my tastes. I think I tried SBR's "Sweet and Spicy" or something like that once, and liked it better. My favorite bottled sauce is not really a store-bought sauce, at least not here in Ohio, but it would be Rudy's, from the San Antonio and Austin area chain. I like that stuff a lot.

[LoBrauHouseFrau]

I've tried several of the grocery store available sauces, and for me, Sweet Baby Ray's is the only one worth buying. I have to buy two bottles at a time because my husband uses it as a condiment on almost everything.

[hynespb]

Annie B's for me. Order a couple bottles every few months. Lasts a while.

http://www.anniebsbbq.com/

[CDouglas]

Stubbs does not use HFCS and is by far the best store bought sauce. Dinosaur is good as well but it does list green peppers as an ingredient. Strange.

Stubbs makes a Hickory Bourbon and a Honey Pecan flavor which will knock your socks off.

[mcf]

"Stubbs does not use HFCS and is by far the best store bought sauce."

Tastes differ.

[srsone]

i use

http://www.bbqsaucereviews.com/
for picking new sauces to try...

for just supermarket sauce...
i usually go with kc masterpiece...
or sometimes even kraft...

[bbqboy]

Kraft? Really?

[srsone]

when its bogo andi have a coupon and im making a large pack of bbq chicken for picnics...
so no ..not all the time...

i also like bone suckin sauce...

[bbqboy]

Oh, its OK. Now Kraft I would have to doctor as flavrmeister described above. :)

[srsone]

usually when i have to bring chicken to our friends picnics..(they dont care so much for brand as long as it says bbq sauce on the label)

one time i dry rubbed ribs with mccormick mesquite rub and finished withkraft bbq sauce...they told me it was the best ribs they ever made/had...

so their bar isnt set to high...
i have been trying for years to elevate their tastes ....

[chileheadmike]

When I first started doing barbecue competitions (mid 90's) most teams would use some form of doctored up Kraft. Not so much any more.

I like Gate's or Blues Hog.

[jmckee]

I like Stubbs and Roadhouse.

[merg01]

We like Sweet Baby Ray's new chipolte flavor.

[melpy]

I use this for ribs... mixture of KC Masterpiece original flavor and Open Pit original (either equal parts or a little extra KC because it is sweeter). Open Pit is hard to find but Walmart carries it (one of the only things I buy threre!).

[MysticYoYo]

Melpy, if you happen to live in California, Nevada, Texas or Arizona, the "99 Cent Only" stores are selling Open Pit Barbecue sauce for (you guessed it) 99 cents a bottle.

I look for a sauce that doesn't list HFCS or some form of sugar as its first ingredient. I read years ago in some cooking mag that a good BBQ sauce should list tomato as its first ingredient, so that's the first thing I look for. Bulls Eye's spicy sauce and Cattleman's are two that I've used and liked. I know Stubbs is very popular but I find it too acidic and vinegary.

[Perilagu Khan]

The first ingredient for my own personal BBQ sauce is Coca Cola. Ketchup is second. Then again, I like a sauce that is on the thin side.

[bbqboy]

Roadhouse, available mainly in the Midwest. A little more expensive, but well worth it for the taste and quality of ingredients.

[achtungpv]

Make your own. it is so easy and odds are you have everything in your pantry.

Here's mine which is a knock off of City Market in Luling, TX. It's a traditional central TX sauce...

1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup yellow mustard
2 Tbs white vinegar
3 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs Louisiana hot sauce (not Tabasco)
2 teaspoons black pepper

Simmer for 30 minutes. It's money.

[meatn3]

I used to conduct taste tests for a grocery chain. The most popular bbq sauce we tried was Dinosaur brand, their original iirc.

I recently tasted a new one which is very good, Outta The Park! This is NC made and fairly new, so not sure of the distribution range.
http://carolinasauce.stores.yahoo.net...

[jeanmarieok]

I don't think Dinosaur is that widely available. We like it, too, but I usually buy it when I am in NY, close to their home base.

[meatn3]

Good point - I've seen it at Whole Foods across the country. Not so much at conventional groceries.

[sr44]

+1 for Dinosaur, but you're right, it's not available everywhere.

[mcf]

Anything with less than 5-7 grams of sugar per 2 TBS is worth a try for me. So far, that narrows it down to D.L. Jardines Killer for me, homemade, or NC style, not Texas.

[mcf]

Lately, I've been loving another sauce by the same company, Jardine's... their Mesquite sauce is very smoky, very low sugar, got some bite.

[Big Bad Voodoo Lou]

One more vote for Sweet Baby Ray's, either the original or honey chipotle.

Sonny's Real Pit Barbecue (a Florida-based BBQ chain) sells its own sauces in bottles, and its sweet sauce is one of my favorites as well.

[Kajikit]

Sonny's sauce is great... they changed the recipe for awhile and put cheaper ingredients in it (msg, ick) but apparantly that didn't go well and they've changed it back again.

[chef chicklet]

I like my own best, slightly sweet, tangy with vinegar, and a nice lingering of hot spice that doesn't kill your taste buds. However, when I eat store made, I like anything with heat, and one of the best I found at a farmers market, made with mango and habanero peppers, sugar, and not sure what else. I'd love to try to recreate that one, it was a knock out on baby baby back ribs.
The other more commonly made, like Bullseye, Krafts, I pass. I just hate the fact that if I buy a bbq sauce and I have to doctor it up to make it taste good, what's the point.

[flavrmeistr]

All store-bought barbeque sauces require doctoring. For that reason, almost any sauce that is on sale will do for a base. I mix them half and half with mojo criollo (Cuban barbeque marinade) and some of the following:

Lime juice
pineapple juice
Thai chilies and garlic
passionfruit concentrate
guava nectar
Captain Morgan's rum (the vanilla flavor is nice)
A1 sauce

[bbqboy]

No, all store bought sauces do no require that. Gates and Arthur Bryant's, to name 2 KC
area sauces are fine the way they are. They would be unrecognizable with that stuff in them.

[flavrmeistr]

That's the whole point.

[jeanmarieok]

For sweet sauce - we love Sweet Baby Ray's. For not too sweet sauce, I usually make my own.

[EWSflash]

I bought some stubbs and didn't think it had enough oomph, so I added a chipotle, some cherry & apricot preserves, lemon juice, molasses, tamarind paste, and some other things that I disremember and cooked it for a while, the result was the best thing I've ever tasted.
I admit I like a sweet element in BBQ sauce, along with some tartness, and a lot of flavor, then I don't use very much.

[bbqboy]

previously:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/619663

[Delucacheesemonger]

That was a good thread, my fav still GA Pig or Blue Front

[gordeaux]

As far a big brand that should be readily available in any decent sized supermarket, I like Bullseye as well. I tend to buy Sweet Baby Ray's much more often because of the price. During holidays, Sweet Baby Ray's can be found for like 69 cents at a bunch of stores around here, so, it's my stock up brand of choice to always have on hand. I go for original flavor, or they make a "honey chipotle" which has a green emblem on the label. It has a decent creeper heat to it.

[CyndiA]

I write on grilling and barbecue. Some of my favorites are the small batch online sauces like Firefighter's, Big Butz, Game Day Eats and Nephew's. On the shelf across a fairly decent area would be Allegro (and add their marinades too which are fabulous) and quickly becoming easy to find would be Stubb's. Bone Suckin' is quite popular as well (but I find it a little too sweet but still good).

[juli5122]

I like the Sweet Baby Rays. It has a nice flavor. If I want spicy bbq then I add a little hot sauce. Either way is good.

[jmckee]

I was introduced to Sweet Baby Ray by a slavic doctor of our acquaintance who said, (imagine with accent), "Is not comparison to pork with Sweet Baby Ray."

[Christina D]

Sweet Baby Ray's for us here too. The kids like the original, but I like sweet & spicy.

[Surfwench]

"Ladies and Gentlemen; I'm a cook" Not too sweet.

[Mayor of Melonville]

That would be Stubb's, I believe..................

[Bax]

Stubb's is good. And I think is readily available at regular ol' grocery stores.

[Sherri]

I won't be much help - I either make my own or buy Joe's BBQ sauce at the restaurant in Gilbert.

Good luck on your hunt.

-----
Joe's Real Barbecue
301 N Gilbert Rd, Gilbert, AZ 85234

[Bill Hunt]

We really like Bronco Bob's Bacon Chipotle, but it is tough to find. Our AJ's used to carry it, but now only stock some of the others.

Good luck,

Hunt