BBQ Sauce
Update: April, 2007
The Texas Best brand is no longer in production; we continue, however, to recommend Bull's Eye Original BBQ Sauce.
This article was published in the May, 2005, issue of Cook's Country, sister magazine to Cook's Illustrated. This updated a tasting that appeared in the July, 2003 issue.
Homemade barbecue sauce is a project recipe requiring a laundry list of ingredients and a good chunk of time. No wonder bottled barbecue sauce is so popular. But in just one local supermarket, we found more than 30 varieties! To make sense of all these options, we conducted a blind taste test of eight leading national brands.
We chose tomato-based sauces that were labeled “original” and tasted them as a dipping sauce for homemade chicken fingers. While tasters’ personal preferences varied, we found a few sauces that were universally liked and a few that universally disliked. Sauces that tasted like tomatoes rather than tasting just plain sweet were the clear favorites. A good balance of smoke and spice was also appreciated; the several sauces judged out of whack in one or both areas received low scores. Texture was another important issue, with tasters objecting to very thin sauces as well as sauces with an overly thick, gloppy consistency, which seemed artificial. Odd colors (one sauce was bright red from the use of food dye) and weird flavors (one sauce reminded us of spicy red hot candies) were not appreciated.
Our conclusion: You don’t have to make your own barbecue sauce, but it should taste – and look – like homemade. The sauces below are listed in order of preference.
Top Picks
1. Texas Best Barbecue Sauce, Original Rib Style, $2.79 for 19 ounces
Comments: This sauce topped the charts because of its emphasis on tomatoes. Tasters liked the “thick, coarse texture,” which seemed “unprocessed.” They also praised the “good sweet/tart balance” with “lots of spices.”
2. Bull’s Eye Original BBQ Sauce, $1.79 for 18 ounces
Comments: Leaning heavier on the smoke, this second-place sauce was still deemed “well balanced,” although a few tasters thought the heavy smoke “hit you in the back of the throat.” Bull’s Eye gained points for its “great dark color” and “thick consistency.”
Runners-Up
3. Hunt’s BBQ Original Recipe Barbecue Sauce, $1.19 for 18 ounces
Comments: You can’t beat the price of this “sweet and tangy” sauce. Heavy on tomato, light on smoke and spice, this “mild” sauce had the perfect balance of vinegar and molasses. Tasters also appreciated its “thick,” “smooth texture.”
4. Sweet Baby Rays Original Barbecue Sauce, $1.99 for 18 ounces
Comments: True to its name, this sauce came through as “ultra sweet,” with an emphasis on “malty caramel” and tomato flavors. Tasters liked its “subtle spiciness” but found the texture “goopy” and “gluey.”
5. KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce, $1.79 for 18 ounces
Comments: “Very sweet,” “very thick,” and “a lot of smoke” summed up tasters’ comments. Tasters also found that the “gloppy,” “gluey” texture of the sauce detracted from its “meaty depth.”
6. Stubb’s Original Bar-B-Q Sauce, $3.69 for 18 ounces
Comments: This sauce placed more emphasis on spice and vinegar. While some tasters found it favorably “tangy,” “with a good kick,” others objected to the lack of sweetness. This sauce was also the thinnest, even “watery,” according to one taster.
7. Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce, $1.39 for 18 ounces
Comments: On top of its disagreeable texture, deemed “corn syrupy,” and its “processed” flavor, this sauce was also criticized for an “artificial smoke flavor.” Still, some likened it to a sweet-and-sour sauce with “good tang.”
8. Open Pit Original Barbecue Sauce, $1.99 for 18 ounces
Comments: This “super-sour” sauce was heavy on the vinegar and light on the tomato (the fifth listed ingredient). Several tasters pointed out the unnaturally bright red color and odd “Red Hot cinnamon” flavor. “Not BBQ sauce,” wrote one.
