Favorite BBQ Sauce

Kevin's Grunge Sauce

Of the major brands, I prefer Cattlemen's but it's difficult to find in the Philadelphia area. I used to get it at Costco but they don't stock it any more and none of the supermarkets don't either.

http://www.cattlemensbbqsauce.com/

I recently tried Wegman's Kansas City and it's very good:
https://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&productId=388923&catalogId=1

  I will second Bill Voss' opinion and say that I like their sauces the best!!

  I have to order it in as we don't get it here in AK.

  David O.

I like Head Country or Blues Hog.

Total Posts : 477 Joined: 6/7/2005 Location: palm beach, FL Reply to message Message Options Favorite BBQ Sauce

 
Vote #3 for Pat's Ho-Made Sauce.  Bought it during our last trip to Sarasota because we thought the name was funny and our son Patrick would get a kick out of it.  Delish!

I like Bone Suckin' Sauce for finishing and glazing. For more traditional BBQ sauce, I like Sweet Baby Ray's

Buffalo NY's Anchor Bar wing sauce...Not the orange hot sauce and butter stuff but the darker one with black pepper...I'll have to look at the bottle. It's more like a semi sweet peppery flavor with garlc and a twang...the stuff is awesome on chicken (duh) as well as pork. makes a great "wet" or "mop" sauce for finishing smoked pork butts. Some weak toungues my find it spicy but I dont think it is at all...my 6 year old daughter said it wasnt real spicy. Best thing I've had since Hustons "mop sauce" (local thing)

Personally, I believe the meat is the centerpiece (I thank my livestock raising father for that lesson) so my sauces are on the side and added by the eater. Room temp or slightly warmed.
 
For ribs or brisket -- Texas Rib Rangers Spicy
*Check the bottle shape; they private label for a lot of BBQ restuarants.
http://peppers.com/cube/B...uce-14-5/prod_111.html
 
For pulled pork -- Gibson's Championship Red and Gibson's Habanero
http://peppers.com/cube/B...uce-19-oz/prod_26.html
http://peppers.com/cube/B...uce-19-oz/prod_27.html

Update:
 
I just purchased Cattlemen's at WalMart!!!
 
 
 

I always pick up some sauce from Jim's Rib Haven in Rock Island, I grew up on it and I love it!

Mustard Sauce for me
Bottled
Maurices Gold

 
For best sauce you can visit City Market in Luling, Texas; Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue in Kansas City (charmingly placed in a gas station); and Guy & Mae's BBQ Ribs in Williamsburg, Kansas (in the same building as their City Hall, with a billiard and a lot of local families enjoying their evening meal with their small children).

where's smoe, mo.?

D'oh!  I forgot.  Besides Calhoun's and Sticky's Tennessee Whiskey, I also like Scott's, a North Carolina vinegar-based sauce, which has received notable reviews in Food & Wine and NY Times.  And I'm quite partial to Bishop's 3 "N" 1 Stuff, another vinegar-based sauce, made in Cherokee, Alabama.  A few supermarkets in North Alabama sell it, and T-Bone's Sports Cafe here serves it.  That "stuff" is absolutely sensational.  

Scott's Barbecue Sauce (Eastern Carolina-style "pepper/spices/vinegar")
 
www.scottsbarbecuesauce.com
 
Even though one can't find minced whole hog in Texas, pouring this over (unsauced) pulled pork is as close as I can get to BBQ heaven down here.

I just can't use any unadulterated sauce.  I usually keep some Sauer's around but always mix it with something.  Worcestershire, cider vinegar ,maybe a touch of honey or molasses, or some of my more secret ingredients.

Dreamland barbeque sauce from Alabama!!! It has many layers of balanced flavor:  some sweetness, acidity, mustardy with a bit of a bite.

For burgers, Open Pit Chargrill
For beef: Stubb's Spicy
For everything else: Bone Suckin' Hot or Pigfoot
 
Pigfoot is a barbecue team in Ohio. Very, very good.

Commercial BBQ sauce I will go with BBQ Stu's, a local brand. You can order it on line. Original blend and Steel City Blast furnace. It's not really that hot. And then ther is the yellow Pa. Gold. I use all the on hot dogs. There is some pineapple in Stu's original and tolerable sweetness.

I look at the sauces at local grocery 30-40 brands and Sweet Baby Rays sell the most. I think it's just in the name which sell. Way too sweet kids stuff.

And my favorite is my own, as well as most who taste it. It's a kind of style unique to this area near Pittsburgh. I came up with new recipe replacing V8 juice. Here is the new version.

This is a dipping sauce not basting. Some sugar is needed to caramelize in basting if you find that necessary.


http://www.pitt.edu/~szek...20barbecue%20sauce.htm

Also like Scotts NC vinegar sauce, can whip up myself also. Best on Chineese food, eggs, fries, chicken, burghers,,,, it's universal!!!!


Greg

Cast another vote for the pure and simple Open Pit.

Glad to see there are others here who like Scott's, too.  Great product.

It's fairly easy to make a Scotts like homemade sauce. It's us full on so many t.hinge.

There is one local sauce at my grocery that is a concoction of the Monongahela river valley style, no sweetness and tomato based. That's Blain hill. I tried many of the sauces at the grocery before stu's became available. But Stu's and all the others are all renditions of the same style sauce. Besides the above I preferred Open pit the best, mostly because it's less sweet. There is another, stubs which I never tried.

Greg

I searched high and low for the origin of my river sauce. I finally found a recipe with the same basic components but with sugar. It's the only one similar.
From what the person said, his father or grandfather made it. This person is listed on Daves BBQ list.
They are from the south below the carolinas.

He also said to try 3EYZ BBQ rub. I just made pork chops using it. Pretty good stuff.

Greg

Let me poke my local friends sauce. From McKeesport Pa.
Another version of typical sauce but the Pa gold is unique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j3-LR_33kg

Greg

Serious Eats just did a taste test on 13 BBQ sauces.
 
KC style it's Bullseye or Trader Joes.
Vinegar style is Stubbs
 
http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/05/best-barbecue-sauce-taste-test-brands-for-grilling.html
 
Your road mileage may vary. 

It always amazes me how many BBQ sauces are out there.  To me, many are similar.  I really wonder if there is a major difference in the expensive sauces vs. inexpensive sweet sauces?  I have bought many sauces and I have grilled/BBQ with many of them.
 
I was advised several year ago on this sit that sweet always win in competition?  I do not know but I do know that I buy sweet sauce at Food city and it always works for me.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I went to a local BBQ festival and I was asking around who had non sweet sauce. It just amazed me nobody had any, and the local guys who use non sweet sauce were not there. It's a lot of trouble to get set up and the fees are high. I don't think I ever really cared for typical BBQ sauce flavor especially thick and sweet. I can see using it on poor tasting meat. It covers everything up.

I will try Stubs, and I liked the review link.

I wanted to try emerald's because it had key ingredients mine has. Celery seed and clove.

Greg

I don't like thick or sweet. I do use Scotts BBQ sauce often. Just vinegar and spices.

After the first batch of generic grocery brand testing I chose Open Pitt. Then trying new local BBQ Stu's. I really like his yellow mustard sauce. He makes Steel City blast furnace, another typical, like open Pitt with pineapple.

My new winner, Stubbs original.

Of course around my family everybody likes my sauce the best, of course me too.
I was eating country ribs, taste testing. Even mixing mine with Stubbs, interesting.

I don't like hot sauces in general since I just eat habaneros directly or powder as needed.

Greg

I like Sweet Baby Rays, but usually mix it w/ something to thin it a bit and add more heat to offset the sweet.
 
Open Pit was always a favorite and I occasionally find it in a local market.
 
One that we tried last year but haven't been able to find again is "Jardine's 7J Ranch BBQ Sauce, Carolina Midland Mustard".
 
 
 
 
 
 

I personally use Dinosaur original barbecue sauce; it's good, and it is the lowest in sugar of any non-diet barbecue sauces on the market.
 
Bart