Barbecue season is right here, so I made it my mission to search out out which model delivers the tastiest barbecue sauce straight from the bottle.
Forward of July Fourth, I attempted store-bought barbecue sauces from three completely different manufacturers to find out which provided the smokiest, tangiest taste for the perfect worth. I additionally tried one model’s no-sugar-added model to see if it may measure as much as the unique.
Whereas barbecue is not usually my go-to sauce for all issues dipping — proud ranch fan, right here — I attempted every of the sauces on their very own and with hen nuggets to see which sauce was my favourite.
Here is how I would rank 4 store-bought barbecue sauces, from worst to finest.
My least favourite barbecue sauce was Kraft’s slow-simmered unique barbecue sauce.
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The sauce is made with substances like tomato, molasses, and hickory smoke.
It value $4.19 for an 18-ounce bottle at my native Key Meals grocery store in Brooklyn, New York.
The sauce wasn’t as thick as the opposite manufacturers I attempted.
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The feel was extra watery and ketchup-like in comparison with the thicker, extra molasses-heavy varieties.
The sauce was gentle and tangy, but it surely did not have a powerful sufficient taste for me.
Erin McDowell/Enterprise Insider
In comparison with the opposite manufacturers, I believed this barbecue sauce was missing. I usually go for a thick, smoky barbecue sauce, and this was a lot lighter. I believe I might battle to completely coat hen or ribs on this extra viscous sauce, although I did benefit from the taste.
It was tangy and barely candy, with a honey-like taste, however jogged my memory extra of a sweet-and-sour sauce than a real barbecue sauce.
I additionally tried KC Masterpiece’s American Unique barbecue sauce.
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The sauce is constructed from molasses, onions, and spices to ship an genuine Kansas Metropolis-style barbecue sauce.
Except for any retailer reductions, this barbecue sauce was the most cost effective I attempted. An 18-ounce bottle value $2.89 at my native Key Meals grocery store in Brooklyn, New York.
KC Masterpiece’s was the thickest sauce I attempted.
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It clung to the hen nugget and had a darkish, buttery, molasses-like consistency.
I believed this sauce was an excellent stability of smoky and candy.
Erin McDowell/Enterprise Insider
The sauce had a strong, smoky taste and a consistency that simply clung to the hen nugget, making for a balanced chunk that overtook my tastebuds.
It was actually candy, very a lot tasting of molasses. Nevertheless, I used to be lacking that slight tangy taste that will have actually taken this sauce over the sting and supplied a extra dynamic taste profile.
Up subsequent was the Candy Child Ray’s barbecue sauce with no added sugar.
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Earlier than this style take a look at, I used to be already accustomed to Candy Child Ray’s barbecue sauce.
The model has been cited because the top-selling barbecue sauce within the US, so this sauce had lots to dwell as much as, particularly because it had no added sugar, which I frightened would weaken the flavour.
An 18.5-ounce bottle value $4.89 at my native Key Meals, making it the most costly sauce I attempted.
The sauce had a balanced consistency. It wasn’t too thick or too watery.
Erin McDowell/Enterprise Insider
The sauce simply coated the hen nugget, with out being too thick or gloopy.
I used to be actually impressed by the flavour. It was candy with out being overpowering.
Erin McDowell/Enterprise Insider
Total, this sauce nailed it for me. It was tangy however not sickly candy, and it had a balanced consistency by way of texture. I undoubtedly obtained the smoky taste with out the overwhelming molasses taste I tasted within the KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce.
It was additionally the lowest-calorie sauce of those I attempted, with 15 energy per serving.
Nevertheless, when it got here down to cost, it was overwhelmed out by the unique model.
My favourite barbecue sauce was Candy Child Ray’s unique barbecue sauce.
Erin McDowell/Enterprise Insider
It maybe comes as no shock that this sauce was my favourite. In spite of everything, the model has gained awards at varied barbecue competitions for its sauce.
An 18-ounce bottle value $2 at my native Key Meals after a markdown of $1.89, making it the least costly barbecue sauce I attempted.
The sauce had a wealthy, pink shade and an analogous consistency to the no-sugar-added model.
Erin McDowell/Enterprise Insider
It was only a contact much less thick than the opposite sauce from Candy Child Ray’s, but it surely nonetheless managed to coat the hen nugget simply. In my view, this was the perfect sauce for dipping.
Candy Child Ray’s unique barbecue sauce struck the right stability for me.
Erin McDowell/Enterprise Insider
The sauce had a barely acidic, tart taste that balanced out the candy notes and an undercurrent of earthy taste that made me really feel like I used to be at a yard barbecue.
Subsequent time I am firing up the grill for some barbecue ribs or simply want a dipping sauce for my nuggets or hen tenders, I do know precisely which barbecue sauce I am grabbing.
