Saucing strategies
There's a trick to using barbecue sauce, especially if it's sweet. What's the trick? Click here.
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Dry Rubs
Rendezvous Famous Seasoning (Memphis, TN). Charlie Vergos' famed Rendezvous Restaurant in Memphis is renowned the world around for its "dry" ribs, served with no sauce, only this complex spice blend which includes paprika, chili powder, garlic, black pepper, salt, onion powder, oregano, thyme, celery seed, cayenne pepper, corriander, and who knows what else. You've gotta have a good spice blend to pull this off.
Blues Hog Dry Rub Seasoning
(Perry, MO). Unmatched in complexity and balance, this is by far my favorite rub in the world. It has salt, important for pulling flavors into the meat, sugar, important for enhancing the natural meat flavors and helping for the crust on the meat, paprika, for color and richness, chili powder, black pepper, mustard, for heat, onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, and green herbs for complexity. Perfect for pork and beef.
Texas Rib Rangers Rosemary & Herb Seasoning (Denton, TX). The standard barbecue rubs are red from paprika and chili powder. This one is loaded with green things like basil, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, and bay leaves along with the necessary garlic, onion, salt. There is also a niticeable kick from red pepper balanced by sugar. It is great on pork chops, chicken, turkey, and even pork shoulders. Try rubbing up a pork loin with this stuff and wear your seatbelt at the dining table.
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Steak sauces
New York Steakhouse Cookout Companions. When it comes to steak, connoisseurs genuflect towards Texas and Chicago. I live in Chicago, so it is with heavy heart that I say "I'll take Manhattan", where the fabled and expensive steakhouses are the best in the world. Most steaks are best eaten naked, but if you want to kick it up a notch, several have developed manly sauces that add a layer of interest to their meats. The New York First Company has packaged five distinctive sauces from some of the nation's cathedrals of beef: Smith & Wollensky, Frankie & Johnnie's, Ben Benson's, Uncle Jack's, and Ottomanelli's, New York's venerable butcher shop.
 Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce. Country Bob may call this an "all purpose" sauce but it's a steak and burger sauce to me, and it's a durn good one at that. Far less salty than than A1 and Lawry's, it is a bit thinner and sweeter, but it is also more flavorful. I rarely put a sauce on steak, but if you try Country Bob's on burgers instead of ketchup, you may never go back. I have also used it as an ingredient in some of my sauce recipes and it works just fine.
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The sources for sauces
If you haven't discovered it yet, Amazon.com carries a lot more than books. They have a large list of barbecue sauces. Also, if you're looking for something new to try or a favorite from your youth, click here to see what they have:
Barbecue sauces
Hot sauces
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Truth in labeling?
The folks at failblog.org published this picture of an unfortunately named barbecue sauce.
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The first commercial barbecue sauce was made by H.J. Heinz Co. in 1948, and today there are hundreds. It seems every ribjoint is bottling its signature sauce nowadays.
Likewise, every serious home barbecuer's gotta have a signature sauce or three. One that your neighbor doesn't have. One that's not in every grocery store in town.
I prefer to make my own sauces from the recipes on this site, but I do love tasting commercial sauces (heck, reverse engineering them is how I get my best recipes), and, well, don't tell anyone, but I've been known to "doctor" a commercial sauce and rebottle it in an unlabeled jelly jar. If my guests want to think I made it from scratch, well, I can't control what they think.
I taste a LOT of commercial barbecue sauces and I even have a scorecard for rating them. Below are some of my favorites. All of them rate 3 1/2 to 4 bones on my 4 bone scale. I've attempted to group them by style. Click here for a deeper discussion of the classic American BBQ sauce styles.
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Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce
 Three Little Pigs Competition BBQ Sauce (Independence, MO). Dark mahogany color, medium thickness. Molasses and smokiness jump to the nose followed quickly by garlic. There is a nice tomato base and distinct tartness followed by a mild lingering warmth.
 Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q Championship Red Sauce (Decatur, AL). A first-rate Kansas City style sauce from Alabama. This multiple award winner is medium thick with some chunky stuff, giving it the feeling of a home-made brew. Orange-brown and just spicy enough to be hot without burning, it's sweet without being cloying, thanks to a cirtusy tanginess, a smoky quality, and other complex undertones. Close your eyes and think of the greaqt classic American barbecue sauce. If you look closely the label says Big Bob Gibson Championship Red.
The Slabs Kyle Style BBQ Sauce (Lone Jack, MO). Made in a suburb of Kansas City, this is a classic from one of the top teams on the competition circuit. Thick and brown with golden edges, there are black pepper chunks clearly visible, and it is grainy in the mouth, definite sweetness that is not enough to make it gooey, a hint of cumin, complex, with a long black pepper finish.
 Texas Rib Rangers Barbeque Sauce Sweet Mild - Blue Label (Denton, TX). Everything you love about rich tomatoey Kansas City-style barbecue sauce is here. Sweet, but not so sweet that it kills the meat, tangy but not too tart, spicy but by no means hot, smoky but not ash tray, and complex with undertones of garlic, onion, and molasses. Just about perfect. This sauce is made by Bill & Barbara Milroy of Denton, TX, perennial champions on the barbecue competition circuit and barbecue instructors who have taught hundreds how to cook real barbecue.
 Lotta Bull BBQ Original BBQ Sauce (Marietta, OK). is from Mike & Debbie Davis of Marietta, OK. They are one of the top teams on the circuit and have probably won more prize money than anyone. A portion of the credit must go to their slightly sweet, slightly peppery, Kansas City style sauce. Not too thick, not too runny, not too anything, it is perfectly balanced. When I close my eyes and visualize the classic American barbecue sauce, this is what I taste.
  Cookshack Spicy Barbecue Sauce (Ponca City, OK). Known for their high end electric smokers, Cookshack also makes some pretty fine rubs and sauces. Buy a Smokette for $465 and they throw in a bottle of sauce and two different rubs. It's a classic Kansas City style sauce. Nice garnet color, medium thick, not too sweet, not too tart, not too hot, it's perfectly balanced.
Rufus Teague Honey Sweet BBQ Sauce (Kansas City, MO). A shiny mahogany color with orange edges, this medium thick sauce is KC Masterpiece on steroids. Rich with molasses and smoke, it is very complex and complete. No wonder, the ingredient list includes raisins, orange juice, anchovy, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, "and other spices you can't know about".
Arthur Bryant's Sweet Heat Barbecue Sauce (Kansas City, MO). Almost orange colored, this sauce is mild, simple, understated. Designed to let the meat come to the fore. A delicate sweetness with a distinct fresh tomato flavor and a gentle heat in the finish than builds slowly and gently. Not a showoff. If you are looking for the rich molasses, smoky sauce that comes to mind when someone says KC barbecue, try one of the others.
South Carolina Yellow Mustard BBQ Sauce
Shealy's Bar-B-Que Sauce (Leesville, SC). This is the prototypical South Carolina mustard sauce. Bright yellow, sweet and sour, with a loooonnng mustard finish. Some others have a lot of fancy herbs and spices, and that's nice, but Shealy has it right, a little ketchup, a little worcestershire, and a little molasses. If you've never had a mustard sauce on barbecue pork, you don't know what you're missing. The combo is like peanut butter and jelly. It doesn't create a sheen like the sweeter sauces, but it really enhances flavor. And it's great on hot dogs, too.
Thomas Bessinger's Spicy Golden Recipe Bar-Be-Que Sauce (Charleston, SC). Golden with red and black flecks, this is a really good yellow mustard sauce amped up with hot pepper sauce. Not too sweet, not too tart, not too hot, but if you don't like a little heat, get another one. I think it is perfect for pulled pork.
 Ole Ray's Classic Gold (St. Augustine, FL). Ray and Susan Greene are master barbecue sauciers. They make six and I rate the three that I've tasted at the top of my scale. One of my faves is this mustard based sauce. Developed by German immigrants in South Carolina, mustard sauces are perfect on pork, and they put it on everything in the Palmetto State. Forget those tomato-based sauces, there is nothing better on pulled pork than mustard sauce. This one is typical. Greenish gold, thin, and mildly sweet, there is a subtle black pepper heat that builds in the finish. Close your eyes and in the background you can taste vinegar, Worcestershire, honey, garlic, onion, and chili peppers. This is much more than ballpark mustard, but try it on hot dogs, anyway!
 Sticky Fingers Carolina Classic (Charleston, SC). Created by the Sticky Fingers restaurant chain that began near Charleston, SC, this is the prototypical yellow mustard, South Carolina-style sauce. Almost orange colored, it is thin, straightforward, simple, and strongly mustardy, with a nice lingering black pepper back taste and finish. Sticky Fingers makes a number of nice sauces, but this is my favorite. Todd Eischeid, Jeff Goldstein. and Chad Walldorf knew each other since 7th grade. One summer day when they were in college they made a pact to start a business together. They now have more than a dozen locations and are growing steadily. I think the sauces are their secret.
East Carolina Mop & Sauce
Scott's Barbecue Sauce (Goldsboro, NC). Prototypical Eastern North Carolina mop and sauce with nothing but vinegar, salt, peppers, and a few other spices. Tangy from the cider (??) vinegar, it does a great job of cutting the fat. Spicy, but not scorchin'. This is the kind of stuff that made North Carolina barbecue famous.
Lexington Mop & Sauce
 George's Original Barbecue Sauce (Nashville, NC). A classic Lexington style sauce made in nearby Nashville, NC, George's is mostly vinegar laced with hot red pepper, black pepper, and a whisp of ketchup. A touch of apple juice rounds it out nicely, making it my favorite of this style. It's among my first choices for pulled pork. If you like vinegar, you'll love George's. Definitely not for everyone.
 Bone Suckin' BBQ Sauce "Thicker Style" (Raleigh, NC). Bottled in a jelly jar, this shiny garnet colored sauce is chunky with what are probably green jalapeno pepper bits. It has a slightly sweet, fresh tomato undercarriage, with a great balance of sweet-heat-tart components. Though it is from Raleigh, NC, this is not your typical North Carolina sauce. Available in gallon and half gallon jugs.
Sam Dillard's Bar-B-Q Sauce (Durham, NC). A pale amber color with red and white flecks, this thin sauce is a light vinegar sauce, but not nearly as acidic as the East Carolina sauces becuase it is slightly diluted and has a bit of tomato concentrate to mellow it. There are plenty of spices, but it is not very hot. This is not meant to steal the show, just deliver some pleasant spices to the meat.
Alabama White Sauce
Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q Original White Sauce (Decatur, AL). This is not what everyone thinks of when they think of barbecue sauce. It is white, first of all. And it is not sweet. It almost like a salad dressing and it is especially formulated for smoked chicken. Mayonnaise dominates, followed by mustard, black pepper, and vinegar. Not everyone likes it. But it's a classic and worth a try if you love barbecue. If you don't like it on chicken, it's just fine on coleslaw.
Fruit Based Sauces
Ole Ray's Blackberry Wine Barbecue & Cooking Sauce (St. Augustine, FL). A thick dark brown glop whose fruity flavor from blackberry jelly and wine has multiple dimensions from smoke flavor, a mild pepper kick, and good crisp acidity from vinegar and lemon juice. This is not a novelty sauce. It has real richness and depth. I am also a big fan of the Ole Ray's Apple/Cinnamon Barbeque Sauce, a KC style red sauce with a distinct apple note and a long layered heat in the finish.
Sweet Glaze
 Blues Hog Barbecue Sauce (Perry, MO). A thoroughly creative and unusual sauce from the middle of nowhere in Perry, Missouri. Bill Arnold has crafted this intriguing sauce from practically every herb and spice on his rack. Garnet colored, runny at room temp and thick from the fridge, it is laden with flecks of black pepper, green herbs, mustard seeds, chile peppers, a generous hit of cumin, and all manner of edible grit. Actually more of a glaze, it varnishes your meat with a glossy sheen and deep sea complexity. A bit too sweet (brown sugar is the first item on the ingredients list), it is not unctuous because there are layers of red pepper heat, black pepper bite, nutty garlic, and grassy herbaceousness. It made my ribs sing, and try as I might, I have been unable to duplicate it. One word or warning: Because it is so sweet, use only one layer. Multiple coats is too much. The best source for Blues Hog products is Hawgeyes BBQ in Ankeny, Iowa. By the way, Hawgeyes is also a great source for other hard to find sauces, rubs, cookers, and all things barbecue. In 2007 it won top prize at the American Royal Sauce Chamionship in Kansas City.
 Whiskey Sauce
Dr. Dan's BBQ Sauce Magical Meat Elixir, Kentucky Bourbon (Springfield, OH) Dr. Dan has made this boozy brown, medium-thick elixir by starting with his very rich and nuanced "Original Formula" sauce and adding extract of Bourbon (sorry, there's no alcohol in it, so it's safe for the kiddies). Try it on beef brisket or venison.
Other Sauces
Tristan Chocolate Chili BBQ Sauce (Charleston, SC). As you might expect, this thick dark brown sauce hits you with a clean cocoa scent as soon as you open the bottle. A rich dark brown chocolate flavor dominates, and it is sweet, but it is surprisingly balanced with rice wine vinegar, chipotle and pasilla peppers, and orange juice. But you don't taste them, they nestle quietly into the background behind the bold chocolate. I like to amp it up with Chipotle Tabasco sauce.
Charlie Trotter's Organic Thai Barbecue Sauce (Chicago, IL). Forget everything you know about barbecue sauce. The great iconoclast chef has crafted this sweet, raisiny, citrusy sauce with sesame oil undertones and only a hint of heat for fish. Exquisite. Known for crafting unusual combinations of flavor, Trotter is often listed as one of the 10 greatest chefs in the nation and his Chicago restaurant is booked months in advance. Now you can bring a taste of Trotter to your next cookout.
 Johnny V's Barbecue Sauce (Chicago, IL). Made in a Chicago suburb by Johnny Vogel (he is not connected to the popular Ft. Lauderdale restaurant named Johnny V's), this shiny, thick brown sauce has a dominant flavor: G-A-R-L-I-C. It is rich, strong, smoky, and even has clumps of garlic floating in it. A bit salty, there is a nice black pepper tang in the background and a looooonnnnng garlicky finish. Here's something I've never seen before: One of the ingredients is sweet potato! Did I mention there is a strong garlic aroma? Let's call it KC style with an Italian accent. I like it on burgers as well as my ribs. It is sold only in stores around Chicago.
Texas Mop Sauces
I'm still looking for a classic Texas style sauce in a bottle. If you know of a good one, let me know. Here's what I'm looking for: Something fashioned to complement beef brisket. The best are served in BBQ joints. They are not very sweet, thin, and tart, flavored with vinegar, chili powder or ancho powder, lots of black pepper, cumin, hot sauce, fresh onion, and only a touch of ketchup. They often resemble a thin tomato soup with a beef stock base. They penetrate the meat easily rather than sit on top.
 Hot sauces
Franks Original RedHot Cayenne Pepper Sauce (Springfield, MO). Frank's started making hot sauce in 1918 from Louisiana peppers and today its peppers come from New Mexico and Mexico where it is made into a mash and shipped to Springfield, MO, where it is cooked, seasoned, and bottled. Frank's claims it is "the secret ingredient in the original Buffalo wings created in Buffalo, NY in 1964." I think it's secret to success is the proper balance of heat from the ribs and seeds of the pepper and flavor from the meat of the pepper. Unlike so many hot pepper sauces that seem to be just capsaicin (the compound that gives hot peppers their heat) and vinegar (the typical solvent that carries the capsaicin), Frank's has a distinct bell pepper flavor. Try it on popcorn.
Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce (Avery Island, LA).  Tabasco Chipotle is made from smoked jalapeno peppers in vinegar and has a wonderful smoky flavor, a strong vinegar bite, and, of course, the capsaicin kick. I much prefer it to the original Tabasco which was, according to company records, first made in the 1860s after Edmund McIlhenny planted hot peppers on his family's property on Avery Island, LA. He experimented with pepper sauce recipes until he found one he liked and then put it in cologne bottles with sprinkler tops because it was too hot to be poured on food. By 1868 McIlhenny started to market Tabasco Sauce. His process is still used today, and Avery Island remains the headquarters for the worldwide company that is still owned and operated by direct descendants of Edmund McIlhenny. Avery Island is about 2.5 hours west of New Orleans, and the charming spot is open to visitors.
This page revised 11/20/2008
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