Rising up, my household had an exquisite custom of summertime barbecues. My dad, being a southern boy from Alabama, had a good quantity of data when it got here to barbecue, and we’d bond over marinated hen and slabs of pork and beef ribs. Since we lived in a New York Metropolis condo constructing, our choices for cooking had been restricted to indoor roasting or grilling in my Uncle Ronnie’s entrance yard in Queens. However these barbecues had been made additional particular as a result of they had been all in regards to the sauce.
Through the years, I’ve tried dozens of grocery retailer barbecue sauces, in the hunt for the proper one for each event. Just lately, I went on one other sauce hunt. Right here, I’ve organized my favourite barbecue sauces into 5 classes. Whether or not you like tangy, candy, or savory barbecue sauce from Memphis or Kansas, or love the smoky and spicy flavors of Texas, these sauces are good to your summer time barbecue wants.
The most effective traditional, “unique” barbecue sauces
Every barbecue sauce is exclusive, however these labeled as “unique” often include related substances, corresponding to tomato, vinegar, molasses or sugar, apple or pineapple juice, garlic, mustard powder, spices, and even anchovies. Totally different manufacturers might have various ranges of sweetness or spice, relying on these substances. An unique sauce is flexible and doesn’t overpower the flavour of the meat, making it a wonderful selection for many barbecue dishes.
Authentic barbecue sauces to strive:
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This sauce is made by a family-owned enterprise in Fort Value, Texas, and pairs nicely with something from brisket to hen. It has a balanced tang and sugar with out being too vinegary. It has a really tomatoey taste and like tomato sauce, it is available in a jar, but it surely’s rounded out by the addition of Dr. Pepper.
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This sauce was created by James Beard award-winning pitmaster Kevin Bludso. It’s thick and candy with a distinguished black pepper style, harking back to Lay’s barbecue chips. It’s good for dipping potatoes or thick-cut fries.
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Dealer Joe’s Kansas Metropolis Model BBQ Sauce (Pack of two)
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As soon as lacking from the Dealer Joe’s assortment, this one is a mix of candy and tangy, which tastes nice on a grilled pork chop or slathered on a smash burger. The thick molasses makes it good for pairing with acidic toppings like pickles or jalapenos.
The most effective candy barbecue sauces
We love a sweetie. Fashionable barbecue sauces with names like “candy brown sugar” or “candy honey” are sometimes made with all the unique barbecue sauce substances plus a beneficiant quantity of sugar. The candy sauces are likely to have a much less nuanced taste than unique sauces. Nevertheless, they’re wonderful for including a sugary kick to a savory bun or closely salted meat. Additionally they work nicely in offsetting the spiciness or seasoning of dishes like jerk wings or blackened salmon.
Candy barbecue sauces to strive:
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The Tailgate Foodie’s All-American BBQ Sauce
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This traditional barbecue sauce has a tangy taste with hints of vinegar and a delicate cayenne warmth. The sauce additionally comprises cloves, garlic, and anchovies, the key substances in lots of recipes. If I had been assigning a numbered score, I’d give it a ten out of 10.
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Stubb’s Sticky Candy Bar-B-Q Sauce
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A gluten-free candy choice, I like this sauce for its wealthy style and texture, particularly when it’s cooked down with whiskey, bourbon, or beer, which is nice on salmon or hen.
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Elijah’s Xtreme Beer Bacon Maple Sauce
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My mouth waters when individuals use bacon as a taste in barbecue sauce. The second I open the bottle, I can odor the bacon, and whereas I can style a slight smokiness, the sauce’s taste is funkier, much like blue cheese. (Possibly it’s the anchovies.) It might be good for including to chili, burgers, and even the Bacon Blue Rooster bites from my ebook.
The most effective spicy barbecue sauces
I like spicy barbecue sauces for the best way they add shock component to any barbecue dish. My favorites have a mild warmth that steadily builds. This type of burn comes from sizzling chile powders, serrano chile peppers, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and even Sriracha. I discover that spicy barbecue sauces are good for burgers and dipping potato wedges or candy potato fries. Combine a spicy barbecue sauce with a creamy mayonnaise or bitter cream to tone down the warmth. Alternatively, add fruit juice, corresponding to apple, lime, orange, or pineapple, to mellow out a sauce’s spiciness.
Spicy barbecue sauces to strive:
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Dealer Joe’s Natural Sriracha & Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce
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Typically store-bought saves you time and delivers on taste. A spicy sauce favourite for its iconic Sriracha addition, that is nice for not solely slathering in your barbecue dishes but additionally mixing with mayo to unfold on bread. Plus, once you don’t have time to roast your personal garlic, this sauce has carried out the give you the results you want.
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Whereas there’s a large component of spice right here, the flavour retains you coming again for extra. If it’s too sizzling, be happy to tame it with honey or ketchup. However then once more, it’s known as “spicy” for a cause.
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Should you benefit from the daring and spicy flavors of jalapeño and chipotle, you then is likely to be on this sauce. I significantly admire the addition of anchovy, which provides a pleasant savory word. It might be a fantastic selection for grilling or barbecuing.
The most effective smoky barbecue sauces
Smoky barbecue sauces prevent time and vitality when making an attempt to attain the smoky taste that’s integral to good barbecue. Hickory is a very widespread smoky taste for barbecue, and a few sauces obtain this taste by utilizing liquid smoke. The liquid smoke is made by burning hickory at excessive temperatures to create smoke which is then collected and processed. Nevertheless, an excessive amount of will be overwhelming. It’s additionally price noting that some sauce manufacturers have a greater smoke taste after cooking or heating, fairly than being consumed proper out of the bottle.
Smoky barbecue sauces to strive:
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Lillie’s Q Sizzling Smoky Barbeque Sauce (2-Pack)
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Most grocery shops don’t carry this, so that you’ll have to purchase it on-line, however this Memphis-style sauce has the flavour of an extended, gradual time in a barbecue pit with a component of warmth from cayenne.
The most effective vinegary sizzling sauces
Once I need to improve the flavors of my dishes, I at all times go for vinegary barbecue sauces. They’re a symphony of advanced flavors that elevate any dish they contact, even one thing as surprising as fried tofu. Whether or not I’m grilling, dipping, or marinating, these vinegary barbecue sauces at all times convey a burst of tangy deliciousness that retains me coming again for extra.
Vinegary barbecue sauces to strive:
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The Tailgate Foodie’s Lowcountry Gold Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce
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Tailgate Foodie’s sauce is a scrumptious mix of mustard, vinegar, and cayenne pepper. Its tangy and barely spicy taste pairs completely with grilled meats. I like to recommend pairing it with a sausage like chorizo, which might complement the sauce’s daring flavors. Including roasted peppers and onions to the combo would create an ideal stability of candy, savory, and vinegary notes.
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The Tailgate Foodie’s White Lighting Alabama White BBQ Sauce
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The Alabama white sauce hails from Alabama, naturally. It combines mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and sugar. I typically substitute Alabama sauce for mayo after I run out of it (although it’s lots runnier), and it tastes improbable when used as a coating for hen.
Teriyaki, Japanese, Hawaiian, and Korean barbecue sauces
There’s a complete world of barbecue sauces that don’t match into the above 4 classes, lots of which take inspiration from the barbecue traditions of different cultures. Teriyaki sauce, for instance, leads with excessive concentrations of sugar, typically pineapple and citrus, honey, soy sauce, and ginger. Hawaiian barbecue sauce is ultrasweet with excessive acidity. And I’m a sucker for Korean barbecue sauce, which might have a excessive sugar content material however is loaded with inexperienced onion, ginger, onion, black pepper, and sesame oil.
Sauces to strive:
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Bachan’s Authentic Japanese Barbecue Sauce
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The Authentic Japanese Barbecue Sauce has been perfected over generations and is a craveable sauce filled with umami. Extensively out there on-line, it has a mix of ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, mirin, and toasted sesame oil. I need to drown a pulled-pork bao bun with this sauce.
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Hawaii’s Well-known Huli-Huli BBQ Sauce
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This scrumptious mix of candy and tangy flavors resembles teriyaki sauce. It’s made with soy sauce, pineapple juice, and ginger, and is ideal for enhancing the flavour of grilled meats.
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CJ Korean BBQ Authentic Sauce, Kalbi (4-Pack)
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It is a improbable marinade sauce for any meat. The candy, tangy, umami taste transports you to genuine Korean barbecue. This sauce with charred ribs and topped with sesame seeds will flip your barbecue desk unfold into an unforgettable meal.
The right way to jazz up store-bought barbecue sauce
Regardless of the individuality of every sauce, I nonetheless discover myself jazzing up store-bought barbecue sauce each summer time. In case your retailer doesn’t have the precise sauce you’re in search of, you will get nearer to what you had in thoughts by placing your personal spin on one of many bottles which can be simply out there. Listed here are a number of of my go-to additions:
- For warmth, add common or pickled jalapeno, dried or contemporary chile peppers, or cayenne pepper.
- For additional depth and richness, throw in some candy onion jam, or a roasted garlic head, or canned crushed pineapple.
- So as to add curiosity with spices, use cumin, coriander, turmeric, berbere, sumac, and smoked paprika.
- For texture, add cooked bacon items or chopped pickles.
- For creaminess and zip, add mayo, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, sizzling sauce, and grated garlic.
- For an accent of citrus, add orange, lime, or orange zest, or all three.
- For a chunk and pow, add horseradish or spicy mustard.
Be happy to combine and match completely different flavors to create a fancy and thrilling style. The great thing about making your personal barbecue sauce is that there aren’t any incorrect turns. Barbecue is about having enjoyable, taking dangers, and having fun with the method. So, go forward and experiment, and don’t be afraid to make errors. You may simply uncover the proper barbecue sauce for you.
Lazarus Lynch is a multi-hyphenated artist and writer of the cookbook, Son of a Southern Chef: Prepare dinner with Soul.
Clay Williams is a Brooklyn-based photographer.
This story was initially revealed in 2021 and up to date in Might 2025.