The Greatest Grocery Retailer Barbecue Sauces

Rising up, my household had a beautiful 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 residence 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 further particular as a result of they had been all in regards to the sauce.

Over time, I’ve tried dozens of grocery retailer barbecue sauces, looking for the proper one for each event. Not too long ago, I went on one other sauce hunt. Right here, I’ve organized my favourite barbecue sauces into 5 classes. Whether or not you favor tangy, candy, or savory barbecue sauce from Memphis or Kansas, or love the smoky and spicy flavors of Texas, these sauces are excellent on your summer season barbecue wants.

The very best basic, “unique” barbecue sauces

Every barbecue sauce is exclusive, however these labeled as “unique” often include related elements, akin 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 elements. An unique sauce is flexible and doesn’t overpower the flavour of the meat, making it a superb alternative for many barbecue dishes.

Authentic barbecue sauces to strive:

Heim Bar-B-Q Sauce

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This sauce is made by a family-owned enterprise in Fort Price, Texas, and pairs effectively 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, nevertheless it’s rounded out by the addition of Dr. Pepper.

Bludso’s Authentic BBQ Sauce

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This sauce was created by James Beard award-winning pitmaster Kevin Bludso. It’s thick and candy with a outstanding black pepper style, paying homage to Lay’s barbecue chips. It’s excellent for dipping potatoes or thick-cut fries.

Dealer Joe’s Kansas Metropolis Type BBQ Sauce (Pack of two)

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As soon as lacking from the Dealer Joe’s assortment, this one is a mixture of candy and tangy, which tastes nice on a grilled pork chop or slathered on a smash burger. The thick molasses makes it excellent for pairing with acidic toppings like pickles or jalapenos. 

The very best candy barbecue sauces

We love a sweetie. In style barbecue sauces with names like “candy brown sugar” or “candy honey” are sometimes made with all the unique barbecue sauce elements plus a beneficiant quantity of sugar. The candy sauces are inclined 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 effectively in offsetting the spiciness or seasoning of dishes like jerk wings or blackened salmon.

Candy barbecue sauces to strive:

The Tailgate Foodie’s All-American BBQ Sauce

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This basic 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 elements in lots of recipes. If I had been assigning a numbered ranking, I’d give it a ten out of 10.

Stubb’s Sticky Candy Bar-B-Q Sauce

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A gluten-free candy choice, I really 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. 

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 scent the bacon, and whereas I can style a slight smokiness, the sauce’s taste is funkier, much like blue cheese. (Perhaps it’s the anchovies.) It will be excellent for including to chili, burgers, and even the Bacon Blue Rooster bites from my ebook.

The very best spicy barbecue sauces

I am keen on spicy barbecue sauces for the best way they add shock factor to any barbecue dish. My favorites have a mild warmth that progressively builds. This sort of burn comes from scorching chile powders, serrano chile peppers, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and even Sriracha. I discover that spicy barbecue sauces are excellent 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, akin to apple, lime, orange, or pineapple, to mellow out a sauce’s spiciness.

Spicy barbecue sauces to strive:

Dealer Joe’s Natural Sriracha & Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce

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Generally 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, if you don’t have time to roast your personal garlic, this sauce has accomplished the be just right for you.

Stubb’s Spicy Bar-B-Q Sauce

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Whereas there’s a large factor of spice right here, the flavour retains you coming again for extra. If it’s too scorching, be at liberty to tame it with honey or ketchup. However then once more, it’s known as “spicy” for a cause. 

Bludso’s Scorching BBQ Sauce

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In case you benefit from the daring and spicy flavors of jalapeño and chipotle, then you definitely could be on this sauce. I significantly admire the addition of anchovy, which provides a pleasant savory observe. It will be an awesome alternative for grilling or barbecuing.

The very best smoky barbecue sauces

Smoky barbecue sauces prevent time and power when attempting to realize the smoky taste that’s integral to good barbecue. Hickory is a very in style 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 may be overwhelming. It’s additionally value noting that some sauce manufacturers have a greater smoke taste after cooking or heating, relatively than being consumed proper out of the bottle.

Smoky barbecue sauces to strive:

Lillie’s Q Scorching Smoky Barbeque Sauce (2-Pack)

Costs taken at time of publishing.

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, sluggish time in a barbecue pit with a component of warmth from cayenne.  

The very best vinegary scorching sauces

After I need to improve the flavors of my dishes, I at all times go for vinegary barbecue sauces. They’re a symphony of complicated flavors that elevate any dish they contact, even one thing as sudden 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:

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 combination would create an ideal stability of candy, savory, and vinegary notes.

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 loads runnier), and it tastes incredible when used as a coating for hen.

Teriyaki, Japanese, Hawaiian, and Korean barbecue sauces

There’s an entire world of barbecue sauces that don’t match into the above 4 classes, a lot 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:

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 stuffed with umami. Broadly obtainable 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. 

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.

CJ Korean BBQ Authentic Sauce, Kalbi (4-Pack)

Costs taken at time of publishing.

It is a incredible 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. 

How you can 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 season. In case your retailer doesn’t have the precise sauce you’re in search of, you may get nearer to what you had in thoughts by placing your personal spin on one of many bottles which might be simply obtainable. Listed here are a number of of my go-to additions:

• For warmth, add common or pickled jalapeno, dried or recent chile peppers, or cayenne pepper.
• For further 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, scorching 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 at liberty to combine and match completely different flavors to create a fancy and thrilling style. The fantastic thing about making your personal barbecue sauce is that there are not any fallacious 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 creator of the cookbook, Son of a Southern Chef: Cook dinner with Soul.
Clay Williams is a Brooklyn-based photographer.

This story was initially revealed in 2021 and up to date in Could 2025.