Mainstream BBQ Sauce

Best supermarket barbeque sauce brands

Barbeque sauces run the gamut from orange to deep mahogany in color, from runny to thick in consistency, and from mild to fiery in spiciness. Many BBQ sauces contain a laundry list of ingredients (tomato in the form of puree, paste or ketchup is usually first among them), but some are little more than vinegar and hot sauce whisked together.

Every BBQ sauce may be different, but all have the same purpose: to enhance, rather than mask, the flavor of smoked meat. True barbeque is meat that has been smoked "low and slow"; that is, rubbed with spices and salt and cooked over indirect heat and wood smoke for a period of several hours. The temperature at which barbeque is cooked rarely exceeds 300 degrees Fahrenheit and is usually far less. According to the "Barbeque Manifesto" published by the owners of Chicago's Smoque BBQ, "The smokiness from the meat, the spiciness from the rub and the tangy sweetness from the sauce should exist in perfect harmony."

Although most aficionados believe that sauce is an essential component of real barbeque, it's not just for smoked meat: BBQ sauce can jazz up broiled chicken breasts and other lean cuts of meat or it can stand in for ketchup as a meatloaf glaze.

Although they can't compete on the same playing field as homemade or small-batch BBQ sauces, reviews say that the best inexpensive barbeque sauces are balanced. Some are even complex, with notes of malt, caramel, fruit or molasses. The downside is that many mass-market BBQ sauces contain corn syrup, which can give them a gloppy consistency and an overly sweet taste. And many mass-market sauces contain chemical flavorings, artificial coloring, thickeners and preservatives.

No mass-market BBQ sauce is picked as a favorite more often than KC Masterpiece Original (*Est. $2 for 18 ounces); two review sources call it "sweet and smoky," and both note the presence of molasses. This sauce is deep mahogany in color and quite thick, with what Cook's Illustrated calls a "meaty depth." Tasters at one professional review source think the texture is too gloppy, which is due in part to the corn syrup that's listed as an ingredient. Still, reviewers say, it's hard to find a better supermarket BBQ sauce.

Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ sauce (*Est. $2.50 for 18 ounces), which comes from Chicago, earns a solid rating from testers, who like its mild spiciness and caramel notes. For many consumers posting to SeriousEats.com and Chowhound.com, Ray's is a staple condiment. Professional reviewers say this BBQ sauce is ultra-sweet and somewhat gluey. At HomeOfBBQ.com, Eric Devlin gives Ray's good marks for texture and color, but he finds it slightly "cloying." He does note that he would feel comfortable using this sauce in a competition setting. Aside from the original version, there are five more flavors of Sweet Baby Ray's, including Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle and Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet Vidalia Onion. All these versions are available in sizes from 18 ounces up to 80 ounces.

Cattlemen's Authentic Smoke House BBQ sauce (*Est. $2.50 for 18 ounces) is another mass-market barbeque sauce that impresses the critics, although not as much as KC Masterpiece or Sweet Baby Ray's. Tasters at TheNibble.com like its strong hickory flavor, but they say it's "not as distinctive or exciting" as expensive, small-batch sauces. Cattlemen's does not contain thickening agents, but it does contain corn syrup and tomato paste, rather than tomato puree. It comes in four additional flavors, including Cattlemen's Award Winning Classic BBQ sauce.

Trader Joe's Bold and Smoky Kansas City-Style BBQ sauce (*est. $2.50 for 18 ounces) earns raves from BBQSauceReviews.com, which calls it "bold, smoky, sweet and yet natural." This sauce contains natural smoke flavor, real sugar and molasses and it's said to be deeply colored and glossy. Its only downside, reviews say, is its thin consistency.