It's All In The Flavor

Every BBQ sauce is different, but all have the same purpose: to enhance, rather than mask, the flavor of smoked meat.

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. 

Let's take a look at a couple of my favorite more commercial sauces you can find in the supermarket. These will easily make your BBQ burst with flavor.

KC Masterpiece Original (*Est. $2 for 18 ounces) - No mass-market BBQ sauce is picked as a favorite more often. 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) - My personal favorite comes from Chicago and 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. 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) - This 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) - This one 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.

Next week we'll be talking marinades. Stay tuned!