While some American barbecue regions (ahem, Central Texas) frown upon the idea of using any sort of sauce on smoked and grilled proteins, others (think Kansas City) use barbecue sauce as the foundation of great barbecue, ranging from sweet to savory to spicy to tangy (or any combination of the three).
Barbecue sauce can certainly be made from scratch (and many pit chefs recommend this approach), but if you’re tight on time or if you’d just rather go with a bottled sauce, we’re glad to report that you can find plenty of quality options at your local grocery store or on Amazon. Many of the most popular brands tend to be loaded with high-fructose corn syrup, but those aren’t the only options out there.
Chris Arellanes, corporate executive chef at KYU in New York City and Miami, assured us that store-bought barbecue sauces can provide “regional flavor profiles [that] align with the meat you’re planning to cook.” In terms of specifics, Arellanes said to look for these hints on store-bought sauce labels: “Kansas City-style sauces tend to be sweet and thick, while Carolina-style sauces are tangier and vinegar-based.” He recommends Carolina-style sauces for pulled pork, whereas the sweeter Kansas City sauce “would better complement baby back ribs.”
When you’re putting together your next shopping list for a summer cookout, consider these six bottled sauces, all personally approved by pro barbecue chefs.
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