I Asked Pro BBQ Cooks What Sauce to Buy At the Grocery Store. One Bottle Dominated

For the past three decades, Jack Daniel’s has hosted one of the world’s premier BBQ competitions.

The Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue — better known as “The Jack” — brings nearly 100 professional cooking teams from all around the world.

Many of the teams make their own sauce — if they use any at all. But what about store-bought stuff? Would they recommend any bottles for emergencies or weeknight dinners?

That’s the question I presented to half a dozen teams at a recent competition I attended down the road from the Jack Daniel’s distillery.

While their answers varied, one bottle in particular dominated the responses.

The Most-Recommended BBQ Sauce

Walmart

Sweet Baby Ray’s Original Barbecue Sauce

This ubiquitous BBQ sauce out of Chicago is a crowd favorite thanks to its addictive sweet taste.

• $3 at Walmart

Let’s not beat around the bush. There’s a lot of love for Sweet Baby Ray’s, which came recommended by half the teams I questioned.

“I like the flavor and the family history,” said Thomas Roy of TNT Explosive BBQ.

“It’s honestly the most solid one,” added Jonathon Indermuehle of Heifer’s, Butts & Clucks BBQ.

In terms of taste and texture, “it’s not thin. It’s not vinegary,” said Benny Watsman of B’Mackin BBQ. “It has great spices and nice seasoning, especially for us California folk.”

A sauce that’s richer and thicker

Walmart

Famous Dave’s Rich & Sassy

From the midwestern restaurant chain of the same name, this thick Kansas City-style sauce brings the sweet with just a hint of heat.

• $12 at Walmart

Rich and Sassy is Famous Dave’s bestselling, most-awarded sauce.

Nick Holman of Burnt Trees BBQ explained why: “It’s middle-of-the-road and not too overpowering,” he said.

It’s a typical KC-style sauce, meaning it’s very thick and rich, leaning toward the sweet side with just a little bit of heat.

A sticky sauce that clings to meat

Bules Hog

Blues Hog Original Barbecue Sauce

A choice for connoisseurs, this “sticky” sauce is designed to cling to your meat rather than glooping off onto your plate.

• $8 at Blues Hog

Blues Hog boldly proclaims to make the “best sauce on the planet” — a sentiment echoed by Stephen Nieto of Stevo’s BBQ. “Best sauce out there, guaranteed,” he said.

In short, it’s a sticky sauce that does an excellent job of clinging to your meat, while offering a more balanced blend of sweet and spicy (though still leaning more to the sweet side).

A sauce that isn’t too sweet

Walmart

Head Country The Original Bar-B-Q Sauce

If you’re not into sweet BBQ sauces, then Head Country is for you. This tomato-based sauce leans savory and contains no high fructose corn syrup.

• $6 at Walmart

Oklahoma’s Head Country is easily the least sweet of the sauces our respondents recommended. It’s the only sauce without some type of sugar as its first ingredient and the only one to eschew high fructose corn syrup completely.

“All in all a good sauce,” said Dan Jacobellis of Top Gun BBQ.

It’s more of a blend of savory, sweet and spicy — pitting its profile closer to Stubb’s BBQ Sauce, which also contains no corn syrup and was the Top Gun BBQ team’s second choice.

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