Emeril is a huge brand that pulls in over $150 million a year in revenue across it’s media, restaurants, and products.  This is a minor speck in the portfolio and (maybe because of that) it’s average at best.  Another victim of the “large brand on auto-pilot” phenomena.  The good qualities of the sauce include a strong garlic and pepper aroma; the weak qualities include the ingredients selection and a flavor that is a little strange.

Smell 4
Taste 3
Consistency 4
Ingredients 2
Label and marketing 4

website: Emeril’s Wikipedia page

To sum up this sauce, it’s yet another mass produced “looks like it’s from a small mom and pop store variety sauce but actually from a fairly large corporation” variety.  And that’s not always horrible.  It’s when the sauce is loaded up with ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, MSG, and artificial flavors - that is what turns me off.  The flavor is overly sweet and the consistency is thin.  This is not to say the franchised Sticky Finger locations (16 across the Southeast) are not fantastic. This sadly happens sometimes when a brand gets big fast and they start stamping the logo all over without regard for quality in each and every item.

Smell 4
Taste 2
Consistency 2
Ingredients 2
Label and marketing 3

website: stickyfingers.com

Paul Miller has been making this sauce for about a year and a half.   Not long ago, he produced his first official batch and shipped me out a few samples.   I suggest you try it out!

From Paul

“Well I started making my own sauce a few years ago and after many, many hours over the stove I finally had something that I loved and wanted to put my name on it. After about 45-50 try’s I finally narrowed down my recipe. For awhile now friends and family kept asking for more and for me to bottle it. So after about a nine month process I finally have my first production run done.”

It’s a classic KC style sauce and I do have a weak spot for classic KC style BBQ sauce - the flavor really packs a punch with a unique but subtle blend of herbs and spices.  The onion is there but not overpowering.  The garlic is there but wouldn’t kill a vampire or ruin your next kiss.  It could be considered a bit on the sweet side, but most folks I know who BBQ don’t mind a little extra sugary substance.

For a coupel of negatives, the consistency and the ingredients could use improvement - a bit too much corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup (there are reports on both sides, but I do believe this stuff really is bad).  Also the sauce was a bit on the thin side.

Other than that, the flavor was great both before and after the grilling experience.   After being grilled it tasted just like those KC Masterpiece BBQ chips.  Yum!  And the reddish brown color and specks of actual spices will always - to quote Martha Stewart - be a good thing.

Smell 5
Taste 4
Consistency 3
Ingredients 3
Label and marketing 4

Ingredients: Tomato Concentrate, Distilled Vinegar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Honey, Brown Sugar, Water, Liquid Smoke, Butter, Molasses, Chili Pepper, Spices, Dehydrated Garlic, Dehydrated Onion, Salt, Natural Flavors, Jalapeno Powder, Anchovies, Tamarind Concentrate.

Website: Miller’s Secret Sauce Facebook Page

BBQ Sauce Reviews was mentioned in this week’s Womans World magazine.  When I got the call from the writer, I thought the name kinda rang a bell, but I asked my wife if it was legit.  She assured me it was… the magazine is right next to the checkout counter - the one with the big red square in the top left corner with white letters - ah yes!

During the interview I was asked to provide several of my top choices for BBQ sauce, most of which can be found on my Best BBQ Sauces page, here.

Since Bone Suckin is probably the largest and most known brand (from my top choices), the writer probably chose something that would be accessible to the common reader of Woman’s World.  And I’m glad she did, it’s one of my all time favorites (review here).

To follow on with what I mentioned in the article, about Bone Suckin being great on vegetables, I would encourage you to visit the Bone Suckin Sauce site for beans, rice, and potato recipes.

http://www.bonesuckin.com/recipe%20pages/vegetables.html

 A fruit BBQ sauce that doesn’t make you gag?   Excellent.  Four stars.

On a personal level, I find strawberry BBQ sauce to be a somewhat unnatural concoction with no direct cultural relevance or reason for existing other than for novelty’s sake.  I was just reading this article on CNN about another guy who is going and doing his mission to find the ultimate BBQ joints.   Steve Raichlen (King of BBQ) had a quote which was pretty memorable.

“We live in a world of homogenization.” Barbecue is “the last bastion of regional culture, and I think that’s one reason we prize it so dearly.”

I have to agree.   And although I do like some of today’s modern music and modern art and modern styles, a lot of today’s “culture” is really just a mixup of things we like from our past, isn’t it?    And to me, mixing strawberry and BBQ is like putting a chunk of beef in your PB & J sandwich.  I’m sure someone has tried it, but come on now.  Is that necessary?

But to my surprise, this sauce actually tasted great.   I tried some on top of a piece of chicken with a salty rub applied and found that the two themes (sweet / salty) worked really nice together.  I tried some on top of chicken without any rub and found the taste to be a little on the mild side, but still interesting and tasty.  Nothing too shocking, and as opposed to the Tassleberry concoction, this sauce didn’t stimulate my gag reflexes.  It smelled natural, flowed smooth, tasted decent (maybe a little mild) and looks nice.  Ingredients a bit weak, but to make strawberry BBQ sauce taste good is something special.

Smell 5
Taste 4
Consistency 5
Ingredients 3
Label and marketing 4

Ingredients:

Strawberry Jelly (Strawberry Puree, Sugar, Pectin), Tomato Paste, Water, Corn Syrup, Brown Sugar, Vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce (Distilled Vinegar, Molasses, Corn Syrup, Water, Salt, Caramel Color, Sugar, Spices, Anchovy Puree, Natural Flavor (Contains Soy), Tamarind), Liquid Smoke, Spices, Salt.

About the Manufacturer:

Brad Hayden was born and raised in a family restaurant business. Learning the whole aspect of a restaurant and food, he wanted to apply this knowledge and experience in his everyday life. After graduating from college with a BBA in marketing, he found the best way to enjoy his true love was to be a food manufacturer. Luna Mercato became a proud product line of his own. Now hes at age 22, with the brand selling over 30000 units a year. The Brand line includes Barbecue sauces, salsa, dressings & cheese spreads.

Website: 

http://www.kentuckytastebuds.com

The Deadline is Monday May 25th at Midnight!

The Process:

• Go to HomeCookingStar.com
• Click the contestants link.
• Click the button that says “Find your hometown homepage and enter your recipe!“
• Type in your hometown and state.
• Then click submit recipe - make sure you come up with a funky BBQ Sauce name before you start!

Ah, another five star sauce.

The slogan for this should be “You’ll Relish This At Your Next BBQ” because it’s precisely what it is - a great tasting BBQ relish.  It’s the first onion-based ’sauce’ I’ve ever had, the first ingredients being onions, then vinegar, then ketchup. Different enough that I had to stick it into the Unique BBQ Sauces category.  Sticks well to the meat and looks great after BBQ’ing - like the meat is wearing an chunky onion-sauce jacket.  It looks great after cooking - people won’t be able to NOT notice this if it’s next to another type of BBQ chicken.  It just stands out so well.   If you don’t like spicy foods at all, steer clear.   It’s hot, but not the “melt your tongue” level of heat that some masochists enjoy.

How best to describe the taste - take a standard BBQ sauce that you enjoy and consider what it would be like to add more onions, a bit more bite in terms of heat, and some more smokiness - all gathered in an amorphous relish-like consistency.  I tried it on both pork and chicken and found it really blasts the flavors of both by a factor of 11.

The only negatives were for use of ketchup (HFCS prob in there), artificial colors, and a somewhat intimidating label (my daughter was actually scared of this sauce just by looks).  And although 3 year olds aren’t the target market for this product, the kids are chronic truthtellers, aren’t they?  I could imagine other people seeing the label and being a little thrown off as well, thinking this is only an extreme heat lovers sauce, and it’s not. Just think - free marketing tips, from my daughter

If it were up to me, I’d consider calling this “BBQ relish,” tone down the look of the label, and brag about your awards.

Smell - 5
Taste - 5
Consistency - 5
Ingredients - 4
Label and Marketing - 4

Ingredients

Onion, vinegar, ketchup, bell pepper, worchester sauce, honey, lime juice, garlic, pectin, jalapenos, serranos, tomato paste, liquid smoke, salt, spices (compound ingredients shortened).  Low, 3.5 carbs per serving.

Website

http://crazyunclejester.com

If you are like me, and sometimes brew up your own BBQ sauce, I’m sure you’ve also thought “how can I get this put into a bottle?”

Unfortunately, the answer is not so simple. You have to get the ingredients, find a co-packer, find a licensed kitchen which must be inspected by the FDA. You have to negotiate for deals on bottles, labels, etc, etc. How much free time do you have to spend on a BBQ sauce journey?

Enter Home Cooking Star who is putting on a “Reality Cooking Show” that aims to get your sauce turned into a bottled sauce on the shelf. If you are selected as the winner, you will receive a 10% royalty on all sales!

The process is quite simple:

• Go to HomeCookingStar.com
• Click the contestants link.
• Click the button that says “Find your hometown homepage and enter your recipe!“
• Type in your hometown and state.
• Then click submit recipe - make sure you come up with a funky BBQ Sauce name before you start!

The winners will be chosen based on clicks, so make sure you tell your friends your recipe is out there.

Good luck!

Congratulations Carolyn!

I will connect you with Pat Ford - creator of Bone Suckin Sauces who will get your address and ship you this fine prize package.

More contests (and reviews) coming soon.

Big Bob Gibson Backyard Mustard Sauce gets a 4 from me for a great smooth flavor and what I’d recommend for people looking for a widely available mustard-based BBQ sauce to try out.  If you are a mustard BBQ sauce virgin, this could also be a nice starting point. It pours a bit thin compared to some other fine mustard-based sauces (such as Salt Lick) but ends up sticking well to the meat product after a liberal amount is applied.  It offers a little tiny smidgen of heat which is activated on the grill (I didn’t notice any heat straight from the bottle). If you are looking for a great tasting mustard sauce and dont want to spend a lot, you can usually find Big Bob’s in the supermarket or available online at places like InsaneChicken.

Smell - 4
Taste - 5
Consistency - 4
Ingredients - 3
Label and Marketing - 5

Ingredients

Mustard, water, distilled cider and malt vinegar, tomato paste, high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, sugar, molasses, salt, dehyrdated onion and garlic, hot sauce, spices, soy sauce, steak sauce, modified food starch, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, natural smoke flavor, corn syrup, lemon juice concentrate, hydrolyzed corn gluten, soy protein and wheat gluten, natural and artificial flavors, tamarind, raisin concentrate, turmeric, apple concentrate, guar gum, autolyzed yeast extract, beef extract, disodium inosinate, disodium guanlyate, rye extract.

Website and Related Information

Big Bob Gibsons

Mad Dog hits it right on virtually all notes especially with their mega Award-winning Original Sauce.   But super intense heat to the point of not being able to enjoy the meal is not my idea of a good cookout or BBQ meal.  That said, just because I don’t like the heat doesn’t mean others won’t or that I cannot review this sauce in a scientific fashion.  Just be warned - my mouth is still on fire!  To me, this variant is too strong for most humans and the pepper flavor is a bit strong as well - even if you look past the mouth burning.

Smell - 4
Taste - 3
Consistency - 5
Ingredients - 5
Label and Marketing - 5

Ingredients

Premium tomato paste, water, unsulphured molasses, vinegar, tamari (wheat, water, soybeans, sea salt), natural hickory liquid smoke, Bird’s Eye chili peppers, garlic, herbs, spices, and xanham gum.  No preservatives, additives, fillers. All natural.

Bone Suckin Sauce is not only a five star sauce, but a sauce that stands alone.  Like when Nintendo came out with the Wii, and Sony and Microsoft were left with their jaws open…  when most sauces turn left, Pat Ford (the Bone Suckin Chief) take a turn for the right.  Many of the other BBQ sauce brands don’t taste like this, and they could learn a thing or two from Pat about how to make a great, yet natural, healthy, unique flavored sauce.  Truly one of a kind.  If you don’t have this in stores near you, now is your chance to get a great “BSS Best Box” package mailed out to you - free of charge.

From the tantalizingly sweet and hot surprise flavor of the Fire Dancer Jalapeno Nuts (so good) to the thick, rich, natural Bone Suckin Yaki sauce and the sweet tangy bite of the Bone Suckin Mustard - this whole package is simply amazing food.  If Bone Suckin Sauce was the lead singer, he’s accompanied here by a saucy bass player, a sweet guitarist, a nutty keyboardist, a drummer that likes fire.  Also some salsa dancers.

One lucky winner will receive enough stuff condiments and snacks for a complete cookout (you provide the people, grillable objects, grill, and of course the drinks).

The Bone Suckin Best Box is valued at $39.99 and includes:

Award Winning Bone Suckin’ Sauce, Margarita Wine Nuts (Voted Best Snack Food USA), Bone Suckin’ Mustard, Bone Suckin’ Habanero Hot Sauce, Bone Suckin’ Salsa, Bone Suckin’ Yaki, Fire Dancer Jalapeno Nuts (Snack Nut of the Year)

Simple Contest Guidelines

• Comment about ANYTHING - maybe tell me your favorite grill if you want.
• Enter a comment below by Friday May 8th.
• Winners will be announced on Monday May 11th.

Please give it up for Don and Vic!

Gentlemen, please contact me via brian @ bbqsaucereviews.com with your preferred mailing addresses and your choice of Russ and Franks Mild, Fiery, or Sassy and I will connect you with Russ who will ship out your sauce.

I hope to do these often enough so that all of my regulars will get a chance to try a sauce for free this summer.  Check back on this site in a few hours (or receive an email alert) for the next exciting giveaway details!!

Thanks,

Brian

May is National Barbecue Month, and to celebrate I’m giving out BBQ sauce like a madman.

The first giveaway contest garnered a total of 24 comments (most related to their favorite sauce) within the week and I’m expecting this Monday’s new batch of BBQ goodness to get people even more excited… I know I am!   Please check back here or signup to be notified when new giveaways are announced.

I’m always looking for new sauces, grills, smokers, and other random BBQ and grilling accessories to share with the world and I will be using a random selection technique in order to make sure the contest giveaways are done fair and square.  BBQ vendors please contact me through the submit your sauce form, and let’s discuss a great promotion to get people talking about your brand!

If you entered in the first giveaway, please check back on the site Monday to see if you won.  I will hook you up with Russ himself who will send the two lucky winners their sauce of choice.  Later the same day, the next contest begins!

I wish I could get this guy to sponsor my next giveaway:

This sauce is like a mixture of candy and BBQ Sauce.  At KCBS Certified BBQ Judging class, I met a guy named Don who “cuts” Sweet Baby Ray’s with Dinosaur BBQ Sauce in order to lower the sweets level… and it makes sense - it is super sweet. If you’ve never had the sauce, you’ve got to try it.  Although it’s heavy on the sugars and HFCS it is an even flavor, super-sticky, smoothly sweet, with no negative aftertaste or vinegar aftertaste whatsoever.  A very plain, safe sauce for everyone.  It’s like BBQ sauce for kids and families - the mass market product of choice for quite a few people.  Minor points off for what comes with typical mass production - cheaper ingredients, HFCS, preservatives.

Smell - 4
Taste - 5
Consistency - 5
Ingredients - 3
Label and Marketing - 3

Ingredients

High Fructose Corn Syrup, Distilled Vinegar, Tomato Paste, Modified Food Starch, Contains less than 2% of: Salt, Pineapple Juice, Natural Smoke Flavor, Spices, Caramel, Color, Sodium Benzoate as a Preservative, Molasses, Corn Syrup, Dried Garlic, Sugar, Tamarind Natural Flavor.

Website

http://www.sweetbabyrays.com/

Un Authorized (I mean bizarre) Commercial