by Charlotte Mielziner

Created on: August 22, 2010

With the wide variety of store bought barbecue sauces available in the market today, the best choice is the one you like best. If your tastes prefer spicy, smoky or sweet, thick or thin, there is a bottle fine tuned just for you. Most barbecue sauces are a blend of tomato paste, vinegar, sugar or molasses, onion, garlic and more. It's usually the "more" that makes the difference. The top brands all have varieties that may feature mustard, hot or sweet flavors.  Here is a review of some of the top brands ready to slather lavishly onto your ribs, chicken or beef. 

Trader Joe's Bold and Smoky Kansas City Style Barbecue Sauce - TJ's has captured the sweet and smoky, yet tangy flavor that characterizes the Kansas City BBQ style. It's balanced with enough flavor to please the BBQ aficionados, but not so much it scares off the kids. The texture sticks well to meats, doesn't fade in the mouth and even makes a good topping for baked potatoes. It's a keeper for the pantry. It is available at any of Trader Joe's groceries or through the website.

Bone Suckin' Sauce Original - Bottled in a plain canning jar, Bone Suckin' sauces blends some horseradish, molasses and honey and mustard for a tangy and memorable flavor. It's a little thinner consistency than most brands, but that makes it great as an overnight marinade. Bone Suckin' sauces are the most natural next to homemade and are proud to be gluten, preservative and high fructose corn syrup (hfcs) free. If your local grocery or meat market doesn't carry it, try the Bone Suckin' website to order.

Bullseye Original Barbecue Sauce from Kraft foods is definitely the workhorse of the standard grocery brands and usually the least expensive. It's a bit on the sweet side for the old school barbecue crowd, but has good flavor and a thick texture. It lends itself well to blending in a little soy sauce and crushed pineapple and brushing over kebabs. If guests are coming and you don't know their personal preferences, it's a great fallback for cook outs. Don't be surprised if the kids even give up ketchup for this sauce on french fries. The new formula is available without hfcs. 

KC Masterpiece Original BBQ Sauce is listed as the best supermarket sauce more often than any other in on line reviews. The same flavor that you may have enjoyed at one of their restaurants is available in a bottle. It's not heavy in spice, but relies more on smoke and sweet for primary flavors. It's thick enough to coat in a single application, but you'll want to add more for dipping. When last searched, an hfcs free recipe was not yet available. 

Cattlemen's BBQ Sauce website states that it is the number one sauce used by restaurants and as a base for winning recipes at the Memphis BBQ World Championships for the past 14 years. Their Classic is a slightly sweet flavor with a bit of a bite. it's not as thick as some of the others, but just enough to cling to meat and fish without glopping or burning. Cattlemen's is a great starter sauce for cooks new to the barbecue method. 

These are the more widely available brands, but barbecue sauces from small bottlers abound and are worth the price of a bottle to find out if it's worth repeating. You may find one works best for chicken and another for beef or pork. One may be the perfect choice for marinades, or meatloaf, another just right for the grill, or a dose of flavor for baked beans. Barbecue is a style of cooking, and an American art form. The right sauce will make memories and traditions for years to come. 

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