God Bless the Internet (and Mary's Gourmet)!!!

Every once in a while, the internet does me a solid.  Mostly in the form of amusing cat pictures.  But not this time...this time, it was Thomas Bishop of Pools & Spas A Go-Go from out Michigan way.

Thomas had a magic treasure chest full of Mary's Gourmet Foods Original BBQ Sauce for sale.  Also known as "Porkrubbers Original Competition Sauce," it's one of my all time favorites...and has been discontinued since '08.

Prior to Thomas' email, I was saving one bottle of this stuff for a special occasion.  Now I have enough to take a bath in.  Pics to follow.

Note: my passion for obscure foodstuffs is not limited to condiments.  Any sources for Royal Crown Draft Cola, Cherry Certs or Bull's Eye Raging Buffalo BBQ Sauce, please get at me via the contact page.

BBQ Sauce: Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle

As promised, I'm finally going to finish up the Sweet Baby Ray's Monday spotlight.  I've already reviewed these SBR flavors:

• Hickory & Brown Sugar
• Sweet 'n Spicy
• Original

Our reviews will continue for three more weeks, finishing up with the secret Sweet Baby Ray's sauce.  Today's flavor is Honey Chipotle, one of the newer additions to the Ray family.

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FLAVOR - Sweet honey and deep smoky chipotle, with a peppery, medium heat finish
CONSISTENCY - Thick and gooey
APPEARANCE -  Typical BBQ sauce reddish-brown, visible black flecks when spread thin

SMELL - Similar to Original (sweet smoke with a mild vinegar bite, hint of chipotle)

AVAILABILITY - Readily available

INGREDIENTS - HFCS, vinegar, tomato paste, honey, chipotle pepper sauce (red jalapeno peppers, vinegar, sugar, salt, onions), modified food starch, worcestershire concentrate (vinegar, molasses, corn syrup, water, salt, caramel, garlic powder, sugar, spices, tamarind, natural flavor), pineapple juice concentrate, spice, natural smoke flavor, caramel, sodium benzoate, red bell pepper, natural flavor, garlic

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While the consistency, appearance and smell of the SBR sauces have been very similar across the board, flavor is where each sauce really stands out.  The Honey Chipotle makes good use of the now-ubiquitous smoked jalapeno taste.

I find this sauce to be the spiciest of the lot (even more so than Sweet 'n Spicy).  I really like to use it on Latin American cuisine (especially great on anything Mexican) as well as meatloaf.

Subway BBQ Sauce

Apologies for the lack of posts lately.  I've been busy with some serious condiment scouting, and hope to have some new reviews up next week.

Sometimes I eat at Subway.  Much like Qdoba isn't really Mexican food, I don't consider Subway to be a sandwich shop...but I still heart both joints.

My go-to Subway sandwich:

• A foot-long turkey on wheat, heavy onions, sweet peppers, banana peppers and pickles.  Plus BBQ sauce.  Lots and lots of BBQ sauce. 

The Subway BBQ sauce is excellent!  It's perfect for a wide variety of Subway subs.  I'm honestly not sure how it would perform outside the restaurant, but no matter.

TCB wants to know which BBQ Subway restaurants use.  Google was less than helpful and Subway customer service would not disclose "franchise agreement recipes," whatever that means.  If any TCB reader is friendly with their local Subway journeyman and can elicit this information, please contact me:

condiment.bible [at] gmail [dot] com

Note:  Not all Subway's offer BBQ sauce.

Image:  Subway, by Jeremy Brooks

DIY BBQ Sauce

Not to be outdone by yesterday's TCB post on The NY Times hot sauce recipes, The Washington Post published some good looking, DIY BBQ sauce advice (replete with recipes).  The small photo gallery is interesting...check out the bottom sauce in Photo 2.
 
Via The Washington Post

Image: by Katherine Frey for The Washington Post

Snoop Needs a BBQ Sauce Recipe

 
Apparently the BBQ sauce in Europe isn't up to Snoop Dogg's high standards and he's looking for a solid homemade recipe.  

I hit him up with a good cola-based sauce on TCB's new Twitter feed, so hopefully that will straighten everything out.


Via Mirror.co.uk

Image: Snoop_Corde_165, by www.chicagofabulousblog.com

BBQ Sauce: Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory & Brown Sugar

Week 3 of our Monday Sweet Baby Ray's spotlight features Hickory & Brown Sugar.  This is one of the more overlooked SBR flavors, but it's still worth giving a shot.

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FLAVOR - Dominating hickory, with the usual SBR tacky-sweetness and a salty, smoky finish
CONSISTENCY - Thick and sticky with a smooth pour
APPEARANCE - Dark brown, with visible black pepper flakes when spread thin
SMELL - Pure sweet hickory
AVAILABILITY - Readily available

INGREDIENTS - HFCS, distilled vinegar, tomato paste, modified food starch, brown sugar, salt, natural smoke flavor, pineapple juice concentrate, spices, caramel color, sodium benzoate, molasses, corn syrup, garlic, sugar, tamarind, natural flavor

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I really like to use Hickory & Brown Sugar on ribs and chicken.  I'll usually reduce it over low heat until it's a sticky, gooey consistency...this is where the brown sugar works its magic...and it's perfect for coating meat.

Note:  Of all seven Sweet Baby Ray's flavors, Hickory & Brown Sugar is probably my least favorite.  That said, I still use it, usually exclusively on grilled foods.

BBQ Sauce: Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet 'n Spicy

Condiment research turns up new info all the time.  Week 2 of the Monday Sweet Baby Ray's spotlight focuses on the Sweet 'n Spicy flavor.  However, after careful examination of the above pic, I noticed that the original flavor was named "Hot 'n Spicy," as recently as 2007.  No matter...Sweet 'n Spicy still has a decent jalapeno kick.

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FLAVOR - Immediate candy sweetness, with all the pepper and heat on the back end
CONSISTENCY - Very thick and sticky
APPEARANCE - Dark brown 
SMELL - Very similar to Original; sweet, peppery smoke
AVAILABILITY - Readily available

INGREDIENTS - HFCS, Distilled Vinegar, Tomato Paste, Water, Modified Food Starch, Salt, Pineapple Juice Concentrate, Natural Smoke Flavor, Spices, Caramel Color, Jalapeno Pepper, Sodium Benzoate, Molasses, Corn Syrup, Garlic*, Sugar, Tamarind, Natural Flavor

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The Sweet 'n Spicy SBR is pretty straightforward.  It's essentially the Original formula cut with jalapeno peppers.  I'm no true pepper-head, but I can appreciate a good kick in the tongue every once in a while.  I tend to use S'nS SBR on Mexican food, as well as Central and South American foods.  It's also a great substitute for Original SBR when you want to take things up a notch.

Note:  The heat in this sauce is actually pretty mild.  Occasionally, I'll cut it with sriracha or Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce to take it to the next level.


Image: Sweet Baby Ray's, by My Blue Dragon

Roseanne BarrBQ

This pic of Rosanne done in BBQ Sauce pretty much speaks for itself.

Image:  rosanne barrbque sauce, by Rakka

BBQ Sauce: Sweet Baby Ray's Original

Sweet Baby Ray's (or "SBR" to enthusiasts) is one of the most ubiquitous store brands of BBQ sauce.  For the next 6 Mondays, The Condiment Bible will feature each available flavor, finishing up with the SECRET FLAVOR that few condiment lovers know about.  This week's focus is on the Original.

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FLAVOR - Very sweet and sticky, with a peppery vinegar middle and a mild smoky finish
CONSISTENCY - Very thick and gooey, coats food well
APPEARANCE - Typical BBQ sauce brown, with visible black pepper flecks when spread thin 
SMELL - Sweet smoke with a mild vinegar bite
AVAILABILITY - Readily available

INGREDIENTS - HFCS, distilled vinegar, tomato paste, modified food starch, salt, pineapple juice concentrate, natural smoke flavor, spices, caramel color, sodium benzoate, molasses, corn syrup, garlic, sugar, tamarind, natural flavor

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A friend of TCB was recently eating some less-than-acceptable BBQ sauce and remarked, "So this is what BBQ sauce tasted like before Sweet Baby Ray's."  I couldn't put it better myself.  When SBR went mainstream in the early 2000's, it pushed the envelope for store-bought BBQ sauce, and has since established an almost cult-like following among sauce fiends.

I have put SBR Original on everything.  Spaghetti with tomato sauce?  Check.  Ice cream?  Check.  Mixed into soup?  Check.  It also makes a great base for homemade BBQ sauces, as well as slightly crazier concoctions (SBR mixed with ranch is a personal favorite).

If you haven't tried this sauce, please do so immediately.  It may not be the absolute greatest BBQ sauce in the world, but I posit it is the best all-around sauce that is available in virtually every grocery store.

Like the Sweet Baby Ray's slogan asserts: "The Sauce is the Boss."

Note:  Pictured above in all its behemoth greatness is the mega 40oz. bottle.  That's right...2.5lbs. of squeezable goodness!

Kraft? Agree to Disagree...

The folks at Bon Appetit have declared Kraft Original to be the best store-bought BBQ sauce (out of eleven tested).  Stubb's and KC Masterpiece took second and third.

I have to respectfully disagree with their assessment of Kraft, even though they followed Grillmaster Steven Raichlen's advice for the blind taste test.  TCB wholeheartedly prefers Kraft's premium BBQ sauce line...Bull's-Eye...to their namesake brand.

Via Yahoo  (special thanks to Cousin Ralph for the heads up)

Image: Kraft BBQ Sauce CVS Challenge, by bakerpuzzlemaker

Sweet Baby Ray's Wins Luxist Awards

Sweet Baby Ray's (I'm assuming the original flavor) won the Luxist Reader's Choice Award for best gourmet sauce.  

Apparently, Luxist is "a web site dedicated to covering the best the world has to offer on a variety of luxury and fine living topics."  I wouldn't consider SBR to be a "gourmet sauce."  In my opinion, it's more of a staple, grocery aisle workhorse sauce.  Anyway, I'll be doing some special reviews on all seven* Sweet Baby Ray's varieties starting next Monday.

*Note:  "Seven" was not a typo.  There is a secret Sweet Baby Ray's flavor.  Stay tuned for more details.

Image: Truly, the boss, by PuyoDead

BBQ Sauce: FunniBonz Original

I wanted to give some condiment love to a Jersey-based sauce I've been enjoying lately.  Funnibonz hails from West Windsor, NJ...where, according to their website and label, they've adopted a BBQ/365 philosophy.  As a guy who shovels a path to his Weber (before doing the walk) every winter snowstorm, I dig their style!

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FLAVOR - Heavy sweetness, with a smoky vinegar middle and a spicy, black pepper finish
CONSISTENCY - Medium thick yet smooth; coats food particularly well
APPEARANCE -  Deep reddish-brown with black pepper flecks
SMELL - Smoky vinegar with a sweet/smoky middle
AVAILABILITY - Available (also at Mid-Atlantic region Whole Foods and NJ King's)

INGREDIENTS - Ketchup (tomato concentrate, distilled vinegar, HFCS, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder, natural flavoring), sugar, tomato paste, spicy brown mustard (water, vinegar, mustard seed, salt, spices, turmeric), molasses, salt, honey, liquid smoke, spices, onion powder, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, garlic powder, tamarind extract

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A few things about this sauce really stand out.  First, I'm really liking the ingredient list.  There are a ton of ingredients, but very few unnatural ones (save for the HFCS, "natural flavoring," etc.).  Also, the Funnibonz crew have included a few unexpected sleepers like apple cider vinegar, tamarind extract and...wait for it...spicy brown mustard.  Not sure if I've ever seen spicy brown mustard in any BBQ sauce, outside of South Carolina Mustard Sauces.

Second, the food coating potential of Funnibonz is phenomenal.  It coats food extremely well and holds that coating, which is a must for ribs.  Mmmmmmm....ribs.  I usually concoct my own rib sauce, but I used Funnibonz on my last batch and they were delicious.  Their website also lists some other recipe ideas.

Men's Health BBQ Sauce Taste Test

Men's Health completed a taste test of several different BBQ sauces, and it looks like the winner is a tie between Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Sensuous Slathering Sauce and Pork Barrel BBQ Sauce.

TCB is familiar with Dinosaur...we're partial to their Roasted Garlic Honey sauce...but Pork Barrel is a new one.  We're working on scoring a review bottle ASAP.

Via Men's Health

Image: BBQ sauce art, by crankyuser

BBQ Sauce: Rib-Bins Mild BBQ Sauce

I mentioned earlier this week that I spent Sunday at the NJ BBQ Championship.  Every year, my highlight of the show is Rib-bins Mild BBQ Sauce.  The good folks at Rib-bins have no website...they must be too busy cooking up ribs and batches of tasty sauce...but TCB has learned they're based out of Chambersburg, PA.

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FLAVOR - Overall brown sugar sweetness with a hickory kick and a spice-full vinegar finish
CONSISTENCY - Medium thickness, easy pour, good coating potential
APPEARANCE -  Dark reddish-brown, spices visible when spread thin 
SMELL - Sweet hickory, with a smoky bottom
AVAILABILITY - Available exclusively from Rib-bins BBQ

INGREDIENTS - Ketchup, tomato paste, water, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, onions, celery, green peppers, carrots, black pepper, paprika, fourteen secret herbs and spices

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This true Kansas City-style sauce is a creamy blend of sweet and tangy.  As you can see by the pic, my single mason jar (they sold out) didn't make it past week one.  It's particularly good on grilled meats, especially ribs.  Also, I really like the label, which lists "fourteen secret herbs and spices" as an official ingredient.

If you ever see the Rib-bins crew at a BBQ festival, make sure you pick up a jar of this sauce!

British Open's Claret Jug Filled with BBQ Sauce

 

Defending British Open champ Stewart Cink had to do some eleventh-hour cleaning to remove BBQ sauce stains out of the Claret Jug.  That's what I love about America(ns)...we always add a bit more class to already-classy institutions!
 
Via Metro.co.uk

Image: The Famous Claret Jug, by Richard Carter

BBQ Sauce: Garlic Head Gold

This post started out as a "Discontinued" review.  I was ready to rave about another favorite sauce you can no longer get, when BAM...the Garlic Head website was back up after a two-year hiatus.

Garlic Head is one of the most unique BBQ sauces I've ever come across, and I'm glad to see they're back in the condiment game with a new label and some recipe changes.

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FLAVOR - Super INTENSE GARLIC, with a sugary tomato base, rounded out with even more garlic, a bit of onion and a very mild vinegar zest
CONSISTENCY - Spackle.  Seriously, you could probably hang wallpaper (delicious wallpaper!) with this stuff.  The new configuration is thinner than the original, and it's still the thickest BBQ sauce I've ever come across!
APPEARANCE - Burnt sienna, with visible pieces of minced garlic and other spices
SMELL - Slightly smoky pungent GARLIC, with tomato undertones
AVAILABILITY - Available

INGREDIENTS - Brown sugar, water, tomato paste, garlic, sugar, cider vinegar, honey, molasses, onions, olive oil, salt, spices

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First off, check out that ingredient list.  As noted in our Reviewing Process, we don't necessarily score synthetic ingredients lower, but you've got to love a sauce that is au naturel.  No HFCS.  No ever-present xanthan gum.  No potassium sorbate.  Plus, Garlic Head is gluten and allergen free.

The bottle notes, "If you have a recipe that calls for two cloves of garlic, and you use two cloves, this sauce is not for you."  I couldn't have said it better myself.  If you don't love....LOVE...garlic, you should probably be put in jail.  Also, you might want to consider another sauce.

I prefer to use Garlic Head on chicken (it makes a mean BBQ Chicken Pizza), but I imagine it's pretty good on pork (recipes here).  It also makes for a great garlicky dipping sauce.  Keep an eye out for The Condiment Bible's review of their Spicy version later this summer.

Special thanks to Keith from K and L Products for providing the review samples.

BBQ Sauce: Richard's Mild Barbecue Sauce

Sometimes I'm scared of buying a new condiment.  There's a lot of bottled garbage out there, and I'm sick of getting burned.  But picking a winner from the masses makes it all worthwhile.  Much condiment love to MG for finding this winner.

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FLAVOR - Strong tomato ketchup flavor, rounded out with vinegar; hints of garlic and onion and finished off with a mild but noticeable cayenne kick
CONSISTENCY - Thick, with whole nuggets of garlic and onion
APPEARANCE -  Brownish, rusty red
SMELL - Mild vinegar and tomatoes, with a hint of smoky sweetness I'm guessing is the tamarind
AVAILABILITY - Available

INGREDIENTS - Tomato puree, corn syrup, vinegar salt & natural flavors, brown sugar w/ molasses, worcestershire containing caramel color, anchovies (contains soy), tamarind, aged cayenne red pepper mash (aged red peppers), xanthan gum, spice extract, distilled vinegar, onion, garlic, cayenne, salt, other spices

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I've only had this sauce for a weekend, but I've tried it on a grilled chicken wrap, chicken tenders and in a condiment sandwich.  It's delicious, and a much needed change from the omnipresent Kansas City style sauces.  Richard's website has a bunch of different recipes and two other versions (hot and hottest) for sale.

BBQ Sauce: Bull's-Eye Guinness Draught Beer Blend

Having some readily available grocery store brands in your condiment ledger is important;  walking down the "ketchup aisle" and being able to pick out the keepers from the crap is a true life skill. 

While I remain salty with Bull's-Eye for discontinuing one of the most unique BBQ sauces on the grocery store circuit (Raging Buffalo*), I respect the brand as one of the better retail sauces available.

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FLAVOR - Smooth, creamy hickory and molasses, with a hint of chocolate and a delicate tang
CONSISTENCY - Medium thickness with silky texture
APPEARANCE - Chocolate brown with visible pepper specks
SMELL - Earthy, rich hickory with a suggestion of molasses
AVAILABILITY - Readily available

INGREDIENTS -Tomato puree (water, tomato paste), sugar, vinegar, beer (water, malt, barley, roast barley, hops, yeast), molasses, brown sugar, modified food starch, salt, mustard flour, dried onions, spice, natural hickory smoke flavor, dried garlic, caramel color

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The Guinness Draught Beer Blend is handy.  It's a great stand-alone sauce (perfect on burgers, dogs, even ribs or chicken) or it can be used as a unique base for homemade sauces.  You don't really taste the Guinness per se, but there is a noticeable, unprecedented hickory/malty/chocolate-y flavor that is yummy-yummy.

*To be reviewed

Image: mast01, by Elton Designs

BBQ Sauce: Original Open Pit

Epicurious.com brutalized Open Pit in their barbecue sauce taste test back in early May.  We at TCB feel Open Pit got the shit end of the stick (especially since this sauce introduced us to our condiment addiction way back in the high school cafeteria).

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FLAVOR - Powerful vinegar tang (this is one tangy sauce!), with a noticeable tomato base and a spicy, piquant finish
CONSISTENCY - Thin sauce, but not over-watery
APPEARANCE - Deep auburn / red, particles of pepper and tomato are visible when spread
SMELL - Enduring shock of vinegar and tomato, with a suggestion of onion or onion powder
AVAILABILITY - Readily available

INGREDIENTS - HFCS, water, distilled vinegar, tomato puree (water, tomato paste), salt, modified food starch, soybean oil, hydrolyzed corn and soy protein, spice, onion powder, dehydrated garlic, artificial tomato flavor, natural and artificial flavor, artificial color (yellow 6, red 40, blue 1, titanium dioxide), caramel color

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As noted, we've been enjoying Open Pit at both restuarants and home for years.  A little known fact that we've managed to uncover...there are two versions of the sauce: the retail version (available in grocery stores, distributed by Pinnacle Foods) and the commercial version (served in restaurants, distributed by Kraft Foodservice).  We prefer the commercial Open Pit and we're working our inside sources to procure some for review.

We've had greater success using Open Pit uncooked (the vinegar tends to overwhelm dishes when the sauce is heated).  It's great on veggie burgers, pizza and meatloaf. The Open Pit clan also includes some submitted variation recipes on their website.

BBQ Sauce Chocolate

Apparently Oakland, California-based chocolatier Michael Mischer has created a BBQ sauce chocolate.  Herr Mischer, we at The Condiment Bible salute you!

Via SFoodie




Image: no grill mitts necessary, by Tamara Palmer