Kosher Blog

BBQ Sauce Roundup

The latest issue of the Jewish Advocate featured a recipe crafted by yours truly as part of their “Nine Days” coverage — BBQ “Chicken” Pizza (recipe forthcoming). Since barbecue sauce completely replaced my pizza’s typical tomato sauce, I figured choosing the right sauce would be critical. The recipe was geared toward the average home cook, so I didn’t want to recommend making sauce from scratch (though simple recipes abound and would likely be worthwhile). Plus, supermarket shelves are rife with sauce upon sauce — certainly one of them would fit the bill.

So I trekked out to my local Super Stop & Shop and filled my cart with sauces, ranging from the very cheap to the quite pricey, and only one that’s something of a local variety. I tasted the sauces plain and on pizzas. The results were somewhat surprising, and yielded a couple strong favorites.

On the cheap end were two Hunt’s varieties at $1.29 each, both certified by the OK. Hunt’s Original was simply sour ketchup, but the Hickory & Brown Sugar sauce shows a bit more character: moderately thick, dark, and with a definite (but slightly synthetic) hickory flavor. Nothing special when used on pizza.

For fifty cents more, KC Masterpiece Original (OU-certified) had a nice, lingering heat and slight smokiness, but seemed a bit too sweet. On pizza, though, it was quite imperceptible — flavor almost completely lost between the dough and the toppings.

Emeril’s Sweet Original, at $3.59 with a cRc heksher, was very sweet with a bit of maple flavor, but exhibited absolutely no heat or sourness — very one-dimensional. It was the least favorite as a pizza sauce.

The priciest variety, Bone Suckin’ Sauce, was a whopping $6.49 (OK-certified). This stuff was clearly not meant for pizza. It’s thin and very vinegary, though the apple cider vinegar was a unique twist. On the plus side, it had no unnatural or “industrial” ingredients. Save it for ribs.

Texas Best ($3.19 / OU) had a complex, almost elusive flavor — slightly more sour than it was sweet or spicy, but, on the whole, a well-balanced flavor and good thickness. On pizza, it stood up nicely.

The overwhelming favorite was a brand I had never tried before, but I picked it up because it was labeled “award winning” and “preferred by a majority of US restaurant chefs.” I figured that made it worth a try, but I remained skeptical; the vast majority of “US restaurant chefs” are drones who work at places like TGI Fridays and Applebee’s and are only expected to reheat mass-produced, over-marketed entrees with names like “pizza shooters,” “shrimp poppers,” and “extreme fajitas.”

Of course, I was put in my place when “Cattlemen’s” ($2.49 / OU) turned out to have a distinctive, tangy flavor, with just enough heat. Plus, it was dark, thick, and satisfying. On pizza, it was best equipped to match the bite of red onion and cheddar cheese and didn’t diffuse into the dough like lesser sauces.

So, if you have time and the inclination, make your own sauce and play with the different flavor components until you find the perfect combination. Or, save yourself the trouble, and give Cattlemen’s or Texas Best a try.