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Barbecue sauce does not belong in the top tier of condiments. It certainly doesn\u2019t crack the top five (ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, hot sauce, and ranch are all superior). However<\/em>, barbecue sauce\u2014typically a reduction of tomato, sugar, vinegar, and spices\u2014is still a practical and enjoyable condiment. Often thick, tolerably sweet, and with a glimmer of spice, it\u2019s an adequate partner for anything that\u2019s warm, salty, possibly grilled, and maybe a bit greasy. Think: typical barbecue offerings like ribs, chicken, pulled pork, baked beans, but also fried foods (nuggets, fries, wings, etc.), pizza, and burgers.<\/p>\n Unlike ketchup or mayonnaise\u2014which thankfully maintain fairly standard tastes and consistencies (the eradication of watery mayo is one of society\u2019s greatest feats)\u2014barbecue sauce covers a wide spectrum of flavors and textures. Within the United States, this condiment has many different regional iterations. For instance, in North Carolina, the sauce is thin, vinegar-forward, and orange in color. If you head further south to Alabama, you\u2019ll find a mayonnaise-based, \u201cwhite\u201d barbecue sauce. Of course, there are international variances as well, chiefly represented by the rich histories of Japanese and Korean barbecue sauces, often flavored by soy and mirin.<\/p>\n Despite its range, typically when someone asks for \u201cbarbecue sauce,\u201d they\u2019re referring to the sauce\u2019s most centrally casted self: dark brown, viscous, sweet, and spicy. You can find some version of this barbecue sauce wherever you buy your groceries. With that in mind, we figured it would be helpful to taste\u2014and rank\u2014the barbecue sauces available to us.<\/p>\n The premise for this taste test is as follows: You\u2019re opening a restaurant and your kitchen can only stock a single barbecue sauce brand. You\u2019re factoring in flavor, but also cost, appearance, and brand recognition. Essentially, we\u2019re picking the Heinz 57 of barbecue sauce.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting that to be eligible for consideration, the sauce needs to be available for purchase via Amazon. Local, regional, and homemade barbecue sauces are amazing, but are beyond the scope of this research.<\/p>\nThe Criteria<\/h3>\n
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