Looking for a decent store baught sauce...

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it'd be "regular strength" i reckon. It has a little tingle, but not bad. But then again, too hot is subjective. What is too hot for me may be just right for someone else. But Head Country is good and it is made right here in good ol OKLAHOMA!
 
BBq taste is subjective but for me I like (other than my own) The Gates sauces from Kansas City. They are what I cut my teeth on. The regular original is not sweet and has a mild bite but not unpleasant. The Sweet and Spicy is liked by many I know. Find it at their online store at
http://www.gatesbbq.com/ ,
 
Make your own...experiment. When you don't have time, buy different commercial brands to shop for the flavors you like. I blend several commercial blends to arrive at the taste I want, but like many have said- it's subjective. I like Kraft Original (sweet) blended with Rendevous Original and thinned with Wicker's (or any other vinegary marinade or cider vinegar) to thin; because I don't like the sauce too thick. Then I spice it up by throwing in some of my rub and whatever your favored hot sauce is for some "kick". You can make a pretty kickin sauce this way in about 5 minutes, then heat it up and the masses will rave. This is for when you are serving big groups of people your Que, and you don't have time for several hours of sauce making.

Dave
 
For store bought or online ordering try this place http://www.cityqbbq.com/index.php They have a chain of about nine rest. in Ohio. Real good Q. 3 or 4's style of sauceto choose from. Mustard,Original (thick) and Original Spicy which is pretty hot. Order online and you will not regret your purchase. Excellent stuff man.
 
I was looking for some opinions on Bone Suckin sauce as I just bought some (guess I should have looked for opinions first), it sounds like it is well liked. Also wanted to second Rich's nomination of Calhoun's. We usually eat there when we're in Gatlinburg and I bring some back for my father-in-law and myself. I found the Bone Suckin sauce at Fresh Market where they also had 5 or 6 different versions of Stubbs. Anybody tried those?
 
Don't know if anyone suggested this yet but why not buy Jeff's sauce recipe and tweak it. Cut out a portion of the sweet stuff and add a little extra heat. You'll also get the rub recipe too and support the site in the process, (if ya haven't already). I make my own rub but was impressed with Jeff's sauce. Just my opinion.
 
I use a sauce that I've only seen here locally. It's called Chicken-n-Ribs.
I usually buy the hickory style but I almost always add a little heat to it. It's a sweet sauce and I like to give it some delayed bite with some Habenero.
 
I was reading through this post and was going to say the same thing. I had never made a sauce before. As a matter of fact, I only bought Jeff's recipes for the rub and to support the site. I ended up liking the sauce recipe best of all. It is really easy to customize and does not take much time, effort, or any exotic ingredients.

I still enjoy some sweet baby ray's sometimes. I have started saving the liquid from my foiled ribs and butts and then reducing them on the stove to a glaze. This is great to add to sauces or to glaze ribs with for the "1" in the "3-2-1" cooking process.
 
i buy a local " made in oklahoma " sauce ..real good ...any okie will probably know it....head country bbq sauce ...its realll goood ...made in ponca city oklahoma...anybody get a chance buy some..can't find it...go to www.headcountry.com no worries i do not work for them i jjust luv their sauce...
 
So, today, I was at Dollar General (don't ask!)

Anyway, I have a bunch of beef brisket left over from my wildcat brisket thang and I thought, "I sure could use some BBQ sauce when I microwave this stuff the next couple of days. Maybe I could get a cheap sauce here and spice it up the way I like since I'm going to be feasting on my brisket for the next couple of days and I don't have any sauce in the house".

So I found a sauce that was $1.25 for a 20 oz bottle. My thought was, "If it's nasty, I just toss it. No great loss. If it's mediocre, I can tweak it".

It's Clover Valley "Original BBQ Sauce".

First of all, my brisket microwaves up nicely at 30 sec in a ziplock bag. It's surprisingly good.

But, more importantly, the sauce is tasty. As is. Better than mediocre, that's for sure. Mind you, it's not mind-blowingly good. It's not the best thing since sliced bread. However, I thought that it was very tasty and I didn't even bother to adulterate it. I just poured it over the beef and went to town.

I've eaten over a quarter bottle of it just pouring it over the brisket. It's a sweet BBQ sauce with a nice hit of vinegar up front and then mellowing out into a typical sweet Mid-South BBQ sauce. It's not very spicy and I'm sure that I'm going to hit it up with some of my Pyromainia or Baboon's *** hot sauce before I empty the bottle (I have about 12 different hot sauces in the house right now, including a rather dangerous Mad Dog .357 sauce with 600,000 Scoville units - yeah, I could go much further, but why bother when just a knife tip's portion of this will light you up like a Christmas tree?). However, as is, it's a well-balanced sauce that was tasty right out of the bottle. Sure, it's got guar gum, modified food starch and high fructose corn syrup. Whadda want for $1.25?

If you don't like sweet BBQ sauces, it might not be for you. However, I think that this sauce would form a good base for experimentation. Certainly, the price is right.

Oh yeah, I said microwave. So shoot me. Turns out that 30 seconds in the microwave was just fine for reheating this pulled and sliced brisket. Never let it be said that I'm a stickler for "right". If it works, it works.
 
A great store bought sauce, only availiable mail order if you dont live in buffalo. Buy the case, dont be shy. This stuff is the bomb. Tried to make it myself but I can only come close. I dont know about any of there other products and the marinade is best with chicken though nice with pork and beef. Ill occasionally take my burgers fromthe grill and let them steep in the stuff for a minute or so before serving. Other than that most of them sauces are sweet, corn syrup is thier bread and butter. Do like richtee says and get your kc or what ever and thin it out with more vinegar. Or build your own sauce from red wine or cider vinegar ,worchesterchire, some grated fresh garlic s+p is enough for smoked meats. But go a head and throw in some chili powder or cumin or both. Some smoked paprika,,tomato if you must. I reserve tomato based bbq sauce for my chicken mcnuggets.

Oh yea, and dont neglect the awesomeness of a fresh made chimmichurri, once you get the idea down you can adjust it anyway you like. Withh cumin, with fresh oregano(or dry), with cilantro, vinegar or lemon juice. Habeneros? Cubanelles? whats your poison?
oh heres the link to the sauce. BUY IT!!!!

http://www.chiavettas.com/products.php3#
folks from buffalo ny represent


Chimmichurri sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup(packed) frsh italian parsley
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt PreparationPuree all ingredients in processor. Transfer to
bowl. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.) .


If you’ve never had it, its not a marinade, don’t marinade. The beauty of this sauce is the balance freshness it adds to meat and anything else you got hanging around to dip in it including French fries.
 
I have been using Stubb's since they came out with just the first original flavor. We like the spicy version as well. Mild didn't do it for us.
 
I like the Sweet Baby Rays original, but it really depends on the meat. I dont like sauce with my ribs, but for turkey, I think SBR compliements it very well.
 
If I am not using Jeff's sauce, I use this stuff that I found called Alligator Bayou. It is by far the best store bought sauce I have ever had, a little sweet, a little spice, a lot of garlic. It is kind of hard to find, but if you see it, pick some up.
 
Another vote for Head Country, made here In Oklahoma.

As with other SW states, BBQ sauce here tends to be on the peppery side.

I buy this in the gallons at Wal-Mart.

I also buy their seasoning seven pounds at a time on their website.

A number of high ranked BBQ joints use this as their "house sauce."
 
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