All entries for August 2020

What is Really in Your BBQ Sauce?

Posted by Ron Slawek on Tuesday Aug 11, 2020 11:02 am

You need to be careful and cautious when you shop for bbq sauce. Some say you need to steer clear of "High Fructose Corn Syrup," (HFCS.) Yes, it's cheaper than honey, but you lose that honey mouth-feel. I can cut my bbq sauce cost in half if I use HFCS but will you still want to buy it? You'll lose that honey flavor and stickiness when you grill and slather my sauce on the food. I don't feel right cutting the sauce with HFCS.

Then there's sodium. Even the bacon. For those of you wanting to challenge me about the USDA-approved bacon bbq sauce, read the label and figure out the serving size before you send me an email. (1/4 cup equals 4 tbsp) (Usual serving size is 2 tbsp)

My bbq sauce contains no dairy, no fish, no soy, and is gluten free.

Finally, I must comment on this.

There are a lot of good bbq sauces out there, but there are also a lot of backyard fifteen minutes of fame enthusiasts who believe they have a "gourmet" bbq sauce just because they deem it such. In their mind it's great. And just because a few close friends at their pig roast tell them so they start believing they have something great. That's where the consumer gets blindsided. For instance, people may use Open Pit, Sweet Baby Ray, or Cattleman's as a base, (I have enjoyed these brands and have nothing bad to say about them), add a few unwise ingredients like mushrooms, beer, onions, mustard, etc. and declare it's their own homemade bbq sauce. That is not fair. That's a slap in the face of these brands and other famous bbq sauce companies who spent time perfecting their craft instead of using other sauces as a base. These bbq sauces were homemade...period.

I've never considered my bbq sauce "gourmet." My sauce has always been an honest homemade bbq sauce that has never "piggy-backed" on a well-known store bought brand. I didn't buy a well known store bought sauce, doctor it up, and call it homemade or gourmet. I didn't need to. I made my sauce all on my own. My bbq sauce stands alone by itself. I've won many awards for my sauces and that tells me I have a good sauce.

Like I said, my sauce is an honest sauce, homemade from scratch in the basement of my house. I started with honey in a pot and asked myself...what's next. Trial and error. Years of trial and error, not overnight using someone else's sauce. It's not made at home anymore because the FDA/USDA stepped in, but the basics were there and fine-tuned in my home.

Try my sauce. You'll either like it or not.

I'm going to be posting more of my bbq/grilling thoughts here so check back.

Thanks for stopping by.