BBQ sauces have essentially become the best way to complement the flavor of your food – whether it’s one meat dish or another.
When it comes to ribs, it’s almost necessary for you to have a good BBQ sauce to enhance their rich flavor further.
This is the reason why we’re here today, to help you choose the best BBQ sauce for ribs.
Image | Product | Features | Price |
---|---|---|---|
TOP PICK ![]() | KC ORIGINAL BBQ SAUCE |
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![]() | KC SPICY BBQ SAUCE |
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![]() | GRANNY’S BBQ SAUCE |
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![]() | BLUE HOG RASPBERRY CHIPOTLE BBQ SAUCE |
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![]() | NIPPON SHOKKEN TERIYAKI SAUCE |
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MOST POPULAR ![]() | BULL’S-EYE ORIGINAL BBQ SAUCE |
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How to Pick the Right BBQ Sauce for Ribs?
As it should go unsaid, the perfect BBQ sauce for your ribs is the one that is not only high in quality itself, but also goes best with your tastebuds. In the end, what really matters is if the BBQ sauce is good according to your personal preference in flavors.
However, before choosing the right flavor for yourself, you should ensure the following features in a good sauce.
- Flavor
A good BBQ sauce – whether it’s meant for ribs or not – should have both sweetness and tanginess to it.
There are two basic flavors that BBQ sauces come in – sweet, and sweet with tangy.
Sweet sauces contain tomatoes and sugar, and sometimes brown sugar and molasses.
Whereas to give the sauce’s sweetness and hint of tanginess as well, other sauces will contain vinegar in them too.
Some BBQ sauces have an even richer flavor with the addition of certain spices in them.
At the end, what really matters is what you would like – would you prefer a tanginess or spiciness to your sauce, or would you simply love a basic, sweet BBQ sauce to go with your ribs?
- Consistency
BBQ sauces will either only have a thick, dip-like texture, or a sometimes a little runny consistency.
The runny consistency is usually observed in more tangy sauces since they tend to contain vinegar in their ingredients.
In either case, the best-textured sauce will be the one that can cover your ribs in a good and thick layer of flavor.
- Price
A lot of people assume that price and quality go hand-in-hand.
This is not true at all – especially for BBQ sauces. Most pricey sauces are only expensive because they’re either manufactured by a big brand, or because they’re shipped internationally.
Therefore, to truly determine the value of a BBQ sauce, you need to look up its reviews and determine if it’s good or not, without really factoring in its price.
Affordable
1. KC ORIGINAL BBQ SAUCE
Jack Stack’s KC Original BBQ Sauce has the original sweet flavor of a BBQ sauce with an underlying tart flavor to it – in other words, it is a classic Kansas City Sauce.
This BBQ sauce by Jack Stack tends to have a thick, dip-like consistency, which probably comes from its choice of ingredients, ketchup and molasses to be specific.
This consistency allows you to not only spread it on the pulled pork easily, but also easily dip any other food in it! Which is why we love keeping it on our kitchen shelves at all times.
What makes this BBQ sauce even better is the fact that it also has a certain smokiness to its flavor that could otherwise only come from actual smoking in fire and coals.
For its price, the tangy and smoky sweetness of this sauce is the best way you can improve your feasting experience!
TASTY
2. KC SPICY BBQ SAUCE
If you think that the KC Original BBQ Sauce is somewhat bland for you, Jack Stack still has you covered. Jack Stack’s KC Spicy BBQ Sauce is an excellent option since we love a spicy twist in our BBQ sauces.
This BBQ sauce features the same choice of ingredients as their original sauce, with additional cayenne pepper added to it.
This pepper gives your BBQ sauce a spicy taste that you might be looking for. It’s just enough to make the sauce spicy yet not too hot.
If you’re a fan of spices, then you won’t be able to stop purchasing this sauce on a regular basis – whether it’s for your ribs or not!
Top Pick
3. GRANNY’S BBQ SAUCE
Granny’s BBQ Sauce is as old as the 1950s, yet it has managed to safe keep its family recipe and deliver the same, old, famously flavorful BBQ sauce to its audience.
Overall these decades, the company has had no difference in its outstanding quality and flavor and continues to become a top preference in sauces for many people – including us!
Like most other BBQ sauces, this sauce is also well suited for ribs because it contains both tomatoes and vinegar, which means it has both sweetness and tanginess to it.
This is not just your traditional sweet BBQ sauce, Granny’s BBQ sauce also features fruity flavors like peach and orange and even adds spices on top of these.
This citrus and sweet sauce has always been one of our top recommendations for BBQ sauces
TASTY
4. BLUE HOG RASPBERRY CHIPOTLE BBQ SAUCE
You might think the perfect blend of fruitiness and spiciness in BBQ sauces doesn’t exist – but Blues Hog Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce has proved all of us wrong!
This BBQ sauce has the basic sweet and tangy flavor in it. But that’s not all. It also contains ripe raspberries and chipotle peppers!
These two ingredients do magic for the Blues Hog Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce. They give it a fruit sweetness with a blend of just enough spices to give it a little twist of heat.
This sauce is not just good enough to layer your cooked ribs but can even be used as a marinade for many other food choices; that’s why we love it so much!
You should specifically try this sauce if you’re looking to add a fruit twist to your food.
Top Pick
5. NIPPON SHOKKEN TERIYAKI SAUCE
If you like your ribs flavorful but not too rich, the Nippon Shokken Teriyaki Sauce will perfectly compliment your taste buds.
This is a very basic BBQ sauce that is sweet, but not too sweet and has a hint of tanginess. This quality is what makes it our personal favorite.
If you’re not a fan of flavors too strong and rich, then this mild Nippon Shokken Teriyaki Sauce is a great option for you!
SPICY
6. BULL’S-EYE ORIGINAL BBQ SAUCE
The Bull’s-Eye Original BBQ Sauce has a rather bold flavor, with a hint of sweetness.
Like most other BBQ sauces, it also contains a good amount of high fructose corn syrup to add to its sweetness. It also includes molasses and honey in its ingredients to do the same job.
This Bull’s-Eye Original BBQ Sauce is a smoky BBQ sauce, with a hint of hickory in it. This smokiness has made it one of our favorite sauces.
The consistency is thick yet runny enough for the ribs to be completely and easily covered in the sauce without struggling to make a smooth and even layer.
This is a great sauce to purchase at its price, primarily because it can easily compete with much more expensive BBQ sauces for ribs.
When Should I Put BBQ Sauce on Ribs?
There is a lot of debate regarding when it is best to put the BBQ sauce on your ribs.
We recommend that you brush all the sauce on your ribs in the last 20 to 30 minutes of your smoking or cooking period.
You need to put a thick and smooth layer of sauce on the ribs in a way that no part of the meat goes bare or uncovered.
If you’re still unsure of when, and particularly how to put BBQ sauce on ribs, this video could be of great help to you!
Wrapping it Up
BBQ sauces can be hard to choose from, especially with the number of options available in the market today.
Which is why, our favorite help is the Grill Masters Club. So, if you’re still lost between all your options, the Grills Masters Club could help you.
BBQ Masters Club: Subscription Box
With a subscription to Grill Masters Club, you’ll be receiving new rubs, marinades, sauces, and even grilling accessories to your doorstep monthly!
Hence, you will gradually learn which sauces suit your taste best.
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