Barbeque sauce – we. love. it. At Pork Barrel BBQ, we spend almost all our time thinking about BBQ. We’ve been honored to win some great awards for our BBQ sauce, including Men’s Health Magazine 2010 Best BBQ Sauce, Chinet People’s Choice Award for Best Barbeque Sauce and National Capital BBQ Battle 2nd Place for Best BBQ Sauce in the Nation. We understand that our company and our products are part of a great tradition in this nation. The purpose of this post is to share some of the history of barbecue sauces.
SO where to start? How about what to call it? One of the fun things we encountered when founding Pork Barrel BBQ was to learn that there are so many ways to call the same thing: BBQ sauce, barbeque sauce, barbecue sauce, bar bq sauce, bar b que sauce, and probably a few others we are forgetting. They are also an intensely personal and regional product. When you ask folks what are the best barbeque sauce ingredients, the answers are all different and depend on where you are from! Here’s a quick breakdown of the regional styles of barbeque sauce:
Kansas City Style Barbeque Sauce - We are both originally from Kansas City, Missouri – and you can find a great BBQ restaurant around every corner. A Kansas City style barbecue sauce recipe is traditionally a tomato-based sauce, combined with just the right amount of vinegar, molasses, pepper, brown sugar and spices. Try it on your pulled pork recipe, brisket, ribs and chicken.
Texas Style Barbeque Sauce – Texas style barbeque sauce recipe is also tomato-based, tends to be a little thinner than Kansas City style, and has the perfect blend of Southwestern seasoning, worcestershire sauce, and usually packs a little bit of heat! A true complement to brisket smoked over mesquite.
Memphis Style Barbeque Sauce – A sweet tomato-based sauce recipe, with a perfect blend of spices, always great on ribs and pulled pork.
East Carolina Barbeque Sauce - An experience unto itself, a vinegar sauce recipe with cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, salt and just right amount of sugar – amazing sauce on pulled pork.
South Carolina Mustard Barbeque Sauce – A tangy blend of mustard, cider vinegar and brown sugar – great on pork and chicken – also pretty amazing on a sandwich!
Alabama White Barbeque Sauce – It’s a very regional sauce – almost like BBQ mayonaise – Big Bob Gibson Bar-BQ does it best!
Barbeque Sauce Brands
Kraft BBQ Sauce – One of the first commercial BBQ sauce brands, Kraft BBQ Sauce is a classic sauce that is found in nearly every household. Kraft also owns the Bull’s Eye BBQ Sauce – known for its bold flavor they have a Kansas City Style sauce, Memphis style sauce, Texas style sauce and Carolina style Bull’s Eye B-B-Q sauce.
Kraft Thick and Spicy Barbecue Sauce
K.C. Masterpiece BBQ Sauce – As two guys from Kansas City, we are proud of the story of Dr. Rich Davis, and his creation of KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce recipe – one of the most successful BBQ sauce brands in the nation. K.C. Masterpiece has recently added a BBQ Bourbon sauce to its line of KC Masterpiece sauces, marinades, and seasoning.
KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce
Jack Daniel Barbecue Grilling Sauce- Jack Daniels is a great whiskey, and they crank out a popular Jack Daniels BBQ sauce recipe as well. Jack Daniels has 7 barbecue sauces, including their new Master Blend sauce. They also have some great bbq recipes using their sauces and rubs that they are kind enough to share with the world.
In case you are in the mood for some cooking, and have run out of Pork Barrel BBQ, our friend Derrick Riches at http://bbq.about.com has compiled some great regional bbq sauce recipes, including his favorite kansas city, memphis, carolina and mustard barbecue sauces.
The greatest honor for us is when our customers send us an email, or call to tell us that they like our Pork Barrel BBQ Sauce or Dry Rub. It’s been a great year, and our bar b que sauce and dry rub has been used on countless pulled pork, bbq ribs, chicken and veggie recipes this summer. We are so thankful for your support and wanted to share what some of our customers are saying:
“We happened to see your stint on Shark Tank – shortly after, our neighborhood store had your goods on display. We tried it, and LOVED it!! My husband is currently eating some sauce on his chicken and stated that it is his favorite sauce on the planet.” – email from Jill, Ft. Mill, South Carolina
“I spent my life trying to create the perfect gourmet bbq sauce, and was given a jar of your Pork Barrel BBQ sauce. I used it on chicken and couldn’t believe that such an amazing taste could come from a bottle – I immediately went to my refrigerator and threw out all the BBQ sauce in it – yours will be the only BBQ sauce I ever use - its the most amazing sauce I’ve ever tasted” phone call from University City, Missouri.
“Pork Barrel BBQ makes cooking a flavorful dinner on a time crunch easy. When I get home from work and want to throw dinner together I can take any piece of chicken, fish or beef, throw on some rub and cook it up. It is delicious, easy, and a staple in my cupboard.” – Krista, Washington, D.C.
“I used the All American Spice Rub to grill chicken for my teenage daughters – they said it was the best chicken I have ever made – I’m a customer for life!” – Jim, St. Louis, Missouri
“I was given a tin of the rub and have used it exclusively on salmon…….fabulous!!!!! I have yet to use it on anything else as I have run out and is time to reorder. You have a winner.” – Dian, St. Louis, Missouri
Not only does our All American Spice Rub taste great – but it is all natural and contains no preservatives and no MSG. The rub is manufactured locally in Virginia to reduce its carbon footprint. Now whats more bipartisan than that?
The video that started it all! Watch Pork Barrel BBQ’s Heath Hall and Brett Thompson on their Pork Barrel BBQ Shark Tank Audition Video. Includes special guests former Sen. Jim Talent, Rep. Max Sandlin, Rep. Ernest Istook, Media Personality Tucker Carlson and Top Chef contestants Carla Hall and Ariane Duarte.
Pork Barrel BBQ was proud to sponsor the Little Lights Ignite the Light Banquet. Thanks to our friend Izzy Ortega for introducing us to this great organization – to learn more visit http://www.littlelights.org/. Here are some cool photos from the evening!
Pork Barrel BBQ was honored to take part in the 2009 Taste for Giving event sponsored by the Rotary Club of Alexandria. The event was at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria. It was an evening of fine food and community spirit to benefit many charities in our community. The Alexandria Commission for the Arts is partnering in this event to present the ALEX Awards, which recognizes individuals, organizations, schools, and businesses that have made exceptional contributions to the cultural life in the City of Alexandria.
