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Guy Fieri's BBQ Sauces, Ranked Worst To Best

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You can rely on your favorite enthusiastic chef Guy Fieri to create some magic in the kitchen. The enthusiastic celebrity chef's personality is just as intense as his brand, Flavortown, which includes cookware, tools, and other kitchen essentials in addition to food. Flavortown offerings include creamy aiolis as well as barbecue sauces to add delicious taste to smoked meats, sandwiches, and sauces to use for dipping. Many of the recipes are inspired by dishes whipped up in the kitchens of Guy's restaurants.

You may not find the entire Flavortown lineup on all of the grocery store shelves just yet. Walmart and Publix have partnerships with the brand, but if you don't have these stores nearby, Amazon remains one of the most accessible places to get your hands (and tastebuds) on one of these sauces. When shopping online, however, you have to rely on reviews to make your selection. We taste tested all of the barbecues as dipping sauces to get first-hand knowledge of which Guy Fieri cues are the best.

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5. Guy Fieri's Flavortown Mop Sauce Barbecue Sauce

A bottle of Flavortown Mop Sauce barbecue sauce next to a small glass bowl with a sample of brown sauce - Katie Melynn/Chowhound

The Flavortown Mop Sauce is rich and dark, with a thin consistency to pour over meat on the grill. It's often applied with a mop, or at least a large brush, to keep the meat moist and tender, which is where it gets its odd name. For a dipping sauce, however, it doesn't work very well. It's vinegar-based, so you know it has plenty of tang. However, it doesn't have the rich umami taste that we hoped for and lacks in the spice department as well. Without some sweetness or smokiness for balance, it left us a bit disappointed when we tried it with chicken tenders.

It is the lowest in terms of added sugar in the Flavortown lineup, with only 6 grams of sugar in each 2-tablespoon serving. It has only 230 milligrams of sodium per serving, which is less than all but one of the barbecues from Flavortown. It includes molasses and brown sugar, but tomato paste and apple cider vinegar are more dominant in the flavor profile. This option does not include anchovy, which might be why it was noticeably less savory than some of the other Flavortown sauces.

4. Guy Fieri's Flavortown Honey Barbecue Sauce

A bottle of Flavortown honey barbecue sauce next to a small white bowl with a sample of brown sauce - Katie Melynn/Chowhound

The honey in the Flavortown honey barbecue sauce makes it extra sweet but it wasn't the most balanced option from Guy Fieri. This is one of only two sauces that does not include anchovy in the ingredients list, which explained its lack of savory umami. The consistency was decent but it wasn't as thick as our favorite sauces, either. Overall, the sugary flavor and the thinner consistency made this a sauce we'd likely pass on next time.

It was one of the lowest for sugar content, which surprised us. There are only 7 grams of sugar in each 2-tablespoon serving. Given its ingredients list and sweet flavor, we expected a much higher number. If you want a sweet sauce that isn't loaded with added sugar, the honey variety is one to try. It's also lower than the top sauce for sodium, with 280 milligrams per serving. Otherwise, stick with something that has a bit more depth from smoky or spicy ingredients.

3. Guy Fieri's Flavortown Kane Brown's Tennessee BBQ Sauce

A bottle of Flavortown Kane Brown Tennessee barbecue sauce next to a small silver bowl with a sample of dark red sauce - Katie Melynn/Chowhound

Guy teamed up with country singer Kane Brown for this take on barbecue. It brings in a sweet taste from the Tennessee-style sauce, plus a kick of spice. It was pretty hefty, although not as thick as some of those we ended up ranking higher. It's a traditional tomato-based barbecue, but the addition of chili pepper extract gives it that extra heat. The ingredients list is very similar to the hickory sauce and those were the two that were closest in flavor. The extra spice in the Tennessee version is the major difference.

This sauce has the lowest amount of sodium out of all of the Flavortown options with just 210 milligrams per serving. It has a lot of sugar, however, with 10 grams in each serving and includes both brown and white sugar in the recipe. Even with this high sugar content, we still really liked this sauce, and the combination of sweetness and heat give it a nice balance and deep flavor.

2. Guy Fieri's Flavortown Carolina BBQ Sauce

A bottle of Flavortown Carolina barbecue sauce next to a blue plate with a sample of gold sauce - Katie Melynn/Chowhound

If you love mustard-based barbecue, you'll be a fan of the Flavortown Carolina BBQ sauce. Carolina gold-style cue originated in South Carolina but has made a name for itself as a delicious regional barbecue style and this sauce has plenty of zing, just like Guy himself. It was more mustard than vinegar, but still had elements of both ingredients, which is essential to good Carolina Gold in our opinion. The ingredient list includes anchovies, which is what gives it a deep savory element. It was thick enough to use for dipping, but we'd also put a nice coating on chicken before throwing it on the grill.

This sauce has a medium amount of added sugar compared to others on the list with 8 grams per serving. Unfortunately, it's the highest in sodium with 320 milligrams per a 2-tablespoon serving, so you might want to consider a different option if you're trying to keep your salt intake down. At a minimum, keep a glass of water handy because you'll definitely be thirsty after enjoying this sauce. Even with the salty flavor, this was one of our favorites.

1. Guy Fieri's Flavortown Smokin' Hickory Barbecue Sauce

A bottle of Flavortown hickory barbecue sauce next to a blue bowl with a sample of dark red sauce next to a sample of gold sauce - Katie Melynn/Chowhound

The hickory flavor is strong in the Flavortown hickory barbecue sauce, just like Guy's signature hair. It has a sweet and smoky combination that you expect from most traditional barbecue. Not surprisingly, this recipe had anchovy in the ingredients list, which gave it a savory element. This was also the thickest of the ones we tried, so it got top marks for texture as well. From the very first taste, this was our favorite sauce as it hit all of notes we love in a barbecue sauce. It was sweet and savory at the same time, with added smokiness and a hint of tang to wake up our tastebuds. It clung to our chicken tenders without any dripping so we got to enjoy every drop.

We were less excited when we took a look at the nutrition facts for this sauce. It has a whopping 17 grams of sugar in each serving, which is 7 grams more than the Tennessee-style sauce, and more than double the Carolina Gold. If you're trying to reduce your sugar intake, this sauce is probably not one you want to use often. It had 270 milligrams of sodium per serving, which was in the middle of all the sauces we compared. For taste and texture, though, it hit it out of the park and earned the No. 1 spot.

How We Ranked Guy Fieri's BBQ Sauces

A chicken strip dipped in barbecue sauce in front of three samples of sauce in small bowls - Katie Melynn/Chowhound

For this ranking, we looked at customer reviews from online retailers, including photos of how customers used and enjoyed these sauces, as well as our own experience trying Guy Fieri's Flavortown barbecues. When testing, we considered taste and texture first, since a great barbecue sauce enhances meats with a deep savory flavor while also being thick enough to use as a dipping sauce. Our favorites had a nice balance of multiple taste attributes, whether it was sweet, savory, smoky, or spicy. Extra zing from vinegar or mustard were also nice notes in the sauces that rose to the top. We also considered nutrition factors, looking closely at both sugar and sodium in each sauce.

Read the original article on Chowhound.

Store-Bought Barbecue Sauces And Rubs That Celebrity Chefs Swear By

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When it comes to cooking, homemade is always better -- but sometimes it's more convenient and cost-effective to reach for store-bought products. This is particularly true when dealing with condiments and sauces, which can be messy to make and often require lots of ingredients. And reaching for store-bought products when the need arises doesn't just apply to home chefs. Celebrity chefs are also likely to grab a bottled product when they're in a pinch. While everyone loves a good homemade barbecue sauce, nobody can deny it's simpler to snatch up a bottle of your favorite brand when the recipe calls for sauce.

Barbecue sauce is generally made with a tomato base (tomato sauce or ketchup), sweeteners (brown sugar and molasses being common choices), and vinegar. From there, recipes tend to differ, sometimes including ingredients like mustard, onion powder, garlic, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce. Every recipe has its own unique ingredients, and the type of barbecue sauce you're exposed to can vary based on the region you live in. This tasty sauce is frequently found around the grill, but even if you're not using it to showcase your grilling techniques, barbecue sauce will always have a place in the home chef's kitchen. Versatile and loaded with flavor, barbecue sauce can be used to elevate a burger and has even been known to dress up a homemade potato salad recipe. Here are several store-bought barbecue sauces that celebrity chefs love to have around.

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Giada De Laurentiis Loves Stubbs Original Legendary Bar-B-Q Sauce

bottles of stubb's barbecue sauce on store shelves - Billy F Blume Jr/Shutterstock

Giada De Laurentiis isn't known for barbecue, but she knows her way around a sauce, and we trust her judgment when she recommends Stubbs Original Legendary Bar-B-Q sauce as her go-to. De Laurentiis likes to utilize barbecue sauce in unexpected ways, sharing that she even uses it on her eggs in the morning. She loves the flavor of Stubbs, calling it the "perfect balance of sweet and tangy with just a touch of warmth so everyone in the family can enjoy it."

Fans of Stubbs would agree. One five-star reviewer on Amazon said, "With Stubb's, you can really taste the spices in the sauce, rather than the usual appeal of barbecue which is just the sweet base."

Stubb's came to be when Christopher B. Stubblefield from Navasota, Texas, (known as "Stubb") opened his first barbecue joint in Lubbock, Texas, in 1968. He had honed his craft as a cook in the Korean War, where he was a gunner in the last all-black army infantry and also found himself preparing meals for up to 10,000 soldiers. His Lubbock restaurant grew in popularity, and in the '70s it attracted famous musicians like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and Linda Rondstadt to come perform (and enjoy the barbecue). Stubb died in 1995, but Stubb's Original Legendary Bar-B-Q sauce lives on!

It's Bone Suckin' Sauce For Bobby Flay

jar of bone suckin' sauce - Bone Suckin' Sauce

Bobby Flay is so confident in his prowess in the kitchen that he has an entire show dedicated to contestants trying to cook a better meal than him. The star of "Beat Bobby Flay" likes to make his own barbecue sauce, but when he can't make his own he turns to a brand called Bone Suckin' Sauce. This award-winning barbecue sauce was developed in 1987 when real estate appraiser Phil Ford wanted to recreate the North Carolina-style sauce his mother used to make. And Bobby Flay isn't the only fan -- Bone Suckin' Sauce is now available on Amazon and exported to more than 80 countries.

Bone Suckin' Sauce appeals to customers for its flavor, which one Amazon reviewer described as having the "perfect amount of heat with amazing flavor, sweet, tangy, and spicy but not too much." While fans rave about the taste (it has a 4.5-star rating on Amazon with more than 2,300 reviews), the ingredients are the star of the show. Bone Suckin' Sauce is non-GMO, gluten-free, kosher, and doesn't use any high fructose corn syrup in its products.

Bone Suckin' Sauce will get the job done, but if you want to add your own touch, Bobby Flay has a few tricks up his sleeve for elevating your store-bought barbecue sauce. He recommends bringing your sauce to a simmer in a pan and then adding Worcestershire sauce, chipotle puree, and a squeeze of lime juice.

Anthony Bourdain Was A Huge Fan Of Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que Sauce

bottle of Joe's Kansas City barbecue sauce - Joe's Kansas City

Anthony Bourdain has been gone since 2018, but his impact on the food industry lives on. We still turn to Bourdain's reviews for everything from fast food recommendations to cooking tips. After calling Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue one of 13 places to eat before you die and declaring it "the best BBQ in Kansas City," Joe's, which had already won accolades in the barbecue world, quickly jumped to nationwide fame. In 2014, Oklahoma Joe's changed its name to Joe's Kansas City -- but the great food didn't change.

Today, you can grab a bottle of Bourdain's beloved barbecue sauce, Joe's Kansas City Original Bar-B-Q Sauce, on Amazon. This sauce is known for its Kansas City style. Kansas City sauce is traditionally a thicker sauce that is sweetened with molasses and blends both spicy and sweet spices to get the perfect balance of flavors and texture. Customers rave about the standout flavors of Joe's famous sauce. One enthusiastic Amazon reviewer said, "My family doesn't like vinegar-based BBQ sauce. So I spend a fair amount of time trying out different sauces to locate ones that are good without the vinegar flavor. This one perfectly meets that! We have used it on ribs, brisket, pork chops, and tri-tip steaks [and] all of them turned out great!"

Andrew Zimmern Stocked Up On Bessinger's Spicy Golden Recipe

bottle of Bessingers Spicy Golden barbecue sauce - Bessinger's/Amazon

Andrew Zimmern travels the world as a TV host, and he's probably best known for his show, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. He doesn't just like it weird, though. He traveled to Bessinger's Barbecue in Charleston, South Carolina, and couldn't get enough of Bessinger's tasty, mustard-based sauce. Zimmern said, "I usually don't like mustard BBQ sauces but I drink your 'spicy' version like it's water. Can't get enough!"

Zimmern might be famous for eating strange and slightly frightening foods (horse rib and rectum sausage come to mind), but he's also a fan of more traditional fare. Bessinger's have been making magic with its mustardy sauce since the 1930s. This family-owned barbecue joint is a legend in its home state of South Carolina, with people coming from all over to try the gold sauce and Bessinger's famous barbecue (the restaurant has been visited by celebrities like LL Cool J, Charlie Daniels, and Randy Travis).

If you're new to mustard-based barbecue, give this one a shot. "I just took a chance and I've been thoroughly pleased with it. About to order a few more bottles because I'm running low," is the review one customer left on Amazon about trying it for the first time.

Lawrence Page Loves Sweet Baby Ray's

sweet baby ray's barbecue sauce on store shelves - KK Stock/Shutterstock

Lawrence Page, chef and host of the 2017 reality series, "Hustle & Soul," always reaches for Sweet Baby Ray's when he needs a bottle of barbecue sauce. Page says he appreciates that it doesn't have a strong ketchup taste, going on to say, "The maple syrup really adds a nice sweet and smoky flavor to ribs when grilling!"

Page is not alone in his love for Sweet Baby Ray's, which you can purchase on Amazon or at your local grocery store. One Amazon review echoes Page's sentiment that this sauce is worth the purchase, calling it delicious and saying, "You can't go wrong with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. I use the original. It's great with roast, steaks, in stuffing, on top of stuffed green peppers ... Everywhere!"

While the sweet flavor is what appeals to many customers, the brand also has a no-sugar-added version of its most popular sauces. These sauces are keto-friendly and have just 1 gram of sugar per serving, making them a viable option for anyone who is watching their sugar intake.

Ina Garten Is A Fan Of Stubb's Bar-B-Q Rub

bottle of stubbs barbecue spice rub - emka74/Shutterstock

Stubb's Bar-B-Q Rub was spotted in Ina Garten's pantry, so we know she's a fan. This is the original recipe that was created by Stubb's founder, Christopher B. Stubblefield. It includes spices like sea salt, garlic, and paprika blended with a hickory smoke flavor. Stubb's recommends using it on everything from pork to chicken to vegetables to brisket.

Garten clearly isn't the only fan of Stubb's rub. You can order Stubb's highly-rated Bar-B-Q Rub on Amazon, where it has almost 900 reviews and enjoys a 4.6-star rating. While Stubb's is extremely versatile, one reviewer raves about using it on beef, saying, "Stubbs is my personal favorite rub seasoning for beef. The flavor profile of the Stubbs rub used liberally on a brisket prior to smoking is WOW! It's also excellent to rub on a London broil." And you could use this rub as a steak rub or include it in the ingredients next time you make a burger.

Jess Pryles Prefers Meat Mitch WHOMP! BBQ Sauce

bottle of meat mitch whomp! Barbecue sauce - Meat Mitch

Jess Pryles, host of the TV show "Hardcore Carnivore", is a big fan of Meat Mitch WHOMP! BBQ Sauce. This Kansas City-style sauce blends sweet and spicy and relies on a unique "secret" ingredient (vanilla) to make it stand out from the crowd. Pryles likes using it for ribs, calling it a classic Kansas City sauce and noting it has "a perfect balance of smokiness and sweet."

Pryles also appreciates the color of Meat Mitch WHOMP! BBQ Sauce, commenting that its reddish coloring makes for a prettier (and more delectable) finished product. Pryles has made a living as an author, live fire cook, and TV host, "specializing in all things meat," so we trust her recommendation when it comes to barbecue sauce. Try it the next time you go to grill some ribs or need a fresh new sauce for your brisket.

Adrian Miller's Go-To Is Gates Bar-B-Q Original Classic Sauce

three bottles of gates barbecue sauce - Gates Bar-B-Q

Food historian, cook-off judge, and author Adrian Miller always chooses Gates Bar-B-Q Original Classic when he's got something to grill. Miller says, "Gates is one of the venerable African American-owned barbecue restaurants in Kansas City, Missouri." Miller is a huge fan of the sauce, saying it's a "tomato-based sauce that's not too thick, and it has a nice balance of tangy and sweet." Amazon customers agree, with one reviewer saying, "This is my favorite BBQ sauce. I'm from Kansas City and Gates BBQ is the best BBQ in the world. The sauce alone will make any grilled meat absolutely delicious."

George W. Gates opened what is now known as Gates Bar-B-Q in 1946. The restaurant's popularity grew, and by 1984 it was distributing its sauces and spices to stores across the nation. Gates sells its sauces on Amazon, where they are available in a variety of flavors, like Extra Hot BBQ Sauce and Original Classic BBQ Sauce.

Nikki Martin Likes KC Masterpiece

bottle of kc masterpiece barbecue sauce - Steve Cukrov/Shutterstock

Nikki Martin, who competed on "Food Network Star" and is a celebrity wellness chef and coach, calls barbecue sauce her favorite condiment. Her store-bought brand of choice is KC Masterpiece. "It has the perfect smokiness mixed with right amount of sweetness," she says. Martin doesn't specify which flavor is her favorite, but there are plenty of KC Masterpiece flavors to choose from, and the brand is one of the most highly-rated barbecue sauce brands on Amazon.

Its Original Barbecue Sauce recipe is made with tomato, onion, and a variety of spices to create a delightfully sweet and smoky flavor that customers love. "I love the rich flavor of this sauce without being too sweet like other BBQ sauces," said one happy customer on Amazon. KC Masterpiece was created by Topeka, Kansas, resident Rich Davis in the 1970s. The name came from the fact that Davis called his recipe "a masterpiece."

Read the original article on Foodie.

'The BBQ Patties That Banquet Sells': Former McDonald's Chef Warns Against The Store-bought McRib Sauce. Here's Why

Since the 2000s, McDonald's has released its famous McRib yearly around the holidays. This year, however, the chain is doing something new. Starting Nov. 25, people can snag a half-gallon jug of it called A Whole Lotta McRib Sauce. But not everyone is on board.

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