Initially I was unsure of how this product worked. I mean in most cases BBQ sauce really isn’t something that you just throw stuff into and out it comes. BBQ sauce can mean many things, and can be somewhat controversial in the true BBQ world, but for the casual cook we typically associate the term BBQ Sauce with a thick reddish brown/completely brown sauce we find in bottles at the grocer. While you can make your own somewhat easily it does involve several ingredients and cooking. This BBQ Sauce Mix eliminates most of the ingredients and the cooking all together.
To make a sauce with this all you need to do is add 3/4 of liquid to one of the 2 packets that come in the box. What kind of liquid? Well that is where this product finds its use. The mix provides a pretty solid base flavor and the liquids you add are not only going to make the sauce well, liquid, but add those additional flavors you might be interested in. Like fruit flavors in your sauce? Just add whatever fruit juice you want. Really like the tangy acidity that vinegar adds? Use some vinegar. You are in the driver’s seat here, its entirely up to you. Want to crack a can of beer and whip it up in the parking lot? Should work just fine.
Since we were sent a sample of the Spicy Habanero variety and decided to go with sort of a honey mango type of thing for the test. So all I had to do was add 1/4 each of mango nectar, honey, and cider vinegar. What I got was a pretty nice little sauce with not an excessive amount of heat. I can safely say it wasn’t excessive because my wife who is pretty sensitive to the heat thought it was an acceptable level. I applied this to some wings I had cooked on the grill as part of another product evaluation and I was pleased with the results. It might have been a touch thick for tossing wings in, but I also made it in advance of saucing and per the box the sauce will thicken over time, plus most wings can’t have enough sauce on them.
Full disclosure, we didn’t try the product in the dry rub or marinade capacity. This wasn’t because I didn’t think it would be good, it was just a result of having grilled meats for pretty much every meal for a week.
All in all I think its a good product especially if you want to whip up a fresh BBQ sauce in a hurry. The Spicy Habanero version is gluten free per the box, and I would guess that the others probably are as well. You can find this product pretty easily in Wal-Mart and the price is pretty right coming in around $3 for a box of 2 pouches of mix. For more info and recipe ideas you can check out www.kcmasterpiece.com