Review - Bull's-Eye Regional BBQ Sauces
Digg
Share
I am not a barbecue sauce purist or regionalist by any stretch of the imagination. I enjoy a vast hodgepodge of styles and flavor profiles, and I'm always eager to test out new combinations of tastes and blends of components that BBQers and sauce companies conjure up. That having been said, I suppose that the "gun to my head" choice for a favorite regional BBQ flavor would the Kansas City type. Its rich, sweet and dense base in my opinion provides the best finishing touch for both slow-cooked and smoked meat and the more rapidly-grilled burgers, dogs and chicken pieces. Yeah, it's true I reside in the St. Louis metro area, but what is considered to be St. Louis-type barbecue sauce - a variance best typified by a strong tomato and vinegar bite with an overly runny consistency - is not really what I crave the most in a sauce.
Still, I love to try it all and enjoy many aspects of those. Since I'm not always able to travel geographically to sample every U.S. states' wares, often sauces and rubs based on those regional differences are the best I can do.
Kraft Foods has introduced a quartet of new sauces to their popular Bull's-Eye BBQ Sauce line in an attempt to capture the flavors of what are probably the four most distinctive barbecue styles in America - Carolina, Memphis, Kansas City, and Texas. They had sent me a bottle each to see what my take on them was. Bottom line is that I liked them all, some better than others, even if they weren't necessarily faithful to the region which they're aiming to represent.
Carolina Style
Ingredients:
Vinegar, Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Water, Mustard Seed, Salt, Contains Less Than 2% of Modified Food Starch, Spice, Dried Onions, Natural Flavor, Dried Garlic, White Wine, Fruit Pectin, Citric Acid, Tartaric Acid
Review:
Going from East to West across the map, I'll begin with Bull's-Eye's Carolina BBQ Sauce. This variation (along with the other three) are thick in consistency and have a smooth, flowing viscosity along with an almost equal clinginess to meat. The Carolina is visually the most distinctive sauce out of the group, having a deep golden color as opposed to a reddish-brown tint.
Sauces from North and South Carolina can vary quite a bit, but they with very few exceptions are dominated by one ingredient: vinegar. The Bull's-Eye version does not deviate from this fact, but instead has an unexpected kick of a sweet tomato flavor. To most, this is not really "true" Carolina BBQ, and only resembles anything from the region by being vaguely close to Lexington, North Carolina BBQ, which is known for adding ketchup to the strong vinegar base.
While it may not be authentic Carolina style, this amalgamation is actually pretty tasty. In my first taste I caught a bright, tart and dazzlingly sweet push with a hint of a mustard on the end. For the application on food, there was nothing better than some pulled pork shoulder. The vinegar lost a bit of its bluster, and it may not have been as thin as it could have, but for what it was it provided a nice, mild and savory coating for the bare-bones, hickory-smoked pork.
I think this may work as condiment or a dip for everything from burgers and dogs to chicken tenders.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5.
Memphis Style
Ingredients:
Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Vinegar, Molasses, Brown Sugar, Salt, Contains Less Than 2% of Modified Food Starch, Spice, Mustard Seed, Dried Onions, Natural Flavor, Dried Garlic, White Wine, Fruit Pectin, Tartaric Acid, Citric Acid
Review:
Out of all four of these, it was the Memphis style I was most eager to dive into. Most BBQ enthusiasts are intimately familiar with the fact that Memphis barbecue is the dry rubbed sort and typically doesn't utilize a stand-out variation of sauce. So what did the minds at Bull's Eye have in mind for what might approximately the distinctive dry seasoning flavor in BBQ sauce form? I was dying to know.
The answer is is a middle-of-the-road, non-offensive liquid that is heavy on the sweetness and is essentially a melting pot of regional BBQ styles. This is a very thick sauce that's has tomatoes and sugar taking center stage with a slightly smoky edge. I also detected a dash of vinegar-infused tanginess to supply it a bit of personality. Oddly enough, I could have sworn a smidgen of fragrant lemon zest peeked its head out both when smelling the sauce's aroma as well as when chowing down on pulled pork drenched with Memphis style.
Bull's-eye markets their products as "bold", and while this sauce may be the least bold-tasting out of the bunch, it may be something you wish to purchase if you're catering to general audiences with diverging taste buds.
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5.
Kansas City Style
Ingredients:
Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Vinegar, Molasses, Contains Less Than 2% of Salt, Modified Food Starch, Natural Flavor, Mustard Flour, Dried Onions, Spice, Dried Garlic
Great on ribs - Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce
Review:
Kansas City style is closest to Bull's-Eye's trademark Original BBQ Sauce. It very well be the most predictable of all of Bull's Eye's regional variants, but that doesn't mean it's not one of the best.
I tested this sauce out on some spare ribs. I adored the rich, naturally sweet vigor with a terrific balance of tomato, molasses and spices with a onion-y bite on the end. Not being a huge fan of artificial smoke flavoring, I was relieved it was not too strong or smoky.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5.
Texas Style
Ingredients: Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Vinegar, Modified Food Starch, Contains Less Than 2% of Salt, Spice, Mustard Flour, Natural Flavor, Dried Onions, Dried Garlic
Review:
Texas style's flavor contour may be the most interesting of the lot. I was anticipating a peppery sauce heavy on a mesquite zing, and detected around half of that prognostication. I sensed little mesquite or smoky flavor, and instead tasted a complex peppery, vinegary and tomato-heavy savoriness. It's different than the other three in that the Texas BBQ sauce has far less sweetness. To me, it closely approaches some of the tomato-based hot sauces with its fiery twang. And there was the strange little tingle I encountered in the Memphis sauce - the odd, barely detectable taste of lemon.
It being a Texas sauce, I just had to try it on smoked beef brisket. The flavor was nice, full of chile heat (quite a bit for a mass-produced product) and a moderate amount of acidity from the tomatoes. I think a touch more sweetness and this would have really shined. Overall, it fared very respectably. I estimate this would do an admirable job on pork and chicken as well.
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Labels and Packaging
These have been designed to match the other offerings in Bull's-Eye lineup. Each one looks clean and crisp with enough difference in the font style and color to easily distinguish between each one.
The Bull's-Eye regional sauces are available in supermarkets across the U.S.A. To visit the official Bull's-Eye website, go to http://brands.kraftfoods.com/bullseyebbq.
Related Articles:
Spicy Food Reviews - Hot Sauce Reviews, Hot Snacks, Hot Wings, Seasonings, BBQ Sauces, Condiments, and More
Comments
2010-08-17 08:14:11
2010-08-17 08:46:21
2010-08-18 01:19:12
Went on their website, it's kinda cool. Good sense of humor. Such as, as a recipe suggestion to try the BBQ sauce with Bear ribs.
I quote "stalk and kill a 600 pounds bear with nothing but a hunting knife and flashlight. Butcher and grill with [...]
I like ^^
2010-08-18 04:43:29
i like the texas style
2010-08-18 15:08:22
2010-08-18 17:07:14
http://foodbeast.com/content/2010/08/18/kfc-five-layer-fried-chicken-skin-s kinwich-in-testing-rumor/
I thought of you...lol
2012-03-01 07:24:31
Add Your Comment: