Taste test - barbecue sauces
Like all keen barbecuers, we can't resist a good barbecue sauce - and, fortunately, the nature of the BBQ.co.uk taste test means we don't have to!
 Using local supermarkets and online retailers, we quickly had six bottles of sauce at our disposal. Next we recruited a few packs of Porkinson bangers (our favourite sausage in a previous taste test) and gave the Weber Baby Q a quick clean. Let the taste test commence!
On test:
The six sauces battling it out to be voted best on test were (in no particular order)
HP BBQ Sauce Classic Woodsmoke
New Orleans Smoky Blues BBQ Sauce
Hawkshead Relish co. BBQ Sauce
Cattlemen's Barbecue Sauce
Jardines Texas Smoky Mesquite BBQ Sauce
Wild Harvest Bush Barbeque Sauce
How it worked:
We cooked up a load of Porkinson bangers and invited our independent judges to dip them in the sauces. Each judge gave marks out of five for taste, texture and appeal (smell and visual impact of sauce) and noted their scores on marking sheets.
As taste is all important in a barbecue sauce, we then doubled the scores in the taste column to give each sauce a possible 80 points. Each contender's points tally has been turned into a star rating out of five - one being poor and five being outstanding.
The results:
HP BBQ Sauce |
Taste |
Texture |
Appeal |
Overall Score |
Judge 1 |
8 |
2 |
2 |
47 / 80
|
Judge 2 |
8 |
2 |
2 |
Judge 3 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
Judge 4 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
COMMENTS: Cheap and cheerful option, good smoky flavour if a little ketchup-like in texture. The squeezy bottle helped make things a little more controllable!
|
New Orleans Smoky Blues |
Taste |
Texture |
Appeal |
Overall Score |
Judge 1 |
8 |
2 |
3 |
THIRD PLACE
51 / 80 |
Judge 2 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
Judge 3 |
8 |
2 |
3 |
Judge 4 |
10 |
2 |
3 |
COMMENTS: Split the judges taste wise, but its very sweet flavour won it third place. Like the HP it's very smoky - one judge remarked it was like eating a sparkler - only less dangerous.
|
Hawkshead Relish BBQ Sauce |
Taste |
Texture |
Appeal |
Overall Score |
Judge 1 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
SECOND PLACE
52/ 80 |
Judge 2 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
Judge 3 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
Judge 4 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
COMMENTS: The handmade Hawkshead Relish had the best texture of all our sauces, and a delicate flavour that won second place. A good, light summery sauce.
|
Cattlemen's Barbecue Sauce |
Taste |
Texture |
Appeal |
Overall Score |
Judge 1 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
49 / 80
|
Judge 2 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
Judge 3 |
10 |
3 |
3 |
Judge 4 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
COMMENTS: A huge hit with one of our judges, the Cattlemen's was probably the spiciest on test. The lukewarm response from other judges meant it narrowly missed out on the top three.
|
Jardines Texas Smoky |
Taste |
Texture |
Appeal |
Overall Score |
Judge 1 |
8 |
3 |
4 |
WINNER
61 / 80 |
Judge 2 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
Judge 3 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
Judge 4 |
10 |
4 |
4 |
COMMENTS: With the taste and texture of a smoky salsa, this one found favour with every judge. Ingredients oddly include red wine vinegar, celery and Texas Champagne hot sauce - but it works!
|
Wild Harvest Bush Barbeque |
Taste |
Texture |
Appeal |
Overall Score |
Judge 1 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
36 / 80
|
Judge 2 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
Judge 3 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
Judge 4 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
COMMENTS: Distinctive, spicy flavour that was different to all others. A strong smell of aniseed put some judges off - and that pulled the score down. |
 The summary
The winner by some margin was the Jardine's Smoky Mesquite BBQ Sauce - made in Texas. The thick, grainy texture was a hit with the judges, while the long list of ingredients combined to make a delicious smoky flavour.
At £2.99 the Jardine's was the most expensive of our tested sauces, suggesting that you really do get what you pay for in the BBQ sauce world.
Second place went to the Hawkshead Relish BBQ Sauce with its refreshingly light flavour
that was far more delicate than others on test. The hugely smoky
New Orleans sauce finished third.
Cattlemen's, HP (the cheapest on test at just £1.29) and Wild Harvest completed the line-up, all attaining respectable scores - but as the wildly differing merit marks on some sauces testify, it really is down to personal taste. If the budget will only stretch to one jar of sauce for your next barbie, try the Jardine's, but if you can afford it then get a few different sauces in and decide for yourself which is best.
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