What’s the Best Kansas City-Style BBQ Sauce? | The Taste Test
When you think about barbecue sauce, you may be thinking of Kansas City-style BBQ. Today, Lisa McManus and Morgan Bolling test the most popular store-bought brands to find out which tomato- and molasses-based sauce reigns supreme. From grocery store staples to hidden gems, find out which bottle delivers the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and smoky flavor for your next cookout.
Why We Love Kansas City–Style Barbecue Sauce:
00:00 Intro
2:06 Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce
4:07 L.C.’s Famous Kansas City Barbecue Sauce
6:37 KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce
8:27 Jones Bar-B-Q
10:49 Jack Stack Barbecue Sauce
12:19 Pitmaster BBQ Sauce
14:55 Gates Barbecue Sauce
16:56 Bull’s-Eye Barbecue
18:45 Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue Sauce
21:17 Kansas City-Style Barbecue Sauce Taste Test Results
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I make the best 1/2 Water, 1 c ketchup 2 tablespoons vinager, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, tablespoon Worcestershire, 1 teaspoon each onion powder garlic powder, paprika, oregano,. teaspoon mustard, medium heat to combine sugar don't boil. Everyone will ask for more promise
You can transform a thick, sweet national brand by adding a little white vinegar. That really helps thin it out for spreading on the grill and gives a little tang which us southerners like.
Bullseye is my only choice for saucing ON the grill.
It's sub-standard as a dipping sauce, but there's unbelievable magic that happens when smoke and fire are added.
Also thin down with some water or broth and also use as a marinade!
I always used a double boiler to make my bbq sauce.
BBQ sauce is definitely a personal preference. One isn’t better than the other…just what you like.
Why was I expecting Morgan to get bbq sauce in her hair?
Sweet Baby Ray's is so nasty. First ingredient high fructose corn syrup.
Arthur Bryant Original was my first and remains my favorite sauce but I also like Gates now. After a couple years of living near Texas Hill Country, I’m now stingier about using sauce in general. Most of the sweeter sauces taste a bit cliche for proper bbq but are tasty on a burger instead of catsup.
Would love to see test kitchen make scratch KC bbq saucs and spaghetti sause❤
Howdy Morgan
Joes and Q for me. Slaps is up there too.
Sweet Baby Ray's is all over Michigan, but I can't stand any of the sauces made with HFCS. Stubb's is available locally, it's all natural, and superior in taste IMHO.
I have 4 different BBQ sauces depending on their different uses.
Bullseye for specialty dishes
Open pit for dipping sauce
Stubbs for brisket and pulled pork
Sweet Revenge hot for BBQ chicken
I was loyal to Bullseye for many years, but then they stopped including the squeeze top insert, so it became harder to control how much I used. So I've switched to Sweet Baby Ray's.
I emailed Bullseye many years ago and they claimed they removed the squeeze top because customers wanted easier access to the sauce without having to remove the insert.
I personally think that change has contributed to their downfall.
Cow Town BBQ sauce is my favorite KC sauce. Kinda disappointed they didn't get the invite
Yum
Try the spicy version of Gates. Awesome
no onion in sweet baby rays
I was just in Kansas City and Jack Stack BBQ was OK but nothing special. Go to Austin, Texas for the best BBQ.
Which one won?
moved to Florida in 87 grew up with AB and Gates.. love both..
Gates Kansas City is the absolute best
I often mix Gates with Bullseye for my grilling. Both are delicious in their own ways.
Blues Hog makes some excellent kansas city style sauces.
When I was doing competition bbq I liked to mix a NC style vinegar forward sauce like a Head Country or a Stubbs with a sweet KC style like kc masterpiece or sweet baby rays together to appeal to a wider audience.
What about healthiest or best bbq sauces not made with corporate sales in mind first.
I wish ATK would take ingredients into consideration. Sweet baby Ray’s is high fructose corn syrup with caramel color, artificial smoke etc. This is not the hallmark of a good food product.
Nice review! Would have liked to seen links to the places to order some of the Kansas City local sauces in the description, but I guess I can look them up! Thanks! 👍😋
Any sauce that contains corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup never see my shopping cart. So that's most on this list.
Great depth in the video, thank you. What's the ingredient in most of these called "natural flavors"?
Sweet baby rays, Chicago is not KC, NOPE !
Lifelong Kansas City resident here. Gates makes a Sweet and Mild version that's my go to sauce for chicken. Jack Stack Spicy for everything else.
I only buy Jack Daniels
KC Masterpiece started as a restaurant in Kansas City. They sold the sauce recipe and eventually the restaurants closed. There was one close to my house as a kid and we went there sometimes. I love Jack Stack. Many people in KC love Joe’s KC. Joe’s was Anthony Bourdain’s favorite.
How many have HFC as an ingredient. 👎
No Zarda's BBQ sauce?? 😔
My fav bbq sauce has become Kinders
❤
I consider what comes out of the bottle an ingredient. For Sweet Baby Ray's, mixing in 2 to 3 drops of Woodstock Ghost Pepper hot sauce per Tbs really brightens it up. Taste your sauce and play with it. It's easy. No reason to be loyal to what's in the jar.
Dreamland (is the best Kansas City style BBQ sauce).
I love LOVE the notes of history woven into reviewing these sauces. We all eat. Food is a common ground.
Gate’s xtra hot for me.
Who said Kansas City Barbeque sauce is America's favorite?
Gates
The pepper in Gates makes it my go-to. “Hi, may I help you!” iykyk
Forgive me, really enjoy the Test Kitchen, but this video is really a just view of various BBQ sauces. About half of them tasted had at best a tenuous tie to Kansas City, and this includes KC Masterpiece. Originated in KC back in the 1970’s but purchased by a large corporation a long time ago. I believe it has been produced in California for a few decades. Would have been nice if the tasting had really focused on Kansas City as so many excellent bottled sauces were left out. Many have been listed by others here in the comments. One of the sauces was even noted as a Carolina BBQ sauce. I have nothing against their fine tradition, rather good actually, but not KC style. In fact I would expect a few Carolinians to object to it being classified as such.
Out of this selection I would pick Jack Stack then Gates. Bryants is an acquired taste. I hate it. Joes BBQ sauce is pretty good if you can find it.