I Tried 14 Bottled BBQ Sauces and the Best Was Sweet and Bold

'Tis the season of grilling, barbecuing, smoking, and every other version of outdoor cooking under the sun. It's time to turn up the heat, and if you really want to impress your friends and family this summer, you better have the best BBQ sauce on the block.

To help you in this department, I recently did all the dirty work for you, tasting, testing, and ranking 14 different store-bought BBQ sauces. I'm talking about all of the biggest names in barbecue, from Sweet Baby Ray's to Stubb's.

When it comes to BBQ sauce, there is so much diversity and so many starkly different recipes. This is what makes it such an intriguing condiment category, but also one which is difficult to rank. So, what I made sure to look for was a steady balance of ingredients as well as a smooth and authentic flavor. It also didn't necessarily have to be sweet, but not too tangy or overly smokey either.

With these pointers in mind, I tasted the most popular bottled selections, paired with none other than a handful of Tyson chicken nuggets. Did I feel a little juvenile eating them? Yes. Was it worth it? Also, yes. After trying all 14, I was able to pare it down to 10, eliminating KC Masterpiece, Kraft, Kinders, and Bulls-Eye's renditions right off the bat—I just didn't find them to be very good. Then, the remaining choices were ranked from good to the absolute best.

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