BBQ sauce is generally a basic mixture of tomatoes, sugar and vinegar. Tomatoes used can be in various forms such as tomato sauce, paste, puree and even ketchup. Sugar adds sweetness to the barbecue sauce and can either be corn syrup, honey or molasses. The addition of vinegar, on the other hand, lends a sour flavor to the bbq sauce and can be in the form of beer, white or flavored vinegar, wine or citrus juices. In general, bbq sauces can be used throughout the barbecue process from preparation to cooking. However, be careful with sugar based bbq sauces when cooking as they can easily burn while cooking and ruin the flavor of the meat.

The combination of these three ingredients makes up the basic recipe of almost all bbq sauces. However, variations based on tastes and personal preferences often lend a hand in the creation of a unique bbq sauce. On the whole, most people will have their own special barbecue sauce although there are still many who search for their ideal barbecue sauce in stores.

The "best" ? tagline is a clich . Still, it would not be wrong, to say that Corkys bbq sauce is the better-known Barbecue Gourmet Sauce. Corkys gourmet barbecue sauce is Memphis based and a family owned business. As it is with family businesses, corkys have some fabulous seasonings, up its sleeve, which unquestionably gives it an edge over other barbeque sauces. Farrah Fawcett says: "Corky's, thank you for the best BBQ ever, and I'm from Texas." Anette Benning, far away from her American Beauty narrow-mindedness, pays a fulsome compliment: " The BBQ is fabulous" ?.

The Cowtown Night of the Living Barbeque Sauce has kethcup, brown sugar, vinegar, chipotles puree, worcestershire, liquid smoke, ground mustard, black pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper and spices as its ingredient. The Cowtown Night is tomato based with a heat index of 2 and has won the Best Hot Barbeque Sauce award at the 2002 American Royal Barbeque Contest.

Dijon mustard, brown sugar, tomato sauce, jalapeno, green chile peppers, onions, Worcester sauce, vinegar, garlic, salt, spices and soy oil are what goes into the making of Dave's BBQ Sauce. This sauce is made from a chile Dijon base and is slightly sweet, slightly spicy and very, very tangy. It is too good as toppings on chicken, burgers, veggies, pork chops, etc.

Jack Daniel's BBQ Sauce, Pappy's Moonshine Madness, Maguires Irish BBQ Sauce and Smuggler's Run Scurvy Dog BBQ Sauce are some other reputed Barbecue gourmet sauce, worth trying.

Rub it on...

Barbecue rubs give traditional barbecue a whole new dimension. It makes for a tastier and more flavorful barbecue. In fact, most famed barbecue restaurants use rubs to give their ribs, chicken and steaks a rich deep flavor. Barbecue rubs should be rubbed thickly into the meat and left there for at least four hours or more. When grilling, the barbecue rub will give the meat a nice, chunky and crusty coating.