Quick Answer
Barbecue sauce is often made with tomatoes as a key ingredient, but not all barbecue sauces contain tomatoes. While tomatoes are very commonly used in barbecue sauce recipes, there are also popular tomato-free barbecue sauce styles. So while tomatoes are a classic barbecue sauce ingredient, there are exceptions. Barbecue sauces can be based on a variety of ingredients like vinegar, mustard, and fruit.
What is Barbecue Sauce?
Barbecue sauce is a flavorful condiment used to add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to grilled or smoked meats like pork ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, and chicken. There are many regional styles of barbecue sauce in the United States reflecting different traditions and available ingredients.
The first commercially produced barbecue sauces emerged in the early 1900s, often made by the same companies that made ketchup and other condiments. While home cooks made their own barbecue sauces for centuries before that using local ingredients, the commercial production helped spread the popularity of sauce beyond just barbecue enthusiasts.
While salsa is sometimes confused with barbecue sauce, they are different in both ingredients and intended use. Salsa is generally chunkier, with more vegetable content. It is not usually cooked or reduced, and is not as sweet as many barbecue sauce styles. Barbecue sauce adheres well during cooking and grilling, while salsa is often added fresh after cooking.
Common Barbecue Sauce Ingredients
While recipes can vary widely, these are some of the most common barbecue sauce ingredients:
- Tomatoes – Provides flavor, color, texture, acidity. Often tomato paste, sauce, or ketchup is used.
- Vinegar – Adds tanginess and brightness. Cider, white, rice, malt, and wine vinegars are often used.
- Sugar or molasses – Adds sweetness to balance acidity and create a rich, thick sauce.
- Spices and seasonings – Pepper, garlic, mustard, chili powder, cayenne, cinnamon, and more.
- Liquid – Water, fruit juice, beer, soda. Thins and distributes flavors.
- Fruits and vegetables – Onions, bell peppers, pineapple, mangos, peaches, etc.
- Fat – Butter, oil, bacon grease. Adds richness and mouthfeel.
- Natural thickeners – Cornstarch, flour, xanthan gum, etc. Improves adhesion and texture.
Tomatoes in Barbecue Sauce
The use of tomatoes in barbecue sauce reflects a few key factors:
- Tomatoes grow very well in warm southern climates where barbecue originated and remains most popular in the United States.
- The tangy, savory umami flavor of tomatoes complements grilled meats excellently.
- The red color provided by tomato products gives barbecue sauce visual appeal.
- Tomatoes add texture and body while still creating a saucy consistency.
- As a garden staple, tomatoes were an inexpensive and readily available ingredient for home cooks and companies.
So the popularity of tomato-based barbecue sauces is closely tied to geography, flavor, economics, and versatility. Adding tomatoes to barbecue sauce became tradition in many southern barbecue styles.
Regional Barbecue Sauce Styles
There are 4 major regional barbecue sauce styles in the United States:
Kansas City Style
Originating in Kansas City, Missouri, this tomato-based sauce has a balanced sweet and tangy flavor. It uses molasses or brown sugar for sweetness and often contains vinegar for some tartness. The tomato flavor is milder compared to some other barbecue sauce styles.
Texas Style
Texas barbecue sauce contains less tomato than other regional styles. It often uses more vinegar for tanginess along with spices like black pepper, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. The sauce has a thinner, more runny consistency.
North Carolina Style
This vinegar-based barbecue sauce comes from North Carolina. It contains apple cider vinegar or white vinegar as the primary ingredient and leaves out tomato entirely. The sauce adds moisture but doesn’t overpower the natural smoky flavor of the barbecue.
South Carolina Style
South Carolina is known for its mustard-based barbecue sauces. The sauces contain yellow or brown mustard for tangy flavor along with vinegar, spices, and sometimes tomato paste or ketchup for additional flavor and color.
Other Tomato-Free Barbecue Sauce Styles
While tomatoes are a staple barbecue sauce ingredient, there are also popular tomato-free barbecue sauce styles:
Alabama White Sauce
This mayonnaise-based white barbecue sauce comes from northern Alabama. It contains mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. The creamy white color and tangy flavor is very different from red tomato-based sauces.
Hawaiian Barbecue Sauce
Hawaiian barbecue sauce reflects the island’s culture and ingredients. It contains pineapple, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. The sweetness comes from honey or brown sugar. Some versions do include tomato paste as well.
| Sauce Style | Tomato-Based? |
|---|---|
| Kansas City | Yes |
| Texas | Sometimes |
| North Carolina | No |
| South Carolina | Sometimes |
| Alabama White | No |
| Hawaiian | Sometimes |
Tomato-Based vs. Tomato-Free Sauce Characteristics
There are some general characteristics that differentiate tomato-based barbecue sauces from tomato-free varieties:
Tomato-Based Sauce Traits
- Red or reddish-brown color
- Savory, umami tomato flavor
- Moderately thick, saucy consistency
- Often contain sweeteners like brown sugar
- Versatile on many types of meat
Tomato-Free Sauce Traits
- Varying colors like white, yellow, or translucent
- Get unique flavor from ingredients like vinegar, mustard, fruit, etc.
- Range of consistencies from thin to thick
- Less versatile – complement specific regional barbecue styles
- Allow natural meat flavors to shine through more
While tomato-based sauces are widely appealing and adaptable to many meats, the tomato-free varieties are more specialized and highlight regional barbecue traditions.
Homemade Barbecue Sauce Recipes
Making homemade barbecue sauce is fun and allows cooks to tweak flavors to their preferences. Here are 3 popular recipe options:
Basic Tomato Barbecue Sauce
- Ingredients: ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper.
- Quick and easy to make. Kid-friendly flavor.
- Customize with smoked paprika, cayenne, mustard, etc.
Texas-Style Barbecue Sauce
- Ingredients: butter, chili powder, cumin, garlic, pepper, vinegar, salt, onion, optional tomato paste.
- Thin, tangy sauce. Allows meat flavor to shine.
- Great on beef like brisket.
South Carolina-Style Barbecue Sauce
- Ingredients: yellow mustard, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, Worcestershire, hot sauce, black pepper.
- Unique, tangy mustard flavor. Pairs well with pork.
- Can adjust mustard-to-ketchup ratios.
Making your own barbecue sauce means you control the flavors. You can adjust sweetness, spice level, thickness, and ingredients to suit your preferences.
Should You Make Barbecue Sauce from Scratch?
Making homemade barbecue sauce instead of buying pre-made offers some advantages and disadvantages:
Potential Benefits of Homemade Sauce
- Control ingredients – leave out additives, preservatives, corn syrup, etc.
- Customize flavors exactly to your taste
- Less expensive than quality pre-made sauces
- Fun to experiment with different ingredients
- Make large batches for meal prepping
Drawbacks of Homemade Sauce
- More time consuming than buying sauce
- Trial and error to perfect recipe
- Have to make sauce in advance
- No special equipment like commercial cookers
- Pre-made sauces have consistent results
For barbecue enthusiasts, taking the time to make homemade sauce can be very rewarding. But pre-made sauce is definitely quicker and offers reliable results. Consider how much effort you want to invest for day-to-day cooking vs. special occasions.
Popular Brands of Barbecue Sauce
Pre-made barbecue sauce is widely available from prominent barbecue regions, national brands, and local producers. Here are some of the most popular retail barbecue sauce brands:
Sweet Baby Ray’s
The top-selling barbecue sauce brand in the U.S. Their classic Ray’s Sauce has a ketchup-based flavor beloved by many barbecue fans.
KC Masterpiece
This brand represents the Kansas City barbecue tradition. Their thick, molasses and tomato-based Original sauce is highly popular.
Stubb’s
With a taste rooted in central Texas barbecue, Stubb’s makes beloved sauces like Original and Spicy.
Jack Daniel’s
The famous Tennessee whiskey maker offers a line of barbecue sauces featuring bourbon and whiskey flavors.
McCormick
The spice brand McCormick makes a range of barbecue sauces inspired by regional U.S. barbecue styles.
There are also excellent small-batch and artisanal barbecue sauce makers in many cities and towns. Checking out local offerings can reveal fun new flavors to try.
How to Use Barbecue Sauce
Barbecue sauce adds great flavor, appearance, and moisture when grilling. Here are tips for using it:
- Lightly brush sauce on meats during last 10-15 minutes of grilling to avoid burning.
- Toss chopped or pulled meats with sauce after cooking for flavor and moisture.
- Use sauce lightly during cooking and provide extra at the table.
- Mix different sauce styles, like appling South Carolina mustard sauce during cooking and serving Kansas City tomato sauce tableside.
- Drizzle creatively on the serving platter for visual appeal.
- Stir a spoonful of sauce into baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, etc.
The sauce possibilities are endless! Matching the sauce style to the meat and creative usage keeps barbecue exciting.
Final Thoughts
While tomato-based sauces are classic, barbecue sauce styles vary widely across the United States drawing from regional ingredients and traditions. The tomato reigns supreme in many sauces, especially the ketchup-inflected sauces of Kansas City and the sweeter, southern styles. But vinegar, mustard, fruit, and mayonnaise sauces have their barbecue following as well. Whether you make your own or buy pre-made, sauce is an enjoyable part of the barbecue experience. There’s no one “right” sauce – just personal taste for flavors that make your barbecue finger-lickin’ good!