Guy Fieri Barbecue Sauce Allays Suspicions

Published on Friday, June 17, 2011, by James Norton / Edit Post

Guy Fieri Barbeque Sauce

Guy Fieri Barbeque Sauce

I Paid: $4.29 per 19-ounce bottle (prices may vary by region)

Taste: 3 stars

Marketing: 3 stars

Why would we trust Guy Fieri to sell us barbecue sauce? And why, for that matter, would we trust Guy Fieri to do anything whatsoever?

Detractors of the spiky-haired TV host and food "personality" miss no chance to rake him over the coals; for the fooderati, there are no greater evils out there except, perhaps, for HFCS and Rachael Ray. Why? For example: The press release for Fieri's new line of barbecue sauces quotes him as saying that "these sauces add big, off da hook flavor." It's precisely this sort of calculated faux-edginess that inspires fits of compulsive eye-rolling.

But there's no getting around the fact that with Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Fieri has probably done more to introduce the general American public to the charms of well-crafted, simple food than anyone else over the past decade. Beyond that: He's no fan of HFCS, at least in his barbecue sauces. They contain no HFCS, fat, or cholesterol; three of the sauces are also gluten-free.

All well and good, but the taste is the thing. I tasted Fieri's four flavors (Bourbon Brown Sugar, Carolina #6, Kansas City, and Pacific Rim) alongside a $2 bottle of terrible local grocery store stuff and a bottle of my favorite sauce, Show-Me Liquid Smoke Bar-B-Q from Kansas City.

Fieri's sauce blew away the grocery store crap, which was one-dimensional glop containing HFCS and liquid smoke. Moreover, the grocery store version had 70 calories per 2-tablespoon serving, roughly double that of Fieri's offerings (which are 35 to 40 calories a serving except for Carolina #6, which is a mere 15).

No surprise, Show-Me is still my favorite sauce for its depth of flavor and powerful but balanced smoky taste. But Fieri's sauce held up OK. In particular, the vinegar-tomato kick of Carolina #6 was really enjoyable, and his Kansas City version had a nice sweet-smoke combo that was evocative of Show-Me while falling a little short of it. Lacking smoke, Bourbon Brown Sugar tasted like a less interesting version of Kansas City, but the garlic-gingery Pacific Rim Wok Sauce would be a fine addition to a weeknight stir-fry.

This stuff won't be winning over barbecue purists, but for the casual user, it's not a bad start.

James Norton edits the Upper Midwestern food journal Heavy Table. He's also the coauthor of a book on Wisconsin's master cheesemakers. For his Supertaster Daily videos, he samples offerings from supermarket aisles and fast-food menus. (Click here to see all of James's previous Supertaster work.) You can follow him on Twitter and fan him on Facebook.

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POST A COMMENT |15 Comments

COMMENT

  • "They contain no HFCS, fat, or cholesterol"

    Does any barbecue sauce contain cholesterol? Isn't this like praising a barbecue sauce for not containing cyanide?

  • I like Fieri. I find him entertaining & fun to watch. I enjoy the way he interacts with the different cooks/chefs on DD&Ds. Not something I'd say about a few other FN hosts/hostesses that come across boring as he**.

    I'd have no qualms about trying one of Fieri's sauces, even though I never buy bottled sauces. More power to him I say. Grab the brass ring while you can. It's not like he's doing...+READ

    I like Fieri. I find him entertaining & fun to watch. I enjoy the way he interacts with the different cooks/chefs on DD&Ds. Not something I'd say about a few other FN hosts/hostesses that come across boring as he**.

    I'd have no qualms about trying one of Fieri's sauces, even though I never buy bottled sauces. More power to him I say. Grab the brass ring while you can. It's not like he's doing something that no other FN host/hostess hasn't done anyway.
    As for his "off da hook flavor" description. It's part of his shtick, it's expected from the man, as is his "Money" description. I highly doubt changing the description to a more proper, "has a great smokey flavour" would sell a single bottle.
    Off da hook, on the other hand, most likely will.-COLLAPSE

  • The over-the-top marketing is off-putting. "Regional legend." "An institution" "The secret ingredient."

    Oh wait. That's how marketers pitch Show-Me Liquid Smoke Bar-B-Q.

  • Sorry I will stick with Sweet Rays BBQ Sauce

  • What's interesting about these comments is that probably everyone has available a locally-packaged sauce better than anything Fieri's commercial kitchen devises. They are after gross profit, not flavor. I haven't had any products with his name on it save a pre-seasoned tritip (whatever posessed me?)from Costco. It was so salty most of it went into the trash can. Reminded me of corned beef, with...+READ

    What's interesting about these comments is that probably everyone has available a locally-packaged sauce better than anything Fieri's commercial kitchen devises. They are after gross profit, not flavor. I haven't had any products with his name on it save a pre-seasoned tritip (whatever posessed me?)from Costco. It was so salty most of it went into the trash can. Reminded me of corned beef, with less flavor.-COLLAPSE

  • For the record, it is the oh so annoying Tyler Florence that does the Applebees adds. You know...the one who every friggin dish he makes will be the "best tasting .....that you ever had" ...ugh..can't stand him!

  • I just want to point out that a guy whose favorite bbq sauce is "Show-Me Liquid Smoke Bar-B-Q" is judging someone else's bbq sauce.

  • Rockphiler, don't turn your nose up at liquid smoke. It's nothing chemically or franken-foodish. It's made by passing smoke from BBQ-type woods (hickory, applewood, etc.) through water.

  • Poochie! I will think of that every time I see Guy Fieri. Perfect.

  • I raise an eyebrow at anything called "liquid smoke", dude.

  • "But there's no getting around the fact that with Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Fieri has probably done more to introduce the general American public to the charms of well-crafted, simple food than anyone else over the past decade."
    Huh? DDD is a knock-off of countless local shows and older FN programs like "The Best Of".
    Back to the sauce. Taste aside, that's a lot of $$ for tomato sauce, sugar...+READ

    "But there's no getting around the fact that with Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Fieri has probably done more to introduce the general American public to the charms of well-crafted, simple food than anyone else over the past decade."
    Huh? DDD is a knock-off of countless local shows and older FN programs like "The Best Of".
    Back to the sauce. Taste aside, that's a lot of $$ for tomato sauce, sugar and a few herbs and spices. Head for the Home Cooking forum, folks!-COLLAPSE

  • I find Guy Fieri to be a bit like Poochie, full of buzz words corporate America picked up on a little too late.

  • Since when is Bobby Flay respectable?

  • I think a lot of food officianados look down on Fieri for being too commercial. He likes to stamp his name all over. But...fortunately for him, he has the personality type that can do this. Now if you saw Bobby Flay promoting Applebees, you would think..."Impossible!" (And it would be, most likely.)

    I have no doubt that after sampling "everyday joe food" all over the country, that Fieri has a...+READ

    I think a lot of food officianados look down on Fieri for being too commercial. He likes to stamp his name all over. But...fortunately for him, he has the personality type that can do this. Now if you saw Bobby Flay promoting Applebees, you would think..."Impossible!" (And it would be, most likely.)

    I have no doubt that after sampling "everyday joe food" all over the country, that Fieri has a pretty good handle on what good bbq sauce tastes like (at least in his opinion...I would venture that in no other area of cooking is individual taste so much a spectrum as in BBQ). Hes a guy with a "majority" palate, the kind of dude who likes what most of us like. So yeah, I would try his sauces...sure! Why not!?-COLLAPSE

  • I'm not a Fieri hater, so probably sometime this summer, one of his sauces will find its way into my kitchen.