It’s official.  I’m off and gonna get mouthy about the fact that BBQ sauces made by the “big boys” … and some of the smaller shops as well… are using high fructose corn syrup in their recipes.   Really?  I mean, REALLY?  I’m OK with basic corn syrup, or hey – what about honey, sugar, or Agave Nectar… anything but HFCS!

Better living through chemicals!

I’ll have my BBQ Sauce with Extra Crap, Please!

FOUL:  Your Barbecue Sauce is FAT… not PHAT

Folks – if you buy or create BBQ sauce that contains High Fructose Corn Syrup, you are promoting a product that is on the world’s Most Wanted list of Crap Food Ingredients.  Understand, you’re doing this – while you’re trying to pass off the fact that you are all about Natural Wood Smoked Barbecue.  At the very least, you’re using an inferior product, and you’re also an accessory to the crime that has become the State of Our National Food Supply.

Note: I do realize that there is a chance that you’re using BBQ sauce tainted with HFCS because you just don’t know any better.

Finding BBQ sauce without High Fructose Corn Syrup has become a real challenge.  K.C. Masterpiece and Cattleman’s,  among others – use  the stuff. Why?  Profit, why else?

To those and other BBQ Sauce manufacturers:  I’d gladly pay the extra money per bottle if you’d kindly leave High Fructose Corn Syrup out of your BBQ Sauce!

What’s making it more difficult to avoid HFCS, is that many BBQ Sauce brands that do no list it as an ingredient do use  “ketchup” as a main part of their recipe.  What’s one of the first ingredients in most national ketchup brands?  If you guessed High Fructose Corn Syrup, then “DING!” You win!

Look.  I know I’m not going to change the world with this post.  I just find it very ironic that folks that spend hours and hours perfecting the art of smoked barbecue  – who would never use nitrates to effect a “smoke ring” or “liquid smoke” to add smoked flavor will happily use BBQ Sauce that uses HFCS.   Oh, and I feel the same about MSG and other similar ingredients.

And I feel I should mention this simple fact…. 

Though I try to avoid BBQ Sauce with high fructose corn syrup, I have and will continue to support friends of mine who make sauce with high fructose corn syrup in it.  I know.  This makes for a quasi-hypocritical position.  But, it’s a free enterprise system, and these are good folks.  So from time to time, you may see ads or references to sauces that use it in them.

Update on Gates BBQ Sauce

Had to remove Gates BBQ Sauce, Kansas City after Gardner Cole pointed out that they do in fact use high fructose corn syrup.  BOO!

Some Barbecue Sauce Makers are Getting Wise to High Fructose Corn Syrup

I have noticed a few BBQ Sauce manufacturers out there who do not, or have stopped using high fructose corn syrup. Here’s a short list, but please – let me know if you are aware of any others!

• Cripple Creek BBQ Sauce
• Stubbs Bar-B-Q Sauce
• Bulls-Eye Barbecue Sauce
• Frontera BBQ (Barbecue) Sauce
• Daddy Sam’s BBQ Sauce (Thanks to “Makettle” in comments below)
• Bone Suckin’ Sauce (Again, thanks “Makettle!”)
• Two Fat Guys Gourmet BBQ Sauce

I’m sure there are folks who read this post who will won’t agree with me here.  Either way… drop a line here in the comments section and let me know where you stand on this and why!