Review: KC Masterpiece Southern-Style BBQ Sauce

So recently I got an e-mail that I had been selected to receive a free sample of KC Masterpiece’s newest BBQ sauce, Southern-Style.  I don’t know what the selection process was but I am satisfied with the result, free stuff.

So I know what you may be asking, “Isn’t all barbecue sauce Southern?”  The answer, of course, is yes.  All barbecue is, at its heart, Southern but other areas have put their unique regional spin on it led of course by the folks in Kansas City.  In fact, the Kansas City style of sauce – tomato-based, sweet, smokey with a touch of spice – is what most people think of when they think of BBQ sauce.

There are literally hundreds of brands of BBQ sauce in the US however more than half of what is sold in stores carries the KC Masterpiece label.  The newest addition to the KC Masterpiece line is the Southern-Style which is essentially an homage to Memphis BBQ.

This sauce is still, at its roots, a Kansas City sauce but in Memphis the sauce is a little thinner, contains less sugar and more cider vinegar than its Midwestern cousin.  From a personal standpoint I have grown to prefer the Memphis version over the years.  I like a more acidic, less sweet sauce.

I have to admit that the KC Masterpiece Southern-Style is pretty darned good.  It has the tangy notes and bit of fire that I appreciate from the Memphis sauce when eating it on pork ribs or chicken.  For beef I still go for the standard KC style as I like the smokey sweetness better with beef.

I do have one complaint with KC Masterpiece Southern-Style BBQ Sauce but it’s the same complaint I have with most commercial sauces – High Fructose Corn Syrup.  I know it’s cheaper than sugar but it’s also much worse for you, too.  It’s the main reason I tend to make my sauce from scratch.  I would gladly pay a little extra for sauce made with cane sugar but I’m sure it is not a big deal to most people.  If HFCS isn’t an issue for you then you should have no reservations about trying this tasty new sauce.  In fact, even if it is an issue you should try a bottle; sometimes you have to dance with the devil.