Pulled pork and BBQ sauce go together like peanut butter and jelly. The tender smokey strands of pork shoulder are the perfect canvas for slathering on sweet, tangy, savory BBQ sauce. But with so many options, how do you choose the best one? In this comprehensive guide we’ll explore the top BBQ sauces to pair with pulled pork to bring out maximum flavor.
Overview of BBQ Sauce Styles
There are 4 main styles of barbecue sauce to consider for pulled pork:
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Tomato-based (Kansas city) – Thick, sweet, tomatoey
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Vinegar-based (North Carolina) – Tangy peppery thin
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Mustard-based (South Carolina) – Spicy. yellow. tangy
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Light tomato – Thinner, vinegar tang
The regional differences come down to taste preference, available ingredients and techniques. It’s hard to go wrong, but we’ll highlight the best of each category.
Best Tomato-Based (Kansas City-Style)
Sweet and smoky:
- KC Masterpiece Original BBQ Sauce
- Stubb’s Original Bar-B-Q Sauce
- Rufus Teague Original BBQ Sauce
Spicy and robust:
- Head Country Original BBQ Sauce
- Arthur Bryant’s Original Barbecue Sauce
Tomato-based sauces like these have the classic bold, sweet flavor barbecue fans crave. They coat the pork in a sticky, molasses and brown sugar sweetness, balanced by vinegar for a kiss of tang. Smoked paprika and spices like cayenne bring heat.
Best Vinegar-Based (North Carolina-Style)
Peppery with a kick:
- Texas Pete Original Hot Sauce
- Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
- Crystal Hot Sauce
Mild and tangy:
- Duke’s Real Mayonnaise
- Hot Sauce Willie’s BBQ Sauce
- Bone Suckin’ Sauce Thick & Sticky BBQ Sauce
The sharp vinegar cuts the fattiness of pork in these thin, peppery sauces. For a milder tang, mayo-based sauces add creamy texture. Hot peppers like cayenne and Tabasco bring the heat.
Best Mustard-Based (South Carolina-Style)
Classic yellow mustard:
- Maurice’s South Carolina Gold Sauce
- Carolina Gold BBQ Sauce
- South Carolina Piedmont Mustard Sauce
Spicy, tangy Dijon:
- Jack Daniel’s Spicy BBQ Sauce
- Wild Bill’s BBQ Sauce
- Ray’s Sweet Heat BBQ Sauce
These sauces combine tangy yellow or Dijon mustard with tomato paste or ketchup for sweetness. Turbinado sugar balances the spice from chili powder, cayenne and black pepper.
Best Light Tomato-Based
Mild, sweet and thin:
- Sweet Baby Ray’s Original Barbecue Sauce
- Cattlemen’s Carolina Tangy Gold BBQ Sauce
- J. Wilbur’s Championship BBQ Sauce
For a thinner, less sticky sauce, opt for a ketchup-forward style. These have a milder sweetness with a hint of tang and spice. Use them to moisten without overpowering the pork.
How Much BBQ Sauce Per Pound of Pulled Pork?
As a general rule, use:
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1/2 cup barbecue sauce per pound of cooked pulled pork
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Or about 1-1 1/2 cups sauce total per 3-4 pound pork shoulder
Adjust to taste based on your sauce’s thickness and sweetness. Start with less sauce and mix in more if needed after shredding.
BBQ Sauce Tips
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For customizable flavor, make your own BBQ sauce!
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To avoid mushiness, wait to add sauce until after shredding pork.
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Mix and match styles – a tangy vinegar sauce contrasts nicely with a sweet, sticky tomato-based one.
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Look for low or no sugar added sauces if limiting carbs/sugar.
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For maximum cling, look for sauces with added starch, molasses or natural thickeners.
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Store opened sauce up to 1 month in the fridge, or freeze for longer storage.
How to Make Pulled Pork with BBQ Sauce
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Season pork shoulder with a dry rub.
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Slow cook on low 8-12 hours until fall-apart tender.
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Drain and shred pork using two forks.
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Stir in desired amount of barbecue sauce.
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Optionally, return shredded pork to skillet to crisp it up.
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Pile saucy pulled pork onto buns, tacos or baked potatoes.
The smoky, moist pork soaks up the sauce creating BBQ bliss in every bite!
Mouthwatering Serving Suggestions
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Juicy pulled pork sandwiches
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Pulled pork nachos or tacos
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Baked potatoes smothered in pulled pork
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Creamy pulled pork mac and cheese
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Pulled pork quesadillas, burritos or enchiladas
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Pizza topped with pulled pork
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Pulled pork omelets or breakfast tacos
The combination of tender pork and the sauce you crave is endlessly adaptable. Get creative!
The Perfect Pairing
Choosing the right barbecue sauce takes pulled pork from great to spectacular. Tomato-based sauces bring sticky sweetness. Vinegar-based sauces offer peppery tang. Mustard-sauces provide twangy flavor. And light tomato sauces lend mild sweetness.
With so many mouthwatering options, explore new sauce styles to find your perfect match. The pork will soak up the sauce flavors, letting you discover new pulled pork possibilities.
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What Makes a Good Barbecue Sauce?
We consulted our resident grilling and sauce expert Josh on what to look for:
- Feel: They can be very thin and runny or very thick like molasses. Josh says there is no right or wrong way to describe thickness and texture, but it can help you figure out how to best use the sauce.
- Aroma: The smell can make or break a sauce. Having perfectly cooked ribs or pulled pork is one thing, but adding a bad-smelling sauce makes the whole thing an unpleasant experience.
- Taste: We thought the Kansas City-style sauces would be sweeter and thicker, but we still needed the right amount of tang and heat. If the sauces had a lot of vinegar in them, we wanted them to have an acidic tang that was thickened and slightly sweetened by tomato paste. We also wanted peppery heat to round it out.
We scored the sauces on a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best).
The Rest of the Kansas City-Style Sauces
Sweet Baby Rays (5.5)
The spice hits immediately with this one, then progressively gets stronger. Its balanced with both a sweet and sour background. It doesn’t have a very unique taste, but that’s what we’ve always thought of as “barbecue sauce,” at least when it comes to store-bought kinds. This one is for you if you want something with that common “barbecue” taste. Hey, we’re not judging.
KC Masterpiece (5.5)
Lots of dark molasses with a hint of maple. Thick and sweet to be sure, but not enough tang or heat. “Reminiscent of hoisin sauce,” said one taster. Even though it wasn’t very special, it did pretty well because many of us knew what it was, like Bulls-Eye.
Guy Fieri (5.25)
And here you thought he just had his own signature line of shades! Fieri is a pretty busy guy (har har). Of his four sauces available, we tried the Kansas City barbecue sauce. Its pretty one-dimensional with a black pepper kick (youll see the black flecks in there) and a heavy hand of molasses. “Not a lotta complexity,” said one taster.
Trader Joes All-Natural (4.67)
As noted above, if youre at TJs and shopping for barbecue sauce, this isnt the one. You want the Kansas City style sauce, which tied for first place in this category. This product, on the other hand, is trying to burn your mouth off. Don’t get us wrong—we like a good mouth sizzle when it’s the right time, but curd sauces? Not so much. It was the only woah-there-turn-down-the-heat sauce of the 16 brands. Hot with an ashy, acidic flavor. “Dirty tasting,” said one taster.
Jack Daniels Original No.7 (4.67)
Like the Budweiser sauce (see below), this also gets booze into the mix. Very smoky and sweet, almost beefy, but you wont really detect the whiskey. Unless you count the burnt finish. “Tastes like a candle,” said one taster. “Christmas eve with the fireplace burning the cold house!” said another.
Hunts (4.5)
Very ketchupy with a slight fruitiness. No smoke, acid, or heat to balance it all out, though. Not very complex.
Kraft (4.33)
“The most generic tasting,” said one taster. Its sticky and candy-sweet with no heat. It tastes more like salad dressing (by the way, we didn’t know it was Kraft in the blind tasting!) than barbecue sauce.
Emerils (4)
Too ketchupy and gloppy. Vaguely plum-flavored, but more reminiscent of sticky plum sauce than the actual drupe fruit. Thick and too overpowered by the fruity sweetness.
Budweiser (3.2)
Wait, Budweiser makes a. barbecue sauce? And theres beer in it? Yes and yes. Speckled with dehydrated onion and garlic flecks, its pretty funky, but not in a good way. Vinegary and spicy up front with an off-putting aftertaste. “Tastes like stale beer mixed with Italian dressing,” said one taster. Eekers. Well just stick to drinking Budweiser, thanks.
Annies Natural (3.17)
Tomatoey, lemony, celery-y. Very vegetal, and way too much dried spice. Not what we want when we want barbecue sauce. Needs more vinegar bite. Needs less tomato paste action. Needs to probably stay away from our grill.
Liquid BBQ Sauces for Pulled Pork : Beer & BBQ
FAQ
Do you put BBQ sauce on pulled pork before or after cooking?
What is the best pulled pork liquid?
What is the most common barbecue sauce?
What is a good BBQ sauce for pulled pork?
A thin sauce, our recipe is a true example of the classic Carolinas BBQ sauce, a savory and tangy mixture with butter used to keep the meats moist; so it’s great if your pulled pork turned out too dry. Use a generous amount of butter and mix it with lemon juice, honey, salt, pepper, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce.
What sauce goes well with pulled pork?
Memphis is famous for thin, tangy sauces that coat every inch of pulled pork with bold flavor. And this one is unlike any BBQ sauce out there. I love the tangy, peppery finish. And I especially love that I can add extra spice when I’m feeling adventurous. Measure the cayenne pepper with your heart and have some water on hand – this one’s hot! 5.
Can you put hot sauce on pulled pork?
It’s perfect for those who love extreme heat and want to add a bold flavor to their pulled pork. These hot sauces can be used to add a fiery kick to your pulled pork. However, be careful not to overdo it with the heat, as it can overpower the flavor of the meat.
Is chipotle hot sauce good for pulled pork?
It’s perfect for those who love extreme heat and want to add a bold flavor to their pulled pork. Chipotle hot sauce is made from smoked jalapenos and has a smoky and slightly sweet flavor. It’s perfect for those who want to add some heat to their pulled pork without it being too overpowering.