Latest news with #David Watsky
CNET
22-07-2025
- Business
- CNET
Hot, Tangy, Smoky and Sweet. We Tested 17 BBQ Sauces and These Are the Best
CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review products and services. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Alongside ketchup and mustard, barbecue sauce wears the crown as summer's saucy royalty -- and unlike its more basic cousins, BBQ sauce knows how to party. Whether you're slathering it on grilled ribs, dunking air fryer wings or just 'accidentally' licking it off your fingers, there's really no wrong way to enjoy it. I hauled in 15 bottles of barbecue sauce to see which ones deserve a slot in your fridge door this season. David Watsky/CNET The only hard part? Choosing one. The sauce aisle is a smoky, spicy jungle filled with bold claims, regional pride and enough award-winning bottles to fill a trophy case. The best barbecue sauces hit that magical trifecta of sweet, tangy and smoky -- or sometimes go rogue with bold heat or molasses-laced sweetness. Finding your go-to bottle may take some taste-testing, but hey, what a delicious problem to have. To find the best BBQ sauces available, I gathered more than 15 bottles of sauce and some hungry friends to help taste. It took a lot of napkins to find the best barbecue sauce in 2025. Here they are. Read more: Best Meal Kits of 2025 A quick note: Up north, sweeter varieties dominate the sauce market, but my taste testers and I all enjoy vinegar-based sauces too, so we included several Carolina barbecue sauces (among other styles, like a Japanese barbecue sauce for umami, or brown-sugar-based recipes for that iconic sweet flavor) to make this list as inclusive and unbiased as possible. Best BBQ sauces for 2025 Full Moon Photo Gallery 1/1 Full Moon Best overall barbecue sauce Full Moon Bar-B-Que sauce Full Moon is a regional chain of barbecue restaurants in Alabama and Mississippi that's been in operation since 1986. You likely won't find Full Moon's incredible sauce on store shelves, but it can be purchased online for $7.49 a bottle. Thank goodness for that, because this classic-style sauce has a near-perfect balance of sweetness, smokiness, tang and spice. ... Show more Get it now $25 at Amazon $7 at Full Moon Tamarind Heads Photo Gallery 1/1 Tamarind Heads Best spicy BBQ sauce Tamarind Heads BBQ sauce If you like your sauce with warm spice and fiery heat, Tamarind Heads' sauce will scratch both itches -- and then some. This sweet and spicy sauce is made from a tamarind base with no tomato or vinegar. The recipe doesn't slouch on chili and even the "medium" will have you loosening your collar after a few bites. Despite its higher Scoville score, the tamarind spice and chili heat are balanced nicely with some sweetness from brown sugar and toasted notes from sesame. ... Show more Get it now $13 at TikTok Shop $13 at Tamarind Heads Stubb's Photo Gallery 1/1 Stubb's Best grocery store barbecue sauce Stubb's BBQ sauce If you prefer to scoop your barbecue sauce up from the store, Stubb's stuff can be found in most supermarkets and it's an excellent alternative to Full Moon. Like the winner above, Stubb's has a good balance with no single flavor taking over. This one is thick but not gloppy and gets its sweetness from brown sugar (no corn syrup) with a good kick from lots of black pepper. ... Show more Get it now $4 at Walmart Bachan Photo Gallery 1/1 Bachan Best Japanese-style barbecue sauce Bachan's Japanese barbecue sauce I've been on the Bachan's bandwagon for some time now and I don't plan on hopping off. Bachan's is atypical compared with classic barbecue sauces in that it's laced with Japanese flavors, giving it a huge umami punch. You'll notice soy sauce immediately, along with sesame, ginger and a delicate sweetness. This is one of the thinner sauces so it might not adhere as well to ribs and chicken or caramelize as others do, so it's probably best used as a finishing sauce. Bachan's is also pricey for one bottle, but you can save a few bucks when you order multiple at a time. (Trust me, you'll want more than one bottle.) ... Show more Get it now $6 at Amazon Carolina Q Photo Gallery 1/1 Carolina Q Best smoky barbecue sauce Carolina Q' Sweet Hickory sauce This rich, dark and smoky sauce is made by a small producer in North Carolina. It's probably the most flavor-packed sauce we tried, with a big sweetness that's cut with rich, smoky hickory and lots of heat. There's a lot going on here but it harmonizes nicely to create one very tasty sauce. ... Show more Get it now $6 at Carolina BBQ Sauce Bull's Eye Photo Gallery 1/1 Bull's Eye Best budget barbecue sauce Bull's-Eye Original At under $3 a bottle, this was the favorite of the "cheap" barbecue sauces, and it's one you'll find easily in most grocery stores or on Amazon. Bull's-Eye has a formidable sweetness but gets great balance from mustard, garlic and natural hickory smoke. If you go through sauce like water, this is a great sauce to stock up on for ribs, chicken and burgers. ... Show more Get it now $3 at Walmart Texas Pete Photo Gallery 1/1 Texas Pete Best barbecue sauce for hot sauce lovers Texas Pete E. Carolina BBQ sauce If you're a hot sauce junkie looking for a barbecue sauce, Texas Pete's Eastern Carolina sauce is the one to get. Texas Pete is a hot sauce maker, first and foremost, so this take on vinegar-heavy Carolina-style sauce tastes quite a bit like hot sauce but with a subtle sweetness and tomato tang. It's made with just five ingredients and no corn syrup. At 15 calories per serving, it's probably the "healthiest" barbecue sauce on this list. ... Show more Get it now $10 at Texas Pete Sweet Baby Ray's Photo Gallery 1/1 Sweet Baby Ray's Best sweet barbecue sauce Sweet Baby Ray's I'll be honest, this wasn't one of my personal favorites, but some of the other tasters with a penchant for sweeter foods were really into it. Sweet Baby Ray's (hey, it's right there in the name) is made with corn syrup and pineapple juice and is so sweet that it can be overwhelming. It's also rather thick, almost like a barbecue jam or jelly. If you're a barbecue lover with a sweet tooth, this is the sauce you should stock. ... Show more Get it now $3 at Walmart What makes a good barbecue sauce? Start by deciding if you want a sweet tomato-based sauce, creamy white sauce or a tangier vinegar-based bottle to pour over your meat. CNET Most pitmasters agree that achieving balance is essential for a great barbecue sauce. Typically, these sauces are made with a tomato base, vinegar, and a sweetener like honey or molasses, along with a component for heat. From this foundation, sauces can be enhanced with a variety of spices and flavors, including mustard, garlic, fruit and smoke. If a sauce becomes too dominant in one flavor profile, it usually doesn't work well. On the other hand, overly simple sauces lacking spice or complexity often fall flat. We tasted many traditional Kansas City-style sauces for this list, a host of vinegar-heavy Carolina-style sauces, some keto-friendly sauces, Bachan's cult-favorite Japanese-style sauce and a few Alabama white sauces to see which ones really tickled our taste buds. We tried each one with plain unseasoned chicken breast since it's a rather blank slate as far as classic grilled foods go. When tasting, we noted things like overall balance, heat, sweetness, overwhelming flavors or anything else that jumped out, both bad and good.
CNET
10-07-2025
- General
- CNET
Travel Mugs, Nonstick Pans and More Items That Don't Belong in the Dishwasher
Whether you're learning the ropes of a brand-new dishwasher or you've been hands-free dishwashing for years, it's tempting to load it up and let it rip. It's summer -- you've got better things to do than babysit a sink full of dirty silverware. But before you start stacking every spatula and chef's knife onto the racks, take a beat. Your dishwasher's high heat and aggressive cycles can do more harm than good to certain kitchen tools. Warping, rusting, cracking and dulling are all fair game -- even on items labeled "dishwasher-safe." And yes, that includes some of your priciest pieces. If you want your gear to last, there are a few things you should always wash by hand, no matter how tempting that "Start" button is. So before you run that next cycle, double-check what you're tossing in. Your spatulas, skillets and stemware will thank you. 11 things that should never go in the dishwasher. 1. Insulated mugs Insulated mugs can be damaged by the pressure from a dishwasher. The Darling Effect The high heat and pressure of a dishwasher can damage or break the vacuum seal that makes these insulated vessels effective. Instead, wash them by hand using warm water and soap. 2. Wooden cutting boards Always air-dry a wood board on its side for at least an hour before storing it. David Watsky/CNET Wood cutting boards can become damaged after even one cycle through the dishwasher. Hot water can cause even the strongest wood to warp, bend, crack or split. While plastic and stone cutting boards can typically handle the dishwasher, any wooden slab should be washed by hand and dries thoroughly on its side. Read our guide to wooden cutting board care for more. 3. Wine glasses Wine glasses and other thin pieces of barware should be hand washed to avoid breaking. CB2 90% of wine glasses are unfit for the dishwasher. If you have thick, sturdy glasses, they may fare OK, but thin and delicate wine glasses are likely to break. Instead, wash them by hand and be sure to rinse them well so there's no soapy residue messing with your next wine's balanced bouquet. 4. Kitchen knives Always wash good cutlery by hand. David Priest/CNET If you've got a sharp chef's knife and want to keep it that way, keep it out of the dishwasher. Not only will the extended soaking in hot water compromise the blade's edge, but the dishwasher could send your knife clanking about and knocking in to other items that will ding and dull the blade. Here's a list of other bad habits that are ruining your knives. 5. Antiques, porcelain and fine China Delicate China and porcelain is susceptible to cookware, bakeware and glassware isn't a good candidate for the dishwasher. Even if it's labeled "dishwasher-safe," it's age may have compromised a once rugged integrity, making it prone to chipping or cracking. If you have vintage cookware, kitchen tools or China you love, protect them by hand washing in the sink. While porcelain itself is dishwasher safe, porcelain wares are often thin and brittle, and running them through the dishwasher puts them at risk. 6. Nonstick cookware Nonstick cookware can lose its chemical coating in the dishwasher. Tharon Green/CNET Most nonstick cookware is technically safe to load into the dishwasher, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea. Nonstick surfaces are easily scratched and eroded when pummeled with hot water and soap or rubbed and knocked against other pots, pans or plates. 7. Copper cookware Stainless steel is mostly dishwasher safe by copper cookware should be hand washed. Getty Images While I don't advocate for putting any good cookware in the dishwasher, copper cookware is especially susceptible to damage. Copper will dull and tarnish from long exposure to hot water and the metal is soft, making it vulnerable to dings and dents if knocked against other items in the rack. 8. Cast-iron cookware Use salt and hot water to get stubborn bits off of cast-iron cookware. Lodge You've worked so hard to build up a layered seasoning and slick patina on your cast-iron skillet, and one cycle through the dishwasher has the potential to strip it all away. Harsh dish detergent is likely to reek havoc on the surface while extended soaking in hot water can cause rust. Instead, use this pantry staple to clean stubborn cast-iron pans. 9. Oil and grease You can clog the dishwasher with just one greasy pan. David Watsky/CNET Your instinct when confronted with a greasy, oily pan may be to huck it in the dishwasher and hope for the best. Oil and grease are notorious for causing clogs in dishwashers -- and sinks for that matter. Instead, try to discard as much of the oil as possible into the trash with a scraper or paper towel and hand wash your oily cookware well with soap and hot water. Only then, when most of the grease is removed, should you consider running it through the dishwasher. 10. Wooden utensils Wooden utensils and hot water are not a good mix. Getty/Kenny Williamson Anything made from wood can be ruined if run through the dishwasher. That includes cooking utensils, spoons, chopsticks, bowls and anything else. Wooden items should always be hand washed and dried quickly and thoroughly to avoid splitting, warping and bacteria growth. 11. Plastic cups and containers Food storage containers go in looking like this but come out looking like something from a Dali painting. Getty Images/iStockphoto Acrylic bowls and other strudy plastics are fine to run through the dishwasher, but flimsier plastic containers are not. Most takeout boxes and food storage containers will melt when hit with boiling hot water. Plastic cups are also susceptible to melting and should be hand washed instead.
