“We all have that nostalgic barbecue sauce we ate as kids. For me, it’s Open Pit (and I tried a lot of not-so-great barbecue sauces growing up in Cleveland). I love that it’s not too sweet and not too thick — with no smoky flavor. It spreads well on the grill and is easy to jazz up with things like caramelized onions and whiskey. Open Pit makes a pretty good burger sauce, too.” — Rick Mace, owner and chef of Tropical Smokehouse in West Palm Beach, Florida.

“Lillie’s Q offers a wide variety of flavors for a variety of uses. I love the Ivory sauce, a twist on the classic Alabama white sauce known for its creamy finish on chicken. The richness of the mayo and the acidity of the vinegar always get the party started! Another reason I love using this product is because it looks so pretty and always seems to get everyone excited and hungry. It also makes a great salad dressing.” — Burt BakmanOwner and Pitmaster of Slab Barbecue Restaurant in Canoga Park, California.

Mace adds, “Anything from Lillie’s Q will put a smile on your face. (Founder) Charlie (McKenna), a classically trained chef, is a Memphis in May champion and a good friend of ours who cooked with us at Smoke & Sunshine. I love Lillie’s Q ENC (Eastern North Carolina) for its vinegar flavor, and Lillie’s Q Gold is perfectly balanced and irresistible.”

“My favorite sauce takes me back to my childhood. Growing up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, we were raised on vinegar-based barbecue sauces, but every now and then my mom would treat us to KC Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce when she didn’t have time to make her own. I quickly fell in love with its bold, tangy flavor, which combines thick tomato sauce with sweet brown sugar, molasses, and hints of smoke and spice, and is perfect not only for dipping all kinds of delicious proteins, but also for glazing smoked or grilled meats.

This sauce actually inspired a trip to Kansas City to sample some of the best barbecue in the country, which inspired my brothers and I to eventually open our own barbecue restaurant and bottle our own award-winning barbecue sauce.” — Jamie Farella, co-founder of Grill Brothers in New York City and Brothers Smokehouse in Ramsey, NJ

“Cattlemen’s Gold Barbecue Sauce has been a staple in my house since I was a kid. I love to grill Roger Wood sausages for a quick meal. I sear them and then place them on indirect heat until they are slightly blistered. Then I brush them all over with Cattlemen’s Barbecue Sauce until it starts to caramelize. During this time on indirect heat, a nice smoky ring forms around the sausage and gives it a great barbecue flavor (especially if you’re a charcoal guy like me). I use the same method for chicken, hot dogs, burgers, pork/beef ribs (even better if the ribs are smoked). I highly recommend this barbecue sauce for any occasion!” — Corey Glover, owner and chef of Sieve and seasona private chef and catering company serving North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida

“This thin sauce has it all: It’s tangy and vinegary, with lots of black pepper and a hint of mustard. Although it has a tomatoey hue and is a bit sweet, even North Carolinians (who are passionate about vinegar, salt and cracked pepper in a sauce) would probably still approve of this spicy, classic creation.

It’s best served with a hickory-smoked pulled pork sandwich topped with pickles and sliced ​​onions, or as a side dish with dry-marinated ribs or smoked sausage. A tablespoon or two never hurts as a base for deviled eggs or potato salad, too.” — Matt R. MooreSerial griller and author of Butcher on the Block and South’s Best Butts

“Stubb’s is great because you can use it for any barbecue sauce – cold on a sandwich, mixed with pulled pork – and it’s well balanced for a store-bought sauce. It doesn’t have that overpowering, overly sweet taste that most commercial sauces have, and it doesn’t contain high fructose corn syrup. Another local favorite for me is Mantis BBQ Sauce from Long Island – so delicious and the proceeds go to a good cause.” — George MotzBurger expert, author and owner of Hamburger America in New York City

“Blues Hog Tennessee Red Sauce is great on chicken and also for dipping chicken tenders. I’ve used it on chicken sandwiches and it’s very good – just the right amount of heat with vinegar flavor for the perfect blend. It also tastes really great on buffalo wings. People often ask me how I made the sauce, even though I didn’t!” — Raul Luis, owner of Birrieria Chalio (@BirriaWelt) in Texas and Georgia

“When I decided to smoke barbecue professionally, I knew I wanted to create my own sauce, and that’s what I did: Texas Q Original and Texas Q Sweet Heat. My absolute favorite supermarket sauce, however, is … the spicy Sweet Baby Ray’s. It goes equally well with beef, pork, poultry and seafood dishes, just like my own sauce.” — Sloan RinaldiMine master, Cookbook author and guest at Netflix Barbecue Showdown

“Bachan’s is a game-changer when it comes to barbecue sauce. Their original sauce adds just the right amount of umami flavor to any protein, making it a great all-around sauce. The new Sweet Honey sauce is another favorite among my social media followers. My favorite way to use Bachan’s is to marinate chicken thighs and then grill them over an open fire. The sauce works great as a marinade and adds tons of flavor to the meat, making meal prep super easy.” — Nick Nesgoda, founder of Burnt pellet grill Food Blog

Scott Gubitose, chef at Blue Ribbon BBQ at Time Out Market Boston, adds, “I’m really into Japanese barbecue sauces right now, especially Bachan’s. I’m not a big fan of the sweet and sticky corn syrup/molasses based sauces. Bachan’s has released a handful of new flavors. I’m a big fan of the original.”

Mace is also enthusiastic: “I use Bachan’s Japanese barbecue sauce very often at home. It works great as a sauce and glaze. We made a great dinner during the week: scallops on rice. For this, small scallops are simply seared in a hot cast iron pan on the grill and then glazed in the pan with Bachan’s sauce. Serve the whole thing over warm sushi rice with cucumber and avocado.”