---

SMART SHOPPING: Bottled Barbecue Sauce

---

Homemade barbecue sauce is a project requiring a lengthy list of ingredients and a good chunk of time. No wonder bottled barbecue sauce is so popular–in just one local supermarket, we found more than 30 varieties! To make sense of all these options, we conducted a blind taste test of eight leading national brands. We chose tomato-based sauces that were labeled “original” and tasted each sauce on its own, broiled on chicken thighs, and as a dip for chicken nuggets. Although tasters’ personal preferences varied, our winner was Bull’s-Eye Original Barbecue Sauce, which tasters found “robust” and “spicy.”