Check this out. For our next “Oh Hell No!” we give you Heinz new BBQ sauces!
Yes, it appears that Heinz doesn’t make enough money making ketchup, vinegar, relish, and the tons of other foods that it puts its name on. No, not good enough. Now it is going into the BBQ sauce business.
First of all, we think Heinz is overrated. So let’s just get that out of the way right now. We don’t even buy Heinz ketchup. Or catsup. Or however the hell you spell it.
Everywhere you go there are Heinz bottles of ketchup. Precious. Of course, we all know the real truth. Restaurants buy the Heinz bottles once. Then, they refill the bottles with the industrial bulk bullshit brand ketchup. But it looks premium, right? Wow.
Herman buys Hunt’s ketchup. Denny buys Great Value (the Walmart stuff!). Why? Because screw Heinz, that’s why. Good enough.
So it is true…we already don’t like Heinz. But still, BBQ sauce? Really?
Yes, really. Heinz has introduced five new sauces. We have Classic Sweet & Thick. Then we have four others that are named after cities or states. Each one has a different flavor profile, if you will. Goodie.
Also available is…
…the Pitmaster Collection! Gone is the “Classic” sauce. The Pitmaster Collection just has the cities and states ones. Isn’t this all swell?
Look, we love BBQ sauce. But there are great BBQ sauces at any grocery store that aren’t just a ketchup company trying to get in on BBQ sauce to get more sales. For example, if you want great sauce, go get some Sweet Baby Ray’s. It is our favorite. No contest here.
We are all about simple here at Fewd Snobs. But there is just no need to go with a Heinz sauce when there are great sauces already out there.
There is no validity to a Heinz BBQ sauce. We suspect that Heinz knows this. That’s why Heinz needed a gimmick. Heinz teamed up with “top pitmasters” on each sauce to create “authentic regional barbecue sauces.” Well, that makes me want them now! Wait, no it doesn’t!
We don’t care who Heinz teamed with. If you live in Texas, are you going to buy Heinz sauce? No, of course you won’t. You will buy a local sauce that doesn’t suck.
By now you know us. We have no problem with big national brands. But something just seems off about “authentic” regional sauces coming from a company like Heinz. We could see this more if the company just introduced a plain old BBQ sauce. Recall that recently Heinz got into the yellow mustard business. Same deal. Except Heinz didn’t bring out “authentic” and “regional” mustards.
In other words, you aren’t fancy because you teamed up with “top pitmasters.”
Ugh.
Stick with making vinegar, Heinz.
You’re stupid! Before you comment on a food item…try it! And you’re commenting on Heinz not being up to par…..
You lost all credibility when you said Sweet Baby Ray’s was your favorite. You obviously don’t know jack about bbq. The regional bbq flavors are an established reality of the bbq world. I like that Heinz is offering an actual Carolina vinegar sauce, because what you mostly find is sickeningly sweet Kansas city style (like Ray’s). I imagine most REAL bbq fans are excited by these sauces.
So we lost credibility when we said Sweet Baby Ray’s is our favorite? Sweet Baby Ray’s was started in 1985 by one person. That person beat out 700 entrants in a rib cook-off. How do we lose credibility here? Yet, you defend Heinz?? And WE don’t know “jack” about BBQ? We have no problem with regional BBQ flavors. Just not ones made by Heinz! You are certainly entitled to your opinion, such as thinking that Sweet Baby Ray’s is “sickeningly sweet.” But, we are entitled to our opinion as well. We’re not fans of Carolina vinegar sauce, but we’re not saying that YOU “don’t know jack about BBQ.” And we seriously doubt that “REAL” BBQ fans are excited by these sauces. They already have local (or even national) favorites. “REAL” BBQ fans are not looking to Heinz to provide them with great sauces. If you enjoy them, more power to you. We’ll pass, and we gave our reasons why.
best bq sauce is made at home…but heinz used USED to be a great back up…they just suck now like their ketchup….they should just go awat cauxes after today my family and more are gonna stop buying crap period
Sweet Baby Ray’s was once a great homespun sauce made with top ingredients such as fresh tomatoes, vinegar, cane sugar, brown sugar, and molasses as the featured ingredients. Since winning a BBQ sauce competition and making a name for themselves and going into mass production, they have abandoned the good ingredients in favor of highly processed, high fructose corn syrup as the main ingredient, as it is much cheaper and just as sweet as more expensive natural sweeteners. Heinz starts with tomatoes or vinegar as the main ingredient, and sweetens it with cane sugar, brown sugar, and molasses, depending on the recipe. The SB Ray’s recipe of old is not anything like what the factory shoots out today. It’s a shame, as I grew up and still live in the area where SB Ray’s started.
We’re stupid? YOU are the one who can’t comprehend. The point of the “Oh Hell No” feature is for us to comment on something we have no intention of actually trying. Get it? Probably not. You are too dense.
And if we aren’t “up to par,” leave. We won’t miss you.
You- fewdsnobs – are idiots!
You’re completely off your gourd! The specialty sauces that Heinz made are most excellent!!! Sweet Baby Ray’s is so full of high fructose corn syrup it is nasty! You obviously need to find a new set of taste buds!!!
sweet baby rays??? your kidding..garbage. high fructose corn syrup..in bbq sauce??try stubbs sweet heat..the best.and the oh hell no. on heinz..couldnt have said that better my self
You people are killing us. We are FEWD SNOBS. There is irony in the name. We are anti-snobs. We don’t give a shit about high fructose corn syrup. In fact, we LIKE it! And we like Sweet Baby Ray’s!
Sweet Baby Rays is garbage, the Carolina and Kansas City style Heinz sauces are actually pretty legit. And Heinz ketchup pretty much shits on everyone world wide, literally in Japan they eat it like its a luxury.
Stubbs and Heinz are much higher quality than Ray’s based on primary ingredients, and the price is comparable, at least in the Chicago area. It’s not snobbery to want better ingredients and a great price. It’s snobbery when people rave about a $20 bottle of sauce sold in boutique shops, that has the same basic ingredients as Stubbs or Heinz. Stubbs and Heinz are delivering great sauces at great prices, and do not cut corners on ingredients just to make more profit per bottle as SB Ray’s does.
If you live in Texas and don’t make your own sauce, you might be a Yankee transplant. Or jest plain lazy!
The reasons you give for dismissing this product are rather silly. And worse, you basically gave a product a thumbs-down without without even trying it. This level of bias and closed-mindedness is unbecoming of a food critic of any standard.
For everyone else out there, I’ve had both the Heinz Texas BBQ Sauce and Sweet Baby Ray’s and the Heinz is a MUCH better sauce. Take this from someone who actually bothered to try both products.
I’ve tried several of these and they’re quite good. As noted, there are few commercial sauces which aren’t largely composed of high fructose corn syrup, so I think Heinz gets some credit for upping the bar. Are these sauces 100% authentic, or as good as homemade? Of course not. But they’re tasty and introduce the notion of regional BBQ differences to the masses, who remain unaware of anything outside Kansas City sauce. There’s nothing wrong with Sweet Baby Ray’s but it and most of the other commercial sauces represent a single style.
PS Heinz ketchup rocks. If you are unable to detect the handful of spice notes that distinguish it from the others you mention, it suggests that your palate is rather undeveloped.
Totally agree with you. Could not say it better. Who are these morons (fewdsnobs)anyway?
46 years of living in Texas and 15 years in the bbq business…and sometimes even a mass producer like Heinz gets lucky…the Tangy Carolina sauce is amazingly good…try it before you deny it…you may love it the way we do.
The sauces aren’t named after cities and states. They’re named after styles of bbq sauce. Every region has their own particular take on what makes up a sauce. Real cooks make their own sauce anyway.
Last night I bought a bottle of Heinz Kansas City BBQ sauce and a bottle of Heinz Kentucky Bourbon BBQ sauce just to try them even though I usually buy Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory Brown Sugar BBQ sauce which happens to be my favorite.
So what’s your point? Did you like them or not?
Well I was short on money and it was the only one on sale..go figure so I got it to try! And I’m from TEXAS! GOT THE KANSAS CITY ONE and it passed my test. Sweet baby rays is fine but never got it again.
What do you have against Heinz? Their ketchup is the best! As for their bbq sauce, I HAVE ACTUALLY tried them as well as most of the other brands. Heinz makes really good bbq sauce and is not sickeningly sweet like all the others. The others are so full of sugar they kill rather than enhancing the flavor of the meat. Before you critique something, try it, you’ll give yourself more credibility. Bottom line you’re the one who SUCKS, not Heinz.
What a garbage article. It’s bad because Heinz? Seriously who thought this was a good idea. The Memphis sauce is awesome and Heinz definitely sets the standard for ketchup. Don’t believe these idiots.
Sweet Baby Rays is HCFS garbage. These Heinz sauces are awesome, I work in a highly rated BBQ joint…we did a blind taste test of 11 sauces and 2 of the Heinz sauces came in 2nd and 3rd. Blues Hog won 1st.
The Heinz pitmaster series is actually really good bbq sauce. I’ve tried about all brands out there. Sweet baby Ray’s, yeah it’s alright for standard grocery store fare, if you want to get real snobby about bbq sauce try a real sauce like JB’s Fatboy or Original Juan’s Stockyard.
Heinz has made bbq sauce for a long time now. Do your research before writing an article ?
I LOVE Sweet Baby Rays – Heinz BBQ sauce is slimy and cheap tasting
What does cheap taste like? Dont you mean it tastes like a lack of knowledge? Because they dont know how to craft a wonderfully tasting bbq sauce? And slimy is a texture not a taste dipshit.
Dude, I love sauce plain and simple my local Ann Marie’s smoky chipotle bbq is one of the best I’ve ever had. However I got a hair up my butt that made me want to try this Heinz bbq because I love sauce, and to be honest the Carolina mustard bbq sauce is one of the best sauces I’ve eaten. It’s a perfect mix between bbq sauce and little smoky sauce. Get off Heinz back man. What’s the purpose in even having a website to say “I hate this Heinz is dumb” or “I like this heinz is great” keep your comments to yourself guys. If you want to know what will help people buy a sauce, try telling them what sort of flavor profiles this item has, what other sauces this one related to or stacks up against and things it would pair with. We could give a fuck whether or not you like fox news or CBS give us real information, that’s why I came to this site to begin with. Waste of my time, the same way reading this is a waste of yours.
Btw feel free to tell me how you really feel when you read my comments at 760 305 3704 my name is anthony this will be the last time I look at this site for useful information.
Lemme see, it seems that part of your bias is the fact that Heinz is corporate. Meanwhile Hunt’s is owned & manufactured by Conagra, & Great Value/Walmart, well, ’nuff said there.
As to liking Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce, well, I’m sorry you have no taste buds. It may have been a local Chicago creation, but that doesn’t mean it’s any better than eight sauces, (so far), each representing a different regional BBQ style & flavor, & each created with the help of an actual pitmaster from that region. And it’s not. Besides the fact that it’s made with HFCS, instead of sugar, it’s a Kansas City style sauce. that simply doesn’t stand up as a good KC style BBQ sauce.
The HFCS is a big reason for that, as it, unlike sugar, tends to overwhelm the other flavor notes in BBQ sauce. The Heinz KC style is superior to Sweet Baby ray’s, being less stickily sweet tasing, & with more subtle flavors mixing together. And, as someone originally from North Carolina, (you know, the birthplace of BBQ), I can say that their Carolina Vinegar Style Tangy BBQ Sauce is right on the money in taste, texture, everything. But then, I’ve eaten at both the Skylight Inn BBQ restaurant in Ayden NC, (where pitmaster Sam Jones got his start), & at Sam Jones BBQ in Winterville NC as well. Sam was the pitmaster who helped Heinz create the aforementioned sauce.
I’ve had BBQ all over the South, in Kansas City itself, Memphis, Texas & all over the Midwest as well, & I can say that these Heinz sauces nail each regional flavor/style, (other than Hawaiian, simply because I’ve never had BBQ there yet so I don’t know how authentic their Hawaiian BBQ Sauce is, the Heinz sauce does taste good though), pretty much perfectly. Living in Iowa now, I charcoal smoke meat at least once a week outside in good weather, (usually mid March-Sept/early Oct), everything from chicken to pork chops, loins, ribs etc, & I fix BBQ in the crock pot weekly in cold weather, so I do believe I know a good bit about BBQ, & what sauces, seasonings & rubs work well.
There’s a difference between being a “food snob” & trying something out before slamming it, but with your failed attempt at snarkiness, & your arrogant as puke attitude, you pretty much failed to achieve anything of substance. Sweet Baby Rays’!?! I’m still laughing at that. You are kidding aren’t you? You might as well use Bullseye BBQ Sauce!
Just for the record, Heinz ketchup is definitely superior to Hunt’s, GV, etc.
If one’s favorite BBQ sauce is Sweet Baby Ray’s, my question is always, “Are you a Yankee or a f—–g moron, or both?” The old Heinz sauces that were briefly discontinued were complex and not too sweet. The new sauces are the best thing in a bottle in most supermarkets. Either this is satire or a child wrote it.
When I was searching for Heinz BBQ sauces, because I am not an unhinged snob like you seem to be here (for reasons I will dive into), and this popped up in my DuckDuckGo search near the top (why…) so I decided to give it a read because I needed a good laugh right now. You sure delivered!
Listen, when Sweet Baby Rays is your favorite and it’s “no contest” then you are indeed anything but a food snob. A junk snob, maybe. Sweet Baby Rays has HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP!!! JUNK!! So, does Heinz have it in these sauces like their ketchup? NO! These Heinz sauces have all good ingredients and at their price I love these not only as a good BBQ sauce but for cooking a delicious rack of ribs at home.
I know this is old, but I needed to get this off my chest and I REALLY hope you had learned since writing this flaming garbage…
All I want to know is Why did you discontinue The Heinz Memphis BBQ sauce??? You can have the rest of them…. Find something thats good and everyone likes it, BOOM, It’s gone and all the crap is left!!!