The Spicy Name-Brand Sauce That's Nestled Inside Sweet Baby Ray's

As one of the store-bought barbecue sauces celebrity chefs swear by, Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce has the flavor to back up its popularity. The recipe was created in 1982 in order to facilitate one sibling duo's participation in a Chicago rib competition. After competing for four years, the brothers behind this barbecue sauce, Larry and Dave Raymond, opened their own barbecue sauce business. At that point, there was a name ... but not precisely a flagship product. It was only after collaborating with various chefs and giving away Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce as holiday gifts that the brothers settled on a recipe. 

In a 1990 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Dave Raymond described the flavor of the barbecue sauce, "It is a unique blend of sweet, hot and smoke designed to complement food flavor and not dominate it. Used straight from the fridge it is spicier, but milder when heated." The feature also revealed that this subtle kick is provided by a household sauce you probably already have in your pantry: Tabasco. Tabasco can do more than spice up your favorite canned soups. Since it's made only with distilled vinegar, aged red peppers, and salt, Tabasco serves as a simple yet powerful and versatile component of Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce.

Nowadays, the ingredients list on a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce doesn't strictly list McIlhenny Co. Tabasco, as the Chicago Tribune once reported, but it does contain its essential components of vinegar, salt, and "spice." Whether it is rounding out the various flavors of a shrimp and sausage jambalaya or adding unexpected depth (and an edge of heat) to cherry and chocolate cookies, Tabasco sauce is already multifaceted and flavorful on its own. Just as Tabasco sauce is the key to crafting a balance between savory and spicy in countless dishes, it is integral to helping Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce find that elusive balance between sweet and spicy that many such mixtures strive to achieve. 

The flavor profile of Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce makes it easy to use in batch cooking and family meals, from simple barbecue ribs served with mac and cheese to a classic barbecue burger paired with light and crispy onion rings. While the original, award-winning Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce is undeniably adaptable, there are other variations of the sauce available for any occasion. Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce, for example, is perfect for a sweeter touch in your barbecue ribs. If you crave a spicier sauce for your summer chicken skewers, Sweet Baby Ray's Original Kickin' Barbecue Sauce may be the way to go, while it also offers a chipotle-infused version. But you have the beloved flavors of Tabasco to thank for helping to give the original mix its widely celebrated flavor.