Best Barbecue Sauce, Rub, and Hot Sauce Subscription Boxes
NEWS | 15 November 2024
We are a condiment-obsessed nation. That’s not a bad thing, though! Sure, we can get gluttonous and douse our fries in too much ketchup or overdo it with the mayo. But if we seek out sauces whipped up by people who devote themselves to the craft, we have the opportunity to add a lot more excitement to our plates. Subscriptions are a good way to immerse yourself in the world of craft barbecue and hot sauces. There is a wider array of creative and experimental ingredients than ever, and trying funky combinations is a fun way to play around in the kitchen. I surprised myself at how much I liked some out-of-the-box flavors. Most of these companies are pretty small operations, so the people behind them are putting a lot of thought into the sauces and rubs they want to surprise their customers with. Subscriptions are also a great gift—for a loved one or even yourself. (Check out some of our other hand-picked gift guides while you're here.) Generally, you do not pick exactly which sauces you want to receive in your subscription boxes but rather surrender to the expert sauce masters, who work to send you the best and newest small-batch sauces. The amount of flavors they come up with is impressive. The subscription boxes I included here primarily include curated sauces and rubs, with exceptions for including small accessories like tools or swag. If there’s a bottle that you become obsessed with, you can purchase more individually through most of these services. Updated November 2024: We've added subscriptions from Kinzie Foods, HI Spice, and Bradshaw Sauce Co., changed some rankings, and updated links and prices. How We Tested When testing, I considered variety, price, the breadth of subscription options, the type of packaging, and customer service. “Subscription options” includes the number of bottles that customers can select to receive per box plus the frequency options available, like monthly or quarterly. When it comes to the variety of brands, I included information on whether the subscription box includes bottles from brands that the company curates, or if you’re getting a box of sauces that the company itself makes. Finally, some services allow you to customize what you want to receive—primarily the heat level of each sauce. Others are a complete surprise every time you open your box. Best Sauce Box for Beginners The Grill Masters Club is curated by professional pitmasters who treat barbecue sauce and rub combos like an art form. Its boxes typically contain more experimental sauces and rubs. For example, I still think fondly of the Smokey Horseradish Sauce from Torchbearer Sauces when I think back on all the sauces I tried for this article. It has that horseradish kick that opens your sinuses, but it’s simultaneously sweet and goes well with everything. It’ll make you rethink everything you once thought about horseradish. One recent box included Torchbearer’s Coffee and BBQ Sauce, Blackbeard Spice Company’s Triton Ancient Greek Spice Rub, and PS Seasoning’s Chicken and Waffle Wing Rub. Each box includes two sauces and two rubs. Many of the rubs come in smaller, roughly 3.5-ounce sizes, so you get to try your hand at a wider variety of flavors. The boxes come with a small booklet with recipes by the pitmasters, including ways that they recommend using the sauce and rub combos on different types of meat. Additionally, you will receive some sort of tool. The tools can range from a pair of tongs to a spatula or a brush. I was pleasantly surprised at the good quality of the tools. These come in handy for newbies who may not already have the necessary grilling tools.
Author: Medea Giordano. Andrew Watman. Omar L. Gallaga. Molly Higgins. Louryn Strampe. Scott Gilbertson. Nena Farrell. Simon Hill. Julian Chokkattu.
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