One Of The Best Kinder's BBQ Sauces Is Inspired By A South Carolina Staple

Barbecue sauce is not a one-size-fits-all condiment. A true barbecue aficionado will tell you that there's a specific sauce for every style of barbecue — and even for individual proteins. These may be a long way from generic-tasting mass-market barbecue sauces. For example, South Carolina has four iconic sauces, and one of them inspired Gold BBQ Sauce by Kinder's, which nabbed the number two spot in our ranking of ten Kinder's barbecue sauces.

Traditional Carolina gold sauce is a mustard-based barbecue sauce that relies on a sharper, spicier flavor to cut through the fatty richness of South Carolina's pork-focused barbecue. While Kinder's sauce isn't completely authentic — the first ingredient listed is tomato puree, not mustard — the inclusion of mustard and sugar instead of molasses helps keep it in the Carolina gold family. Our reviewer of Kinder's sauces, says, "This stuff had that distinct mustard flavor without tasting overly vinegary or pungent — those typical sweet BBQ notes came in strong as well, working as a balance." Our writer compared it to a combination of barbecue sauce and mustard, saying it is perfect for dipping chicken as well as pouring over pork.

If you're going to eat Carolina gold barbecue sauce, the best place to start is with a South Carolina classic: pork. Whole hog, shoulder, and ham are all mainstays, and Carolina gold sauce is perfectly designed to complement the meat. While Kinder's Gold BBQ Sauce is sweeter than traditional Carolina Gold sauce thanks to the heavier addition of tomato puree, the strong mustard presence still holds up to pork's richness.

By shifting the flavor profile sweeter, the Kinder's Gold sauce would also be delicious with chicken or in baked beans. Chicken loves a little bit of vinegar — it's a core ingredient in buffalo wing sauce — so the acidity of the mustard in Kinder's Gold BBQ Sauce makes it a perfect chicken accompaniment. Baked beans tend to have more brown sugar or molasses flavors, but all that sweetness can become one-note without a little contrast. By using a barbecue sauce that's already got some tang, you can rustle up beans that are bright and satisfying instead of a forgotten side dish.