Gramps BBQ Tangy Mustard
Background
Brian Lemm helms this veteran-owned barbecue business run out of Wake Forest, NC. Unlike a lot of sauces that are born out of competition and restaurants, Gramps BBQ was originally formulated when a need arose to have a sauce that did not trigger an annoying acid reflux reaction that most other barbecue sauces caused. Brian got what he was looking for with his Original recipe sauce, which he brought to market in 2023 and then followed up with this companion mustard-based recipe. Currently the sauces are only available at markets and select groceries local to the Triangle region of North Carolina.
Aroma
It's no surprise that the aroma leans heavily into mustard, but the distinct nose-tingled harshness of this condiment is tempered by a honey sweetness. There's a notable vinegar tang to the sauce and there's a black pepper kick to it as well. With a deeper whiff, a slight sweet tomato pops its head out to let you know that it isn't mustard alone at work here.
Thickness & Texture
This glossy, mustard yellow sauce is opaque, but since it has such a light hue, it's easy to see a lot a medium sized red and black spice specks. Te sauce has a medium-thin thickness with a smooth and lightly syrupy consistency. From a suspended spoon the sauce falls in a fast and even pour that quickly changes to numerous fast drips and finally slows to many smaller ones. Once the pour completes, a medium coating of sauce is left adhered to the silverware.
Out of the Jar
Despite the strong mustard aroma, the initial flavor is fairly nondescript. It takes a couple seconds for a honey sweet tomato to start off the flavor profile, but once it has begun, the flavor quickly shifts over to mustard and vinegar. Both of those overtake the tomato, but remain pretty mellow when compared to their raw states, which allows tastes of garlic and pepper to come in. As the sauce exits the tongue, the vinegar and mustard stay pretty consistent, while the heat turns up a notch with the taste of cayenne and black pepper. The final aftertaste has that peppery stamp against a lingering tangy mustard.
Slathered & Cooked
The medium and even layer of sauce that brushed onto the chicken set very well over indirect heat. This led to almost no sauce loss once the leg was moved over to direct heat, where there was also very little caramelization except for where the meat was touching the grates. The first few bits had a pretty mellow mustard flavor. After that, the chicken got a little more interesting with a nice tang and light peppery bite, but overall the flavor remained relatively tame from start to finish.
Put to Use
If this were my first mustard sauce, I'd probably be singing its praises because the flavor that you get from this jar has the distinct stamp of mustard without being too dominant, which allows the barbecue underpinnings to come through. Having reviewed a lot of mustard sauces at this point though, this one clocks in a notch or so higher than average. Don't get me wrong, the flavor here is pretty good and it tastes like quality ingredients went into the production, but on the whole, the sauce was somewhat understated and suffered from not being too mustardy or too barbecue and remaining in the realm of pleasant and acceptable. There was more I found to love out the jar and while the sauce grilled exceptionally well, the taste was diminished after cooking, which would leave me using this sauce mainly as a dip. Since it is on the lighter side, this is one mustard sauce that would work really well with lighter items like fish, veggies, and chicken.
