Gramps BBQ Original
Background
I needed to get out of the house on one hot and sticky summer Sunday morning and was looking for something to do and saw the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was going to be near my house and it was calling to me. After my short time at that red and yellow, four-wheeled marvel, I wandered around the neighboring market and ran into a table for Gramps BBQ, where owner Brian Lemm was selling his two barbecue sauce varieties. This veteran-owned brand was founded in 2023 out of Wake Forest, NC, by a desire to build a barbecue sauce that wouldn't trigger an annoying acid reflux reaction that happened with many other sauces. This is what brought the original recipe into the world, and then the Tangy Mustard variation followed. Currently these sauces are only available to purchase in select groceries and markets in the Triangle region of North Carolina.
Aroma
A familiar "bold" blend of tangy, sweet, and smoky molasses imprints a strong barbecue impression with the first whiff of this sauce. A second noseful unleashes the standard deep tomato base along with a varied spice layer that has notes of garlic and peppers that impart earthy notes and lead you to expect there will be at least a little heat in the flavor.
Thickness & Texture
This maroon and glossy sauce is pretty opaque, but despite, that it's easy to see a number of larger white bits of spices or veggies, which add some texture to the sauce as well. The sauce is very thick and has a syrupy consistency, both which combine to a pour off of a suspended spoon that initially falls in one large drop, followed a couple slower and smaller ones and then ceases, leaving a thick layer of sauce adhered to the silverware.
Out of the Jar
A strong smoky molasses taste defines the first flavor encounter, which is backed up by strong sugars that quickly find balance and contrast via a wave of tangy vinegar. As the sauce settles on the tongue, a savory sourness comes in, attributed to tamarind, followed by tastes of onion and garlic. After that is when the peppers enter the party and seem to enhance the smokiness along with a mellow heat that builds to a nice medium burn as the sauce exits the mouth. The vinegar also was enhanced at this point, while the smoky molasses never leaves, creating a pretty full flavored traditional barbecue sauce aftertaste.
Slathered & Cooked
This sauce brushed onto the chicken in a medium-think, uneven layer which also set unevenly over indirect heat. This led to some sauce brushing off during subsequent basting, and then about average sauce loss over direct heat, but what did stick set well over the more intense heat. Like out of the jar, the first bites of the leg brought a strong sweet and smoky tomato and molasses flavor that's the hallmark of so many barbecue sauces. As is common, the sweetness was intensified after cooking, but wasn't so strong that it kept the spices and peppers from being tasted in the last few bites of the chicken.
Put to Use
A barbecue sauce vendor at a market almost always piques my interest, and I rarely leave without a purchase, so was happy it was fated that I would run into the guys from Gramps BBQ on this one summer day. They have crafted a sauce that treads a familiar "bold" barbecue path that's found in many common supermarket sauces, but this sauce has a huge leg up on those with a flavor that's more layered, natural tasting, and interesting. If you're able to get a bottle of Gramps BBQ Original, you'll find it'll produce a comforting barbecue profile that works well both in the raw state and after being cooked. Because the flavor is so strong, it's going to be best suited for those hearty items most associated with backyard cooking like ribs, burgers, and chicken.
