Jim's Own Sauce Mild
Background
Jim Arnold was a teacher in Durham, NC when he began experimenting with barbecue sauce, using his mother's recipe as a starting point. In 1997, after getting a large order for his sauce from one of his wife's co-workers, Jim saw promise in what was his side business and decided to quit teaching and focus on barbecue full time. Unfortunately Jim's wife succumbed to an illness in 2010 and that life event led to Jim to sell his brand to Gentlewoods Food, Inc, which was run by Willem and Marilene van Schalkwyk in nearby Cary, NC. The new home for Jim's Own kept up and expended on the original set of recipes and now boasts six different barbecue sauces along with four rubs and three sausage seasonings that are available online and at select grocery stores in the Triangle region of North Carolina.
Aroma
Worcestershire and vinegar are unmistakable in the aroma of this sauce, giving depth to a base with a sweet tomato aroma. Those three elements are the big players in the smell, but deeper whiffs release background notes of black pepper and onion.
Thickness & Texture
This light maroon, glossy sauce is semi-transparent, making it easy to see the spices, which are plentiful and come in large black and white bits along with medium and small red ones. The sauce's consistency is very smooth, thin, and watery, which has it falling from a suspended spoon in a very fast and even stream that changes to fast and then slow drips and leaves only a very thin layer of sauce left on the silverware.
Out of the Jar
It only takes a second for the sweet tomato start to get a strong hit of vinegar tang which cancels out the sugar. As the sauce settles on the tongue, depth builds up first by Worcestershire, then a variety of spices including onion powder and black pepper. That pepper creates a slight heat as the sauce exits, but it's an increase in vinegar that is most dominant in the aftertaste.
Slathered & Cooked
This sauce brushed onto the chicken in thin and even coating that looked very light at first, but since it set very well over indirect heat, it gained a good color on the second application. When moved over to direct heat, there was almost no sauce loss and blackening only occured where the chicken was touching the grates. The flavor was bright and clean, with a tangy tomato profile at the outset and a slight heat by a few bites in. The somewhat thin layer translated to less depth after being cooked, with the other spices and Worcestershire having a diminished presence.
Put to Use
The Jim's Own line has really impressed me with the Mustard and Hot varieties receiving a perfect score. So I'm keen to finish the sauce line-up from the brand and this mild recipe brings me to four out of six. The uncomplicated, yet well layered flavor was still in tune to my taste buds, but this one lacked that little extra something to send it as high as the other sauces I've tried. It was more full bodied out of the jar, but after being cooked it was missing some depth and I think the lightness of the sauce layer would make it get pretty lost on meats much heavier than chicken. So I would save Jim's Own Mild as a condiment or dip primarily, although fish and chicken are good contenders if you're keen to slather it on something you're cooking.
