Joe's Kansas City Original Bar-B-Que Sauce
Background
Jeff and Joy Stehney's barbecue journey began on a fateful day in 1990 when a friend asked them to come out to competition, and the Stehneys were instantly taken. They bought a smoker, began competing under the name Slaughterhouse Five, and in three short years they were already taking Grand Champion at the American Royal. Along their route, the duo met and befriended Joe Davidson (of Oklahoma Joe's Smoker Company) and teamed up with him to start a catering company in 1995, and then opened a restaurant together about a half a year later in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Jeff and Joy weren't looking to open a joint of their own, but when a fried chicken counter closed at a gas station close to their home in Kansas City, they thought it was a prime spot for barbecue and took a chance on it. In 1997, Joe Davidson sold his shares in his company and closed up the Oklahoma restaurant, but Jeff and Joy kept running their location and competing. In 2006 they opened a second location south of Kansas City in Olathe, and then a third spot in Leawood in 2012. All three locations continue to operate and the Stehneys sell their sauces, rubs, and merch online. Currently there's only one Joe's Kansas City sauce, but they have a couple others under their other brand name, Cowtown.
Aroma
A rich smoky molasses fills the nose upon the first whiff of this sauce, while a deep and sweet tomato mixes in to cement the barbecue profile right off the bat. This quintessential combo of aromas gains deeper complexity in subsequent sniffs with vinegar, mustard, and garlic all adding sharp bites to contrast the sugars, and a hint of earthy chili giving the clue that some heat is probably in store in the taste.
Thickness & Texture
This dark maroon sauce is pretty opaque, masking the visual existence of spices except for a few specs of black pepper here and there. There's a semi-glossy sheen and textured appearance to this sauce which is a notch or two north of medium on the thickness scale and has a constancy akin to a thinned tomato paste that's lightly syrupy. From a suspended spoon, the sauce first falls in one large glob, followed by a short uneven pour that changes to a few slow drips prior to ceasing and leaving a medium coating of sauce left clinging to the silverware.
Out of the Jar
The first seconds of the flavor bring a sweet molasses and deep tomato taste. It doesn't take long for the sugars to become well balanced by vinegar, while mustard adds a pungency and sharpness to further contrast the sweet tomato. Smoke and spices make an early play next with tastes of garlic, celery, and multiple peppers adding a lot of complexity to the party. The chiles then start to dominate and add a medium heat at the same time vinegar dials up, leaving a tongue tingle in the aftertaste that still retains tomato, smoke, and a touch of sweetness to end with a full bodied flavor.
Slathered & Cooked
This sauce brushed onto the chicken in a medium, uneven layer that set quite well over indirect heat. When moved directly over the coals, there was fast caramelization, a little blackening, and minimal sauce loss, leaving the leg well coated. The first bite of the chicken delivered a primarily sweet tomato and molasses flavor, but the depth tasted out of the jar entered the equation by bite two. Those layers of barbecue complexity continued to build up with each additional bite until the entire flavor profile was accounted for by the end of the leg, including a medium hit of heat.
Put to Use
I covered the Cowtown sauce's earlier in my sauce reviewing days and found them both to be well catered to my taste buds. I'm not sure why it took me so long then to finally give Joe's Kansas City sauce a try, but now that I finally did, it was right in line with my previous experiences with the creations of Jeff and Joy Stehney. When I think of Kansas City style barbecue sauce, what comes out of the jar of Joe's is exactly what I imagine—sweet, smoky, fruity, and balanced well by vinegar. All of these characteristics are exemplary here, but it's the additional depth of Joe's that makes it so great in my eyes. To start, the contrast to the sugar is amped up by mustard and garlic along with the vinegar, Next, the spice layer delivers complimentary notes like celery and onion, and the spiciness hits just right at the end with multiple peppers adding even more complexity. All of these things to love were experienced both out of the jar and after being cooked, which leads me to whole heartedly recommend this sauce for any of your barbecuing needs whether that be slathering ribs, dressing pulled pork, topping burgers, or coating burnt ends.
