Ribhouse BBQ Sauce

Ribhouse BBQ Sauce by Easton Reed for long barbecue evenings

Ribhouse BBQ Sauce by Easton Reed is a dark barbecue sauce made from brown sugar, tomato paste, and molasses, just like the kind found on tables in American rib houses. Roasted garlic and smoked vinegar give it the depth that belongs on ribs, pulled pork, and burgers.

Ribhouse BBQ Sauce is the classic grill sauce from Augsburg-based Easton Reed, bottled in slim 260-milliliter glass bottles. "Ribhouse" means rib house, and that is exactly where its inspiration comes from. Brown sugar is at the top of the ingredient list, followed by water, double-concentrated tomato paste, spirit vinegar, and molasses. Pineapple juice concentrate rounds out the sweetness, and the smokiness is provided by smoked spirit vinegar, for which others would have to resort to artificial flavorings.

Dark syrup with smoke and roasted garlic

The sauce pours thick and deep dark brown from the spoon, and the scent of roasted garlic fills the room the moment you open the bottle, without having to look for it. Anyone tasting it for the first time will immediately notice that there is more going on here than in an ordinary store-bought tomato sauce.

On the meat, the molasses comes through first, a warm, almost licorice-like sweetness. White sugar cannot achieve this kind of depth. Behind it, tomato and spirit vinegar work against it, keeping the sauce balanced so that it still tastes appetizing even after the third rib.

Sweet, smoky, savory—the flavor builds in that order, and in the end, the garlic lingers as a long finish. On a hot grill, the sauce thickens into a glossy glaze within a few minutes that sticks to the meat instead of dripping into the coals.

On ribs, in pulled pork, under a burger

Its true stage is the grill, but it handles the oven and the skillet just as well if the weather doesn't cooperate on the weekend. Brush it onto ribs during the last ten minutes so the sugar caramelizes without becoming bitter.

Mix it into pulled pork after shredding to bind the dry fibers back together. Burgers and sausages take it as a dip on the side, with no further preparation needed. Drizzled over baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and sweet potato wedges, it turns a side dish into the reason the plate gets finished first.

For a fruitier evening, try the Peach Whiskey Sauce, for something significantly milder the Honey BBQ Sauce, and for those who like smoke with maple sweetness, reach for the Maple Chipotle Sauce. The entire range is available on the BBQ Sauces shelf.

Molasses is the dark remains of sugar

Molasses is created when granulated sugar is extracted from boiled-down sugarcane juice, leaving behind a dark, viscous syrup that for a long time nobody wanted. Everything that white sugar lost on its way to becoming a crystal collects in this residue.

Minerals, roasted notes, and a slightly bitter edge give it its character, which is why American barbecue kitchens have been reaching for it for generations. Only molasses gives a barbecue sauce its dark color and long-lasting finish.

At Easton Reed, it sits alongside brown sugar—which itself already contains molasses—and invert sugar syrup, which keeps the sauce smooth. The line was developed by Ryan's Specialties in Augsburg, the company that has been bringing American delicacies to Germany for over twenty years. In addition to the sauces, the Easton Reed assortment includes chutneys, ketchup, and maple syrup.