Sauce King NYC https://saucekingnyc.com/ Hot Sauce Competition Wed, 19 Nov 2025 17:48:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 2025 Sauce King NYC™ Winners https://saucekingnyc.com/2025-sauce-king-nyc-winners/ Wed, 19 Nov 2025 15:54:18 +0000 https://saucekingnyc.com/?p=2724 Sauce King NYC™ is always the best excuse on the planet to get old and new Food Karma Projects culinary friends and colleagues together to judge the best sauces, rubs and marinades from all over the world. Every year, we look forward to this event, and 2025 brought some of the fiercest, most fiery, most delicious, and most unanticipated entrants yet!

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]]> 2025 Sauce King NYC™ Winners

Sauce King NYC™ is always the best excuse on the planet to get old and new Food Karma Projects culinary friends and colleagues together to judge the best sauces, rubs and marinades from all over the world. Every year, we look forward to this event, and 2025 brought some of the fiercest, most fiery, most delicious, and most unanticipated entrants yet!

This year, local, nationwide, and international entries filled the storage room shelves of The Bronx Beer Hall, aka the Sauce King NYC™ home base. Entrants came from all over the U.S., as well as the U.K., Taiwan, Japan, and Thailand. The Sauce King NYC™ ballot was pages long and absolutely bursting with flavor. Most importantly, each judge had an insanely grateful and happy palate by the end.

Our humble(ish) Sauce King NYC™ Judging Panel faced the heat, the sweet, the salty, and the surprising to choose the 2025 Sauce King NYC™ winners and standouts, including the Grand Champion Dark Horse Delight Award. We’re proud, privileged, and pleased to help get the word out on these exceptional entries and to inspire you to purchase these offerings and put them to great use for your own grills and kitchens.

Read on for the full list of the Sauce King NYC™ 2025 winners and standouts. – Nick Bandouveris

Sauce King NYC™ 2025 Awards

The Dark Horse Delight Award for Grand Champion

Jax Sauce Alabama White

Full disclosure: at first, the judges greeted this bottle with an attitude of “I guess this could be an interesting niche product…” What a mistake! “Mmmm. Wow. Horseradish!” we said, passing the bottle around way more times than usual (or decent). The Jax Sauce Alabama White sauce is one of the biggest, best, and most exciting surprises of the competition. It was silky, tangy, and deliciously balanced. It made us crave a great piece of beef then and there. It will also be amazing on chicken, fish, egg dishes, cooked or raw veggies, in salads, or as a dressing for coleslaw. It’s bold enough to stand up in the smoker, BBQ on a grill, or when cooking in the oven (if you must). It will make an amazing dip at your next party. We couldn’t stop talking about this sauce, being inspired to dream up delicious uses for it, or fighting over who takes it home! Ushering a “niche” sauce into a most delicious mainstream, Jax Sauce Alabama White sauce is one of the biggest, boldest, and best surprises ever to hit the Sauce King NYC™ taste buds.

The Scoville Star Award for Best Hot Sauce

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Fire Garlic Chipotle Pepper

Like every offering from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, whether a hot sauce or their variety of excellent BBQ sauces, the flavor is always clean, distinctive, delicious, and balanced. This winning sauce has great heat, but isn’t dominated by it. Instead, spice and flavor go hand in hand with heat, and that’s not an easy thing to craft. All judges agreed, taste the flavor explosion from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s Fire Garlic Chipotle Pepper Sauce for the ideal complement to nearly anything meat or veg, and enjoy that warming heat that sneaks up on you a few seconds later. Then pour on some more and go for the next bite!

Runner-Up for Best Hot Sauce

Walzy’s Hot Sauce Ember (Gold with a scold!)

Like its name, Walzy’s Hot Sauce gives you that “scold” of heat you know you want and deserve, but the main attraction is the intensely delicious flavor in harmony with the heat. Use for any meat, so many veggies, and dream tonight of slathering some on your eggs at tomorrow’s breakfast.

The Smoke Royalty Award for Best Overall BBQ Sauce

Jax Sauce Original

A+. Exactly what the judges look for in a go-to BBQ sauce: something intensely delicious yet also pleasingly familiar that would be very difficult to replicate in your own kitchen. Slather it onto a pork shoulder and then pour in some more after the cook. Try it out on your next slab of ribs or whole chicken. Jax Sauce Original Sweet & Smoky is far from “basic,” and it inspires us to reach for it from smoking to grilling to BBQ in the oven for that little extra burst of flavor, even for those who aren’t able to enjoy cooking outdoors.

Runner-Up for Best Overall BBQ Sauce

Pork Mafia Cochon Dippin’ Sauce

Exemplary and Excellent. Pork Mafia’s Cochon Dippin’ Sauce is a fantastic and delicious marinade, baste, barbecue sauce, and also that rare versatile sauce for just unscrewing the cap and dipping, then double dipping, nearly anything into. (Just keep your fingers out of it – Paul!).

3rd Place for Best Overall BBQ Sauce

Jax Sauce Alabama White

We can’t find enough accolades for this delicious Sauce King NYC™ 2025 winner.

4th Place for Best Overall BBQ Sauce

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Roasted Garlic Honey BBQ Sauce

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s Roasted Garlic Honey BBQ Sauce is straight up delicious. Tomato forward, but unlike so many sauces, it has that magical taste of FRESH tomatoes (way more difficult to achieve than you’d think). The honey is subtle and very welcome when compared to some sauces that rely too much on sugar for sweetness. Here, all the flavors flow in complete harmony.

5th Place for Best Overall BBQ Sauce

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Red Chili Sour Cherry Sauce

YES! More please! The taste of real cherry is in Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s Red Chili Sour Cherry Sauce, beautifully blending in the unexpected and welcome surprise of cumin to make this the antidote to ordinary BBQ sauce (and you’ll still reach for it as a new habit). Perfectly balanced, it’s great to see Dinosaur Bar-B-Que branching out so well in complementing its other recipes.

Honorable Mention for Best Overall BBQ Sauce

Paragon Sauce & Spice Fire Brick

Finally, a sauce that does everything proclaimed on the label! Paragon Sauce & Spice’s Fire Brick Hot Barbecue Sauce really is a spicy, thick, zesty, savory barbecue sauce, which somehow achieved the platonic ideal of blending in banana peppers and mustard. Put one into your arsenal to make them pay attention at your next barbecue.

The Flavor Vanguard Award For Best Unique Sauce

Jax Sauce Alabama White

The Dark Horse Delight Award for Grand Champion really surprised and pleased every one of the judges. An Alabama white is rarely what you reach for by instinct. This one’s a game changing sauce that goes way beyond “niche.” Jax Sauce Alabama White BBQ Sauce is no namby-pamby tame and lame runny mayonnaisey white sauce. It rewards you with a thick sauce with just the right amount of horseradish blended to delicious, inspiring perfection. It’s the winner for nearly any use, from bold meats to delicate veggies. Get it. Now. And tell ‘em Sauce King NYC™ sent you!

The Smoke & Soul Award for Best Grill Sauce

Chef Ray Sheehan Memphis Mop BBQ Sauce

We judge BBQ sauces by two criteria: flavor and uniqueness, meaning if it’s a “traditional” sauce, is it so damn great that we couldn’t begin to replicate it in our own kitchen? Chef Ray Sheehan’s Memphis Mop BBQ Sauce deliciously tells us – YES! Standing out way above ordinary Memphis sauce, not only for flavor but because it’s also thicker than most, this will make even less costly cuts of meat taste sublime. But don’t skimp. You only live once, so treat this sauce to the meat it deserves!

The Passport Palate Award for Best International Sauce

Firefly Barbecue Korean Chilli Crunch

Each year, we look forward to what those cheeky Brits from Firefly Barbecue send to our shores to please and surprise us with additions to their already amazing line. But, come on guys, next year send MORE Firefly Barbecue Korean Chilli Crunch! Judges were injured fighting over this consummate crunchy and spicy chili sauce. The lucky victor went home with the jar, and the rest of us, licking our wounds, are forced to settle for the still-vivid memory of how damn delicious this is!

Honorable Mention for Best International Sauce

Mama Rose Chili Sauce

From Taiwan, Mama Rose Chili Sauce is a perfectly balanced chili sauce that will inspire you in all kinds of recipes. It’s hot in just the right amount, but like any Sauce King NYC™ winner, it’s the way the flavors work with the heat that matters to the tongues of these judges and brings smiles to our faces.

The Great Transformer Award for Best Everything Sauce

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Roasted Garlic Honey BBQ Sauce

A go-to BBQ sauce is much more difficult to make than you’d think. There are too many sauces out there that are the same or maybe not even as good as the clearance sale of Kraft sauces at the 99 cent store. Thankfully, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que brings distinctive recipes to all of their sauces, elevating the idea of a go-to into something that’s always special. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que’s Roasted Garlic Honey BBQ Sauce takes the crown this year. The first thing that hits your palate is the brightness of the flavor of FRESH tomatoes. Then you get the creamy umami of roasted garlic, and just the right amount of sumptuous sweetness from just enough honey. All in perfect harmony. You’ll make it a habit to reach for it.

The Grand Glaze Award for Best Marinade or Dipping Sauce

Pork Mafia Cochon Dippin’ Sauce

Exemplary and excellent. Pork Mafia’s Cochon Dippin’ Sauce is a fantastic and delicious marinade, baste, barbecue sauce, and also that rare versatile sauce for just unscrewing the cap and dipping, then double dipping, nearly anything into. (Just keep your fingers out of it – Paul!). It’s great on its own as a guilty pleasure, but you’ll feel more guilty if you don’t use it almost all the time.

Runner-Up for Best Marinade or Dipping Sauce

Firefly Barbecue Korean Chilli Crunch

The Best International Sauce also makes one of the Best Marinades or Dipping Sauces, too! We couldn’t leave it out as a winner in this category also.

The Culinary Alchemist Award for Best Condiment

Harmacy Hot Sauce Co. Ava Masala Pepper Sauce

Harmacy Hot Sauce Co.’s Ava Masala Pepper Sauce is a one of a kind, excellent sauce that balances curry spices and mustard with enough heat to make you reach for that ice water or cold beer while you’re planning all the different recipes you’ll use it for. It’s warm yet also bright. We couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t be upgraded by this sauce, from a humble stick of celery to chicken, fish, pork, beef, a baked head of cauliflower, a crock pot of pinto beans, your breakfast eggs – you name it.

Runner-Up for Best Condiment

Taste Flavor Co. Fiery Mango Habanero

At first, we thought this might be weird, until we tasted Taste Flavor Co.’s Fiery Mango Habanero Dipping Sauce & Marinade. Not because of the flavor, which we were all looking forward to, but because the label promises “only 5 calories per serving.” Imagine the smiles on our faces when we were surprised at how much great mango flavor and heat you can pack into so few calories! Don’t dare think of this as a “diet” product! Instead, enjoy something delicious and if you also happen to be watching calories, well, you win twice.

The Culinary Spark Award for Best Rub

Firefly Barbecue Tandoori Masala

Firefly Barbecue once again gets it right. Just a damn amazing rub! Don’t dare limit yourself to thinking this is for Indian dishes only. Firefly Barbecue’s Tandoori Masala Barbecue Rub is so versatile it will be great on anything – beef and pork and poultry and fish and veggie and egg dishes and even to sprinkle onto a salad. Be creative and learn your adventurous side. It even makes a fresh taste changeup to Mexican cuisine – one judge reportedly tested it out on a quesadilla and as a taco seasoning. The verdict? Excellent!

Runner-Up for Best Rub

B.T. Leigh’s Somethin’ for Autumn

B.T. Leigh’s Sauces and Rubs has a fantastic line that we feel everyone should try, but this new one kind of blew our minds! Open the cap of B.T. Leigh’s Somethin’ for Autumn any time of year for a Proustian trip to the cherished Autumn days of your youth. It’s a sweet and savory rub that literally smells like Autumn (!) that’s just what you need for livening up meats and veggies and fruit, popcorn (!), and anything you can imagine that might benefit more from sweet than heat. But wait, there’s more! It’s indispensable for sprinkling onto cinnamon rolls, muffins or cookies before you pop them into the oven. One judge has already topped their annual fall pumpkin chocolate chip muffins with it, and it’s elevated their beloved recipe up an extra five notches!

Honorable Mention for Best Rub

B.T. Leigh’s Somethin’ to Dill With Autumn

If a voracious, yet beloved judge hadn’t walked away with this, we’d all be using it for meats, salads, and something very fun and different to top our popcorn with for bringing a little spark to those Netflix and chill nights.

The Umami Unicorn Award for Best New Sauce

Achilles Heat Smoked Chili Crisp

There aren’t enough superlatives for this flawless Achilles Heat Smoked Chili Crisp, made in Brooklyn, NY! Beautifully-balanced umami – chili oil, just enough heat, and the awesome amount of crunch that makes you dip your spoon back into the jar. Versatile enough for endless possibilities for recipes, but you could merely dab a spoonful on a great piece of bread or savory cracker and be in culinary heaven. Mental note – buy at least two, they’ll go quickly! (We also urge you to try the Achilles Heat line of hot sauces, one for every level of heat enjoyment).

The Fiesta Flash Award for Best Salsa

GWB Hot Sauce Sweet Fire Salsa

This is a crazy delicious salsa, with the heat you expect, but a very, very light sweetness that brings out its taste of fresh tomatoes as if it was born to do so. Don’t limit yourself to dipping chips or topping a taco. This salsa will make a great marinade or baste for any meat, fish, poultry or veggie. Needless to say, it will brighten up your breakfast eggs as well!

The Delicious Detour Award for Awesome Guilty Pleasures

Jax Sauce Chili-Lime

Exactly as it says on the label (as if you couldn’t see the bits of chili peeking from inside the bottle!), Jax Sauce Chili-Lime sauce is versatile for the grill and the kitchen, from meat to seafood to veggies. What a great balance of lime and ginger, which is just the right amount of zing.

Chef Ray Sheehan Kansas City BBQ Sauce

Like his also-excellent Memphis Mop BBQ Sauce, Chef Ray Sheehan’s Kansas City BBQ Sauce is the platonic ideal of its category. Its perfectly blended flavors will liven up any barbecue, or make a great marinade for oven cooked dishes. The judges agree it’s a great go-to and an elevated take on a beloved traditional sauce.

Dirty Jerz BBQ Sauce – Savory Style

An export from the shores of New Jersey, Dirty Jerz BBQ Sauce – Savory Style is delicious and deceptively simple. It’s fantastic on its own and as a marinade or baste for your BBQ dishes. It’s bright and clean, making it the ideal base for you to use to add your own heat or other flavors, maybe even pieces of mango or bits of tomato. The wide mouth jar will invite anyone to dip a chicken wing into it, too.

Elfassy Traditional Moroccan Harissa

The Sauce King NYC™ 2024 Grand Champion Elfassy Traditional Moroccan Harissa has become a perennial favorite. A few years ago they started small with a gigantic flavor and continue to make our mouths water every year. Versatile, flavorful, the heat strong and tight but never overwhelming, most of our judges keep a couple of jars in the cupboard. Try it with that sheet pan harissa chicken meatball recipe going around the internet and you will, too. Elfassy has two levels of heat, mild or medium, to create the platonic ideal for any palate of what a harissa should be.

Behind the Scenes at Sauce King NYC™

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]]> 2024 Sauce King NYC™ Winners https://saucekingnyc.com/sauce-king-nyc-2024-winners/ Tue, 29 Oct 2024 16:34:15 +0000 https://saucekingnyc.com/?page_id=2382 2024 Sauce King NYC™ Winners The seasoning scene was sizzling in 2024. This year, the Sauce King NYC™ Judging Panel tested a heap of outstanding sauces and spice rubs from all over the world. International entries poured in. Sauces and rubs arrived at The Bronx Beer Hall, aka the Sauce King NYC™ home base this […]

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]]> 2024 Sauce King NYC™ Winners

The seasoning scene was sizzling in 2024. This year, the Sauce King NYC™ Judging Panel tested a heap of outstanding sauces and spice rubs from all over the world. International entries poured in. Sauces and rubs arrived at The Bronx Beer Hall, aka the Sauce King NYC™ home base this year, from the UK, Japan, and Thailand. We unofficially dubbed it the year of the rub: with more spice rub submissions than ever before, the Sauce King NYC™ ballot was absolutely bursting with flavor.

The Sauce King NYC™ Judging Panel faced the heat, the sweet, and the salty to choose the 2024 Sauce King NYC™ winners and standouts, including the Grand Champion and Metro NYC Startup Duane Joseph Award. Many recipients of the Metro NYC Startup Duane Joseph Award have used the recognition to successfully launch their brands commercially. Sauce King NYC™ is thrilled to help make dreams a reality. Read on for the full list of the Sauce King NYC™ 2024 winners and standouts.

Sauce King NYC™ Top Awards

Grand Champion

Elfassy Foods Mild Harissa

Metro NYC Startup Duane Joseph Award

Piketu Original Hot Sauce

In a League of Their Own: Top BBQ Sauces

Chef Ray Sheehan Memphis Mop BBQ Sauce
FireFly Barbecue Spicy Agave & Chipotle
B.T. Leigh’s The Magical Mop
B.T. Leigh’s Something Nutorious
GWB Hot Sauce Apple Cinnamon BBQ

BBQ Sauce Awards

Best Everyday BBQ Sauce

Paragon Sauce & Spice Fire Brick Hot BBQ Sauce

Best Innovative BBQ Sauce

Dinosaur BBQ Red Chili Sour Cherry Sauce

Fresh, New, and Upbeat BBQ Sauce Award

Wadaka Brewery Jammin’ Sauce

Honorable Mentions: BBQ Sauce

Torcatha Spìosrach BBQ Sauce
Harmacy Hot Sauce Chi-Chee Kimchi Hot Sauce
GWB Hot Sauce Cherry Jalapeño
Keke Everything Sauce
Joy’s Island Spice Sweet BBQ Sauce
Spreng’s Bold Gold Sauce

Culinary Sauce Awards

Best Culinary Sauce

Elfassy Foods Mild Harissa

Runner Up Best Culinary Sauce

Xilli Mole Negro

International Sauce Awards

Best International Traditional-Style Sauces

Wadaka Brewery Misos, Amazakes, and Soy Sauces

Best International Family of Sauces and Rubs

FireFly Barbecue Sauces & Rubs

Hot Sauce Awards

Best Hot Sauce

Craic Sauce Mill City Red

Farm Favorite Hot Sauce Award

Morning Glory Farm Sauces

Most Rad Level 5 Hot Sauce Award

Coney Island Saucery Industry Vault-Tec Hot Sauce

Chefs’ Favorite Hot Sauce Award

BamuBamu Fire Club Signature Sesame Habanero Thai Chili Sauce

Salty Style Hot Sauce Award

Craic Sauce Kelpie

Essential Kitchen Award

Kam Rai Thai Restaurant Sauces

Judges’ Award for Best Hot Sauce

Joy’s Island Spice Calypso Dance Hot Sauce

Rub Awards

Best Line of Rubs

B.T. Leigh’s Sauces & Rubs

BBQ Geek Rub Award

FireFly Barbecue Rubs

Fresh Spice Rub Award

Spicy Caballero El Borikua, Spicy El Borikua, and Big Ed’s Magic Dust Original

Special Awards

Best Jerk Sauce

Joy’s Island Spice Jerk BBQ Sauce

Best Condiment

Dinosaur BBQ Hot Honey Gold Sauce

Best Grill Sauce

Dinosaur BBQ Sensuous Slathering Sauce

Behind the Scenes at Sauce King NYC™

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]]> 2023 Sauce King NYC Winners https://saucekingnyc.com/2023-sauce-king-nyc-winners/ Tue, 02 Jul 2024 01:25:50 +0000 https://saucekingnyc.com/24/?p=813 2023 GRAND CHAMPION
FireFly Barbecue
United Kingdom
Smoked Jalapeño Jam

Click to read the full list of category winners from 200+ entries

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]]>

Grand Champion

FireFly Barbecue
United Kingdom
Smoked Jalapeño Jam
Noel Bateman, Director and Owner
https://www.fireflybbq.co.uk/

Noel Bateman on the Jalapeño Jam story:
“Long story short, we have all seen how they make Tabasco at McIlhenny, and I saw them at Meatopia in London a few years ago with a taste comparison between un-aged and aged Tabasco chili mash. That got me thinking of doing something similar with another chili.

“So one old Rioja wine barrel, 150kg of green jalapeño, and 2 years later we drained the barrel into 25l jerry cans to make the smoked jalapeño jam, and the coriander & jalapeño.”

Metro NYC Startup “Duane Joseph” Award Winner
(TIE)

L & L Infused Sauces
New York City
Verde Sauces
Lisandra & Lisette (owners)
Instagram: @l.l_infused

Kam Rai Thai restaurant
Astoria, Queens
Zeed green hot sauce & Sam Rod dipping sauce
Chef Dhanapol “Oak” Marprasert
Instagram: @kamraithai

Note: Many of the Metro NYC Start Up category winners have used the Sauce King NYC competition to launch commercially. In our 2021 competition, Elfassy Foods and their Harissa sauce line first entered. In 2023, they entered again with an award winning commercial product.

MORE CATEGORY AWARDS & WINNERS

We tested a range of sauces from all over the world this year and our judging panel worked hard to select winners and standouts.

Homegrown Hero

Elfassy Foods, Harissa ( our 2021 Metro NYC Start Up winner has aced the next step up to a commercial product.) NYC

Category of their own

Dirty Bird’s Swett Sauce LLC, Dirty Bird’s Swett Sauce Original (sesame oil as “secret” ingredient), Lake Worth, Florida

Judges’ Award
FireFly Barbecue, Peruvian Recoto, UK

Barbecue Sauces
Top BBQ sauce: tie
*B.T. Leigh’s, The Magical Mop, Kentucky ( top award winner 2020, 21, 22!)
*Louisiana Creole Candy, Creole-ish BBQ Sauce, Louisiana

BBQ Sauces- Judges’ Awards
*Paragon Sauce & Spice LLC, Claremore Oklahoma . FIRE BRICK Barbecue Sauce, Kansas City Style HOT barbecue sauce.
*GWB Hot Sauce, BACON FIRE, Clarksburg, West Virginia
*Linda’s Barbecue Sauce. HONEY ( honey sauce), The Bronx, NYC

Runner ups- Metro NYC Start Up
*Sotto Voce restaurant, Brooklyn, NYC. Diablo sauce
*International Wings Factory, NYC. CRY hot sauce

Judges’ Awards- BBQ sauces, and more
*Joy’s Island Spice, Jerk BBQ Sauce. NY.
*Oyster sauce, Carolina Co. Packing.
*Black Pearl Spice, Salsa/seafood sauce. Maryland.

Best Traditional BBQ sauce
*Olchefskis Road just BBQ sauce.Cleveland Ohio.( 2022 and 23!)

The Classic , Everything Sauce
*B.T. Leigh’s, Something Something sauce. Kentucky.

“The Whole Hog” award
*Pork Mafia, Chicago, Favorite Dipping sauce
Cochon Dipping Sauce

Favorite Family of BBQ sauces
*B.T. Leigh’s, Kentucky, (with the record 4 top awards in 4 years)

Rib King NYC’s Grill Sauce
*Bear’s Smokehouse, Kansas City Sweet. Connecticut.
(Bears Smokehouse won 2023 Rib King NYC Chefs competition)

Most Applelicious BBQ Sauce
*Big Daddy’s Bar-B-Q , Applelicious HOT BBQ sauce.
Overland Park, Kansas

Condiments
*Rocket Fuel Foods, Top Ketchup “Stomach Soother”
all natural, granny smith apple ketchup.. Stomach soother

Judges’ Mention
*Rocket Fuel Foods, Yellow mustard

Rubs- Judges’ Mentions
*FireFly Barbecue, UK (international) SpicyTexas TexMex Rub
*B.T. Leigh’s, Something to Beef About rub, Kentucky
*Bayou Gotham, Creole Seasoning, Bayou Bourre. NYC x New Orleans.
*Pork Mafia. Buckshot Seasoning, with activated charcoal. Chicago.

Best international- Family of Sauces and Rubs
*FireFly Barbecue, UK.

Runner Up- Best International
Kam Rai Thai restaurant, Queens NYC ( Thai sauces made in NYC, a Start up).

Hot sauces- Top Hot Sauce of 2023
*Coney Island Saucery, Ricky’s Smokes. Lets Go! Hot sauce made with hemp hearts. NYC.

Runner up
*Craic Sauce Craft Sauce, 40 Shades of Green Chili, Lowell, Mass.

Most Delicious Heat award
*Rocket Fuel Foods, Raspberry Scotcher. Newark, NJ

Judges’ Awards
*718 Heat Factory, sweet heat ( 2022 Top Hot Sauce)
*Rocket Fuel Foods, FRESCA salsa verde, Newark, NJ
*Gotham Bayou, Bayou Bourre, NYC x New Orleans
*Rocket Fuel Foods, Louisiana Classic Red, Newark, NJ

Top Families of Hot Sauces
*Craic Sauce, Lowell, Mass.
*Rocket Fuel Foods, Newark, NJ
*Bayou Gotham, NYC x New Orleans!

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]]> Official Sauce King NYC 2022 awards https://saucekingnyc.com/2022-award-winners-sauce-king-nyc/ Wed, 12 Oct 2022 14:45:00 +0000 https://saucekingnyc.com/24/?p=697 Thank you to everyone who entered the Sauce King NYC competition in 2022. Congratulations to all of the winners! Go pick up a bottle of some of these favorites sauces and support these great brands! Sauce King NYC 2022 Champions Grand Champion: Harmacy Hot Sauce Co , “Brimstone Rimjob” Pepper SauceHomero Gonzalez | Cookeville, Tennessee(Texture, […]

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]]> Thank you to everyone who entered the Sauce King NYC competition in 2022. Congratulations to all of the winners! Go pick up a bottle of some of these favorites sauces and support these great brands!

Sauce King NYC 2022 Champions

Grand Champion:

Harmacy Hot Sauce Co , “Brimstone Rimjob” Pepper Sauce
Homero Gonzalez | Cookeville, Tennessee
(Texture, flavor, balanced heat. I’d fight over this sauce!)

BARBECUE SAUCES

Top Barbecue Sauce

BBQ Buddha’s Kansas City Sauce
Asbury, NJ.
(Mesquite flavors stand out, well made, balanced.

Best Traditional BBQ Sauce

OL’Chefskis BBQ’s Road House BBQ Sauce
Cleveland, Ohio.
(Everybody loves it)

Best Flavor Enhancer

B.T. Leigh’s The Magical Mop
Bowling Green, Kentucky. (classic bbq mop sauce with a Harissa kick)

Best Dipping Sauce

Low Country Sauce , “Bigyia”, food dressing and dipping sauce
“Like a tomato aioli, serve with crab cakes.”
Houston ,Texas.
(A new sauce by our 2021 Grand Champion – a completely different style of sauce.)

Best Fruit BBQ Sauce

Linda’s Pineapple Jerk Sauce
Bronx NYC.
“EXCELLENT. Delicious on its own.”
“Little chunks of pineapple. Just a FUN sauce that can inspire even a decent chef’s imagination.”

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Noteworthy – Barbecue sauces, Marinades, Dipping Sauces…

Bbq buddha, Memphis Mop
Asbury, NJ
“Midwestern flavors.”
(not fair, it was our 2020 original Grand Champion, still a favorite)

B.T.Leighs, The Clevelander
Bowling Green, Kentucky
(Mustard, chili)

Uncle Lucky’s- BBQ Nirvana…
John Seeley
Short Hills, NJ
(sesame)

Pure Grit BBQ, The BBQ Sauce
Manhattan, NYC
(Created for plants. Good on everything.)

Father and Sons Kitchen. Sweet and Tangy Barbecue sauce
The Bronx, NYC
(Really nice and smooth.)

Gourmet Road sauce company , Louisiana style original
Maurice, Louisiana

Cuban Kitchen. Guava-Habanero BBQ Sauce
Lynna Martinez
San Mateo, California

Ass Kicking BBQ , jerk sauce
Frank Sullivan
Staten Island NYC

EROC’S , The Other Sauce, BBQ sauce
Eric Lofthus
Dodge Center, Minnesota

INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

Best International Sauce Family – Spotlight

Firefly BBQ, UK
Judges’ Notes:
*the Firefly full lineup of sauces was just such a judges’ favorite. It stood out because:

  • unique flavors (even though not always what the bottle titled it)
  • unified packaging, making it recognizable and easy to grab off a shelf, whether at store or in your kitchen.

Four Favorites

Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce
“VERSATILE: Sweet mustard. Very good and distinctive, as all the firefly flavors are.”

  • “For pork shoulder, ribs, porkchops”
  • ” Sandwich with ham or lots of sandwich ideas”
  • “A mustard vinaigrette dressing”

Caribbean Hot Mango Sauce
“Loved it. Good heat that stays on the tongue. Peppery but not too hot.”

Oaxaca Chilli Ketchup
“Great name. Good heat, and lots of actual tomato flavor, as opposed to ketchup at the grocery store.”

  • ” It’s ketchup. Good on so much. Great on EGGS…”

Japanese Yuzu BBQ Sauce
“ginger forward, sweet, just FUN”

  • ” Use on salmon, steak, veggies – very WELL BALANCED sauce “
  • ” GREAT marinade”

HOT SAUCES

Best Hot Sauce

718 Heat Factory Sweet Heat
John Hercel
NYC

Most Versatile Hot Sauce

Rocket Fuel Foods, Fresca Salsa Verde, mild hot sauce

Favorite Hot Sauce Family Pack

Rocket Fuel Foods , Dead Red.
Rocket Fuel Foods, Louisiana Style Red.
Rocket Fuel Foods. Super High Octane.
Rocket Fuel Foods. Liquid Atomic Fire.

Best Farm Sourced Flavor

Morning Glory Pepperworks, Smokebomb wicked hot verde
(smoked green chili.hot sauce)
Morning Glory Farm x Culinary school collaboration!
Bethel, Maine

HONORABLE MENTIONS

CRAIC SAUCE
The Golden Pumpkin,
Lowell, Massachusetts.

CRAIC SAUCE
Mill City Red, Louisiana style.
Lowell, Massachusetts.

Pure Grit BBQ, The Hot Stuff, hot sauce.
Manhattan NYC.

BBQ Buddha, Mantra hot sauce.
Asbury, NJ.

CONDIMENTS, RUBS

Best Ketchup
Rocket Fuel , Granny Smith Apple Ketchup.
(“Great for French fries.)

Noteworthy
Harissa- El Fassy( metro nyc)

Rubs

Judges’ Award-
Bayou Gotham,
BAYOU BOURRÉ Creole Seasoning & Craft BBQ Rub.
NYC.

Noteworthy.
Uncle Tony’s BBQ rub.
Anthony Hester
Hampton, Virginia

METRO NYC START UP CATEGORY

METRO NYC- PROMISING FAMILY OF SAUCES

Overall Favorite
International Wings Factory
multiple WINGS and dipping sauces….
Deepak Ballaney, Manhattan NYC.


NOTEWORTHY METRO NYC

Sands Jerk Hut
Darlene Lawrence
Brooklyn NYC

Dirty Jerz BBQ
Wolfgang Tsoutsourus
Milburn NJ

Craft House Staten Island, bbq sauce
Chef, Kurron Mangin
Staten island NYC

PRIZES


Kikuichi Cutlery – Japanese knives.
Porter Road meat gift certificates.
Prime 6 Charcoal.
Burlap and Barrel.
Taste of the Bronx.

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]]> 2021 Award Winners – Sauce King NYC https://saucekingnyc.com/announcing-the-sauce-king-nyc-2021-award-winners/ Wed, 06 Oct 2021 14:00:00 +0000 https://saucekingnyc.com/24/?p=582 Thank you to everyone who entered our second annual Sauce King NYC competition in 2021. Congratulations to all of the winners – pick up a bottle of some of our favorites and support these great brands. Sauce King NYC Champion Grand Champion: Juke Food Dressing and Dipping Sauce, Low Country Sauce Company, Houston, TXA savory […]

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]]> Thank you to everyone who entered our second annual Sauce King NYC competition in 2021. Congratulations to all of the winners – pick up a bottle of some of our favorites and support these great brands.

Sauce King NYC Champion

Grand Champion: Juke Food Dressing and Dipping Sauce, Low Country Sauce Company, Houston, TX
A savory and versatile sauce that goes with everything

Barbecue Sauces

Judges’ Awards:

Top Barbecue Sauce: Memphis Mop BBQ Sauce, BBQ Buddha, Asbury, NJ
The 2020 grand champion is still a judges’ favorite

Top Vinegar Based Barbecue Sauce: Jalapeño Business, B.T. Leighs, Bowling Green, KY
Great as a sauce or marinade

Honorable Mention:

Mustard Based Sauce: The Clevelander, B.T. Leighs, Bowling Green, KY

Sauce for a Cause: Veterans Q Gold Barbecue Sauce, Veterans Q, Huntley, IL

Great Grilling Sauces and Marinades:

Habanero Mango Flavor, Linda’s Barbecue Sauce, Bronx, NY

Fatcho Sauce, Kimchi Smoke, Westwood, NJ

Better Than BBQ Sauce, Lawd Have Mercy, New Orleans, LA

Noteworthy:

Smokehouse Original, Cedar Creek Sauce Company, NC

Southern Twang, Cedar Creek Sauce Company, NC

Jamaican Jerk, Elda’s Kitchen, NY

Promising Amateurs:

Black Label Sauce, K C Finest BBQ, Orlando, FL

Maiden Voyage, MAST BBQ Sauce, NV

Rubs and Seasonings

Maple Seasoning, Dutch Hill Maple, Tully, NY 

Rooster Rub, Poor Devil Pepper Company x Viking & Daughters, Canaan, NY

Hot Sauces

Best Hot Sauce: Green Bastard Hot Sauce, Coney Island Saucery, Brooklyn, NY
We love using this sauce to spike guacamole

Most Versatile: Hot Chili Maple Syrup, Viking & Company, Canaan NY
Try this on everything from chicken and waffles to grilled vegetables and more

Best Everyday Hot Sauces:

Deecent Hot Sauce, Coney Island Saucery, Brooklyn, NY

Mantra Hot Sauce, BBQ Buddha, Asbury, NJ

Spicy Pepper Sauce, 5 Island Blend, Bronx, NY

Best Seafood Sauce: Ragin’ Cajun Sauce, Sandra Rose Kitchen, Little Rock, AR

Best of Brooklyn – Noteworthy Sauces: Fyah, BK Mamba and Herbal Green, BKLNWORX, Brooklyn, NY

Metro NYC StartUP

In addition to accepting submissions from sauce companies around the world, Sauce King NYC welcomed New York City restaurants to submit their homemade sauces to the tasting as part of the Metro StartUp Category. While these sauces are not yet available for commercial distribution, Sauce King is helping these chefs and restaurants take the next step towards launching a sauce product. 

Winners will receive coaching sessions on expanding production from Taste of the Bronx and on ecommerce from Ori Zohar of Burlap and Barrel.

Awards:

Gold: Hot Harissa, Elfassy Foods, New York City, NY
This sauce was so beloved that if it wasn’t an amateur entry it might have won the whole competition

Silver: Spicy Cucumber Mango Sauce, Spice Shanty, Queens, NY

Bronze: Mango Jerk Barbecue Sauce, Vons Famous Jerk, Middletown, NY

Honorable Mentions:

Passionfruit BBQ Sauce, Jase’s BBQ, Arverne, NY

Pineapple Jerk Barbecue Sauce, Vons Famous Jerk, Middletown, NY

Thanks to our judges!

Ori Zohar, Burlap and Barrel

Matt Bruck, Eaters Drinkers

Anthony Ramirez II, Paul Ramirez and Rebecca Scott, Taste of The Bronx

Claire Matern, Hiller and Moon

Leiti Hsu, Journy

Jeanne Muchnick, Westchester Food Blogger

Nick Bandourveris, Film Producer and Epicurean

Duane Joseph, Friend of Food Karma Projects

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]]> 2020 Award Winners – Sauce King NYC https://saucekingnyc.com/2020-award-winners-sauce-king-nyc/ Fri, 02 Oct 2020 17:17:00 +0000 https://saucekingnyc.com/24/?p=629 Congratulations to the 2020 Winners! The Sauce King NYC Champion:  Grand Prize: Memphis Mop BBQ Sauce, BBQ Buddha, NJ Barbecue Sauces:  Awards: Best Flavor Enhancer: Belizean Season-All, Marie Sharp’s, NC  Most Inventive BBQ Sauce: Somethin’ Somethin’ Sauce, B.T. Leigh’s Sauces and Rubs, KY The Holy Trinity (Sweet, Spicy and Savory): Touch O Heat, Rufus Teague, […]

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Congratulations to the 2020 Winners!

The Sauce King NYC Champion:

 Grand Prize: Memphis Mop BBQ Sauce, BBQ Buddha, NJ

Barbecue Sauces: 

Awards:

Best Flavor Enhancer: Belizean Season-All, Marie Sharp’s, NC 

Most Inventive BBQ Sauce: Somethin’ Somethin’ Sauce, B.T. Leigh’s Sauces and Rubs, KY

The Holy Trinity (Sweet, Spicy and Savory): Touch O Heat, Rufus Teague, KS

Honorable Mentions:

Fruit Based Barbecue Sauce: Mi Gente, Mi Tierra Spicy Guayaba Barbecue Sauce, Father & Son’s Kitchen, Bronx NY

Promising Amatuer Sauce: Honey Whole Grain Mustard BBQ Sauce, LondonOak, UK

International Barbecue Sauce: Sweet and Savory Korean BBQ Sauce, Firefly BBQ, UK

Barbecue Sauces for a Cause: 

KUREious Monkey Spicy Chipotle Sauce, Children’s Cord Blood Bank, Staten Island NY 

Fubar Elite BBQ Sauce, WarPig BBQ, TX. The Cause: giving back to our veterans by teaming up with 3 different veterans charities: The Folds of Honor, The Lone Survivor Foundation and the PTSD Foundation of America. 

Noteworthy:

Honey Sweet, Rufus Teague, KS

Can-O-Que Boulevard Wheat, Rufus Teague, KS

Steak Sauce, Rufus Teague, KS

Orange Chili, Five Monkeys BBQ Sauce, CA

The Clevelander, B.T. Leigh’s Sauces and Rubs, KY

Hot Sauce

Awards:

Best Hot Sauce: Serrano & Chipotle Pepper Smoky Hot, Silly Chilly Hotsauce, NJ

Best Wing Sauce: Mild Wing Sauce, Rippin Red Sauce Company, MD

Best Verde Sauce:  Bayou Gotham — Juju Guru Tropic Jalapeño, Scotty Peppers Hot Sauce Co., Manhattan, NY

When You Want Hot: Dead Red, Rocket Fuel Foods, Manhattan, NY

Honorable Mentions: 

Habanero Hot Sauce: Forbidden Angel Habanero Sauce, Rippin Red Sauce Company, MD

Seafood Hot Sauce: Bayou Gotham — Bayou Bourré Louisiana Boil, Scotty Peppers Hot Sauce Co., Manhattan NY

Calamari Style Sauce: Signature Pepper Sauce, 5 Island Blend, Bronx NY

Runner Up, Verde Sauce: Vermont Maple Sriracha, Sugar Bob’s Finest Kind, VT

Noteworthy “Everyday Hot Sauces:”

Trailer Park Boys Deeecent Hot Sauce, Coney Island Saucery, Brooklyn NY

Original Hot Sauce, 5 Island Blend, Bronx NY

Louisiana Classic Red Hot Sauce, Rocket Fuel Foods, Manhattan NY

Other: Marinades and Condiments

Awards:

Most Versatile Sauce: The Original Smoked Maple Syrup, Sugar Bob’s Finest Kind, VT

Best Barbecue Marinade: Japanese Miso BBQ, Just Add Beer Sauce & Marinade Mix, Queens NY 

Best Hot Ketchup: Granny Smith Apple Ketchup, Rocket Fuel Foods, Manhattan NY

Honorable Mention: 

Chili Oil: Sichuan Chili Oil, Blank Slate Kitchen, VT

Runner Up, Hot Ketchup: Hot Ketchup Rocket Fuel Foods, Manhattan, NY

Noteworthy:

Sweet Habanero Sauce, Marie Sharp’s, NC 

Mexican Tres Chiles, Just Add Beer Sauce & Marinade Mix, Queens NY 

Chipotle Marinade, Mustard and Co., WA

Metro NYC StartUp Category

This category includes sauces submitted by NYC restaurants that are not yet available for distribution.

Awards:

Gold: Pique Rojo, Que Chevere, Manhattan NY

Silver: Pique Verde, Que Chevere, Manhattan NY

Honorable Mentions:

Promising Amateur: Weekend Warrior, Sauce Man Ash, Queens NY

Condiment in Metro NYC StartUp: Cassato’s Giardiniera, Salvatore Cassato, Brooklyn NY

Noteworthy:

Silva Bullet Hot Sauce, Christian Silva, NY

About Metro NYC StartUp

In addition to accepting submissions from sauce companies around the world, Sauce King NYC welcomed New York City restaurants to submit their homemade sauces to the tasting as part of the Metro StartUp Category. While these sauces are not yet available for distribution, Sauce King is helping these chefs and restaurants take the next step towards launching a sauce product. 

Winners received a consultation with Christine Rico, Co-Chair of Slow Money NYC and the founder of CFO on Speed Dial as well as one-on-one sessions about getting their sauce ready for market with Rebecca Scott, founder of Sustainable Snacks. Winners have also been offered shelf space at The Bronx Beer Hall and the opportunity to sell their product online via Taste of the Bronx. 

Food Karma is proud to create valuable connections within the hospitality industry and offer support restaurants when they need it most.

Shoutout To the Sauce King NYC Judges

Ori Zohar, Burlap and Barrel

Will Price, Gear Patrol

Jaymee Sire, Food + Travel Blogger

Alyssa Levine, Totally Forked

Matt Bruck, Eaters Drinkers

Anthony Ramirez, Taste of The Bronx

Martin Johnson, Westside Market Pantry and Beer Buyer

Leiti Hsu, Journy

Nick Bandourveris, Film Producer and Epicurean

Duane Joseph, Friend of Food Karma Projects

Thanks to Our Sponsors 

Our grand prize is sponsored by Big Green Egg.

Category prizes are sponsored by Porter Road, Prime 6, and Kikuichi Cutlery. 

Plus a big thank you to Taste of The Bronx, Burlap & Barrel and Slow Money NYC.

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