Memorial Day in Miami is unlike any other. If you're not joining or dodging the swarms of people in town for Urban Beach Week, you're probably firing up the pit, throwing on a slab of meat, sitting back with a cold beer, and relaxing.
This year, spice things up up a bit. Try one of our top ten barbecue sauces for every kind of palate. They'll make you tipsy, thirsty, and eager to suck those bones good and dry.
10. The Bone Sucker
The name Bone Suckin' Sauce (5.99) is pretty much self-explanatory, but this one (particularly the hot variety) will have you begging for more ice-cold beer. It's good for all types of meats, chicken, and fish (and tofu too!). Apple cider vinegar and horseradish give this sauce that bang kaboom for your buck.
9. The Floribbean
For some old-school Florida-Caribbean pride, Goombay Mango BBQ Sauce ($6.99) kicks it south a few miles for some Caribbean-flavored goodness. The main ingredient is mango, but that's accompanied by the tastes of candied ginger, jalapeño, key lime, and cilantro. Feels sunny just thinking about it, right?
8. The Wino
Why, yes! If your glass of Malbec can be leggy, your barbecue sauce should be leggy too. Hooper's Tipsy Pig ($7.99) has the right idea. It's made with real tomatoes instead of ketchup, and red wine from Shelton Vineyards in North Carolina.
7. The Traditionalist
If you're more comfortable with sticking to what you know, go with Lip Lickin' Sweet & Smoky BBQ Sauce ($4.99). The familiar combination of sweet and smoky barbecue flavors is comforting. It's tomato-based with a little sweet molasses, a little tangy onion, and a little smoky hickory.
6. The Bulgogi Boy
If you've ever had bulgogi sauce ($6.99), you already know what we're talking about (and why it's so damn good). It takes the word barbecue to a whole new level (or a new hemisphere, really). In Korean, bulgogi means "fire and meat." So make like your Asian ancestors and fire up that meat, pardner!
5. The Proud Floridian
4. The Belly Palate Dancer
For a really wild ride on the 'cue train, you need Wild Thymes in the Kitchen's Mad Moroccan BBQ Sauce ($9.95). Mama Wild Thyme added all the best Moroccan spices to give it a sexy, exotic flavor. It'll practically belly-dance on your tongue. Get those dollar bills (and ribs and chicken and veggies) ready.
3. The Meat Jerker
Perhaps this is a little off the beaten path for you. Jerk flavor for Memorial Day barbecue? Yeah, mon! Pluto's Jamaican Jerk Sauce ($5.99) is spicy and organic, and the price includes a one-way trip to Kingston for your taste buds. Bring a fan and sunblock to your barbecue, because with this sauce, things are bound to get hot.
2. The Miami Sazonero
You didn't think we'd leave out our favorite city in the world, did you? Miami is known for some of the best (if not the best) mojo in the nation. No one makes it better than we do because mojo central is only 90 miles south of us. For those of you looking to add a little sazon to your 'cued meats, go for a bottle of Mr. Mojo (4.99).
1. The Rebel
OK, you caught us. Our last "unique barbecue sauce" isn't really a sauce. But treat that meat just right, make that fire good and hot, and you'll get all the juices you want from it -- you won't even need sauce. Give it a good Butt Rub ($4.79) for some extra-intense flavor. You're probably wondering if we're still talking about barbecue. The answer is no, um yes.
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