Readers of the NCP Blog know how much we love to talk about BBQs. I for one live for a perfectly grilled, mouth-watering piece of meat (or vegetables or fruit). Ah, nothing better than that! With pandemic conditions around the country getting better, more people will be visiting friends and family to enjoy a tasty BBQ. So with that, I was wondering, what are American’s favorite BBQ flavors?
First of all, grilling is BIG. According to trilogyei.com, 56% of US adults cook outdoors at least once a week while 20% cook outdoors 2+ times per week.
And one of the things we most like about grilling is the wide range of flavors that are available, from sweet to spicy to smoky to savory.
What is your BBQ flavor fav? Let us know by telling us in the comments section below.
Favorite BBQ Flavors
According to a survey conducted by Mintel in July 2019, these were the most popular BBQ flavor combinations in the U.S.
- Spicy and smoky and savory
- Smoky and savory
- Sweet and fruity
- Spicy and savory
- Sweet and salty
In the U.S., BBQ is usually associated with Southern cuisine and varies by region. Carolina, Texas, Memphis, and Kansas City are known as the “barbecue belt” and each area offers its own regional style and flavor, according to trilogyei.com.
Each of these common BBQ styles offer slightly different taste sensations. According to thepioneerwoman.com, some favor slow-and-low smoking, while others prefer to fire up the grill. Where one style wants sweet molasses sauce, another swears by using mustard.
Fav BBQ Flavors Across The U.S.
Using search data and Google Trends, BBQ Revolution was able to determine the most popular BBQ styles across the country. Texas style BBQ came out on top, winning a whopping 33 states. Kansas City style and North Carolina style tied for second with 6 states apiece, followed closely by Memphis style. South Carolina style was only a favorite in—you guessed it—the state of South Carolina. (While BBQ Revolution recognizes other BBQ styles such as Alabama, Kentucky, and St Louis, they only looked at the top 5 most popular styles.)
And while we’re at it, here are the most popular smoked BBQ meats, according to BBQ Revolution:
Is your mouth watering yet?
Reminder: If you buy anything for a BBQ – from meats and vegetables to paper plates, cups, drinks, etc. – please be sure to record those purchases.
Have a great weekend!
Best wishes,
Taylor
Also see:
- No Matter What, It’s Always Great To Have A BBQ (July 30, 2020)
- Throw It On The Grill! (July 21, 2017)
- It’s Grilling Time! (June 3, 2016)
Sweet and savory, savory and fruity, sweet and salty, spicy and savory. I used to like smokey, but as I got older, it tends to just sit in my sinuses. Go figure…
We love sweet baby Ray’s barbeque sauce and honey mustard sauce and mild hot sauce it’s great!!! State of North Carolina
Sweet and spicy
Smokey and savory
Kansas City bbq my all time favorite
It kind of depends on what we are making …the fantastic thing about BBQ sauce is that they have so many different flavors and I have never felt like I had to choose just one.
I prefer sweet and spicy at the end of cook, but I like to baste with a spicy viniger sauce while cooking. And I love North Carolina BBQ were I’m from.
I have a few flavors of BBQ sauce that I like. However, my all time favorite flavor is sweet & spicy. I also like a very thick, molasses and/or brown sugar based BBQ sauce!
Smokey and sweet are some of my favourites.
My favorite bbq flavor is sweet and spicy
My favorite bbq flavor is sweet and spicy
Spicy. Always spicy.
I love smoky and savory.
I love smoky and savory. That’s the whole point in barbeque for me to taste that smoky flavor in my food.
I love smoky and savory to me that’s the whole point of barbeque, to smell and see the smoke from the grill while it’s cooking and then to taste that in your food.
potatoes salad is the best because it will get you full
sweet and savory
Hickory
Sweet and spicy
Honey BBQ sauce
Spicy
Sweet and applewood smoked
My favorite has to be sweet & spicy hickory
Sweet & Tangy
Sweet and spicy is my favorite.
Although, I have a few “special” BBQ sauce flavors that I like, Sweet & Spicy has to be my all time favorite!
spicy and savory
Smoky and savory
I love spicy an savory like Memphis BBQ also Florida Like Sonnys BBQ
Sweet somkey hot and spicy
Sweet and smokey with a hot spicy kick.
I like Smoky a little sweet with a hint of spice…not medium hot but that slight heat.
So I am a Sweet n Spicy gal.
I love salty
My favorite barbecue sauce is sweet and savory.
My favorite isn’t exactly listed, but I like Sweet and Smoky! I could add fruity to that, too, because I like to take a good smoky sauce and add a generous amount of one of my mom’s homemade jams or marmalades to it!
I love the smoky and savory taste!!
I like sweet and smoky
I like the Smoky and Savory taste.
Smoky and savory
Sweet and salty is my favorite
Spicy and savory
We enjoy Baby Ray BBQ sauces and marinade over night for rich flavor.