Reverend Marvin’s Gourmet BBQ Sauce vs KC Masterpiece and Sweet Baby Ray’s on ribs

by brian on March 7, 2009

A few racks of baby back ribs with Reverend Marvin’s Gourmet BBQ Sauce, along with Sweet Baby Ray’s and KC Masterpiece get cooked, smoked, eaten and rated.

Sweet Baby Ray’s (upper right) was very good. And predictable. Sweet, vinegary. Comforting. Up until now, this was Wifey’s favorite sweet BBQ sauce.

KC Masterpiece (lower right) was 5 parts KC, 1 part honey. Sweet, smoky, very authentic tasting. As much as Wifey and I like Sweet Baby Ray’s, we thought the KC Masterpiece was a more authentic sticky BBQ sauce.


But the star of this show was the Reverend Marvin’s Gourmet BBQ Sauce ( upper left in above pic). A mustard based sauce, with no sugar/sweetener to speak of, so you can slather this on early, middle and late in your cook. It also does not mask the flavor of the pork, so the rub and pork come out underneath the mustard flavor of Reverend Marvin’s.

Started in the 1960′s, Marvin Lynch perfected his mustard based BBQ sauce to the rave reviews of his family, friends and congregations. Today, his son Woody Lynch continues this great BBQ sauce company.

As my friend Greg Rempe said, “I ALWAYS have Reverend Marvin’s in my house…ALWAYS!! I have tried it on everything…ribs, pulled pork, brisket, hot dogs, cole slaw…pretty much everything.”

A fine example of a company doing one thing, and doing it right! They only have 2 products – Reverend Marvin’s Gourmet BBQ Sauce Original, and Hot. We tried both, and I’m partial to the Original. As a chilehead, I usually don’t care for too much heat in my BBQ sauces. Having said that, the Hot version is spicy, yet tame. Try both and see what you think.

Back in time, a month or so, the first thing I did with the Rev. Marvin’s was BBQ some chicken on the grill. I remember thinking “this is very unique tasting. Can’t wait to try it on ribs!” Sadly, I have no pics of the chicken.

But check out the bark on the ribs with the Reverend Marvin’s sauce on them. And I love being able to baste more sauce on the ribs as they cook. Without the sugar, there is no burning.


Reverend Marvin’s Gourmet BBQ Sauce ingredients:

Mustard (vinegar, mustard seed, turmeric), Distilled Vinegar, Ketchup, Lemon Juice, Worcestershire (hfcs, molasses, salt, vinegar, soy protein, anchovies), Salt, Spices and Xantham Gum.

Click here to buy Reverend Marvin’s Gourmet BBQ Sauces

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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

Greg Rempe March 8, 2009 at 1:38 pm

Brian,

You do a great job reviewing sauce for us consumers! You are very thorough and you don’t pull punches! Great job on this particular contest…I do love me some Reverend Marvin’s BBQ Sauce!

Reply

Brian March 8, 2009 at 2:23 pm

Thanks, Greg! I plan on a full-blown review on the Reverend Marvin’s on wings, chix, and ribs in the future.

Reply

Larry Wolfe March 8, 2009 at 2:58 pm

Reverend Marvins is a staple and very universal sauce in our home! Alone it is delicious on all meats. Kick it up a notch and mix with equal parts of honey it it fantastic on chicken wings, ribs, pork chops and as a dipping sauce. Combine into your favorite meat loaf recipe for an out of this world meat loaf with a little Southern Twang! We order Reverend Marvins Original and Spicy by the case……yes it’s that good!

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Heidi / Savory Tv March 8, 2009 at 5:31 pm

Hooray grilling season is BACK! Thanks for the sauce recs, I’ll look out for that one!

Heidi / Savory Tvs last blog post..Top Chef Stephanie Izard’s Mac and Cheese with Apples and Bacon!

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Scott Snider March 14, 2009 at 11:34 am

One of my favs is Rev. Marvs on a ham sandwich or wrap!

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Big Orson March 14, 2009 at 3:52 pm

Thanks for the review. My family is eliminating high fructose corn syrup from our diets and I’m always looking for a good mustard BBQ sauce. This may be a winner on both fronts.

HFCS is one of the first three ingredients in SBR. It’s my fave mainstream BBQ sauce, but it’s off the list now.

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Brian March 14, 2009 at 4:13 pm

@Scott – great idea – sandwiches and wraps!

@Big Orson – I think you’ll love this sauce, and the price and shipping are very reasonable.

Look for a full-blown recipe/write-up on Reverend Marvin’s coming in May for National Barbecue Month.

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tabitha April 10, 2009 at 11:33 pm

A mustard based BBQ sauce…I’m going to have to try this. I’m already wanting to try it on chicken and I haven’t even purchased it yet!

tabithas last blog post..House Junkie

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high chairs for babies January 7, 2010 at 10:05 am

I found this recipe for Rev. Marvs through Google and it’s awesome! Thanks Brian for a great review and a wonderful recipe!

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Spencer January 29, 2010 at 12:30 pm

Well, that barbeque sauce looks good. But, I haven’t tried it. I will probably have to get some now! If you’re interested in trying another good BBQ sauce, go to (http://www.pickyvicki.com). They have plenty of flavors to choose from and since 1999 they have been one of the best in the business! Check them out.

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