Last Updated on January 8, 2023
Special thanks to Kelly and Wayne for help with this review.
In the area where I live, one of the fun parts about going to local barbecue places is the sauces. Many barbecue restaurants in these parts will stock several sauces in various bottles, letting you experiment with different flavors on your different cuts of meat.
Aldi appears to be channeling its inner barbecue joint, because four different flavors hit the stores as summer Seasonal Favorites. Seasonal Favorites are products that are in stores longer than limited-time ALDI Finds, but not as long as Regular Buys. Aldi stocks these during the grilling season. If you want them outside of grilling season, you’re out of luck because Aldi doesn’t offer online ordering for products that aren’t in stock at your local store.
Each of the Burman’s BBQ sauces comes in a 19-ounce glass container. (That seems like a rather odd size, which makes me wonder if there is some product shrinking in play.) At the time of this post, they cost $1.99 each.
We put the sauces through testing with a group of people, both adults and children, including people who had tasted some of the sauce types before. While taste can be highly subjective, here’s what we concluded.
Burman’s Carolina Style BBQ Sauce
The bottle advertises it as “light and tangy,” and that’s about right. Carolina sauce is in a class all by itself compared to the other sauces, in large part because of its heavier mustard base. If you like mustard on things, you’ll probably like Carolina sauce, but even if you don’t, you still might like it. Those of us who have previously tried Carolina sauce at restaurants thought this was a pretty good imitation of what we’ve gotten there. Our testers tend to think this is a good sauce for pork, chicken, and possibly even salmon. (We’re not as sure about beef.)
Nutrition information for the Carolina style. (Click to enlarge.)
Burman’s Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce
Kansas City sauce is labeled as “smooth and zingy,” and we think this hits the nail on the head. Kansas City style sauce is, in our view, a great all-purpose barbecue sauce. It’s definitely one of the sweeter of the sauces, so if you don’t like sweet with your salty meats, you may not like this. But if you do, this is hands-down our favorite. Notably, many of our testers have experience with Kansas City style sauces, including eating at places in Kansas City itself, and our testers all felt this was a pretty authentic KC style taste.
Nutrition information for the Kansas City style. (Click to enlarge.)
Burman’s Memphis Style BBQ Sauce
Memphis style is billed as “sweet and rich,” but ironically we thought it was less sweet than Kansas City style. It was also the least favorite of the sauces. That’s not to say it’s bad — our testers mostly agreed that it’s a pretty good sauce on its own merits — but in our comparison other sauces seemed to outshine it, in part because most of the testers felt it didn’t do any one thing better than the other sauces.
Nutrition information for the Memphis style. (Click to enlarge.)
Burman’s Texas Style BBQ Sauce
Billed as “sweet and smoky,” the Texas style had arguably the boldest flavor of the lot, with a smoky undertone, pepper flakes to add just a hint of kick, and a sweetness on par with the Memphis style. At least one of our testers declared this to be his favorite, while others said they liked it but still preferred others better. Admittedly, none of our testers have tried Texas style before, so we can’t speak to authenticity, but on its merits we were generally pleased.
Nutrition information for the Texas style. (Click to enlarge.)
The Verdict:
We thought all four of these were good. They have good flavor and we felt that, among the ones we have experience with, that they were good imitations of the flavors they purported to be. We wouldn’t hesitate to use any of them at a cookout.
That said, if we had to pick favorites, Burman’s Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce was our consensus choice, with a sweet taste that makes it useful for a variety of meats. Tied for second was Burman’s Carolina Style BBQ Sauce, which is a good mustard-based sauce for pork and chicken, and Burman’s Texas Style BBQ Sauce, which has a bold pepper flavor good for beef, pork, or chicken. Burman’s Memphis Style BBQ Sauce, meanwhile, is a good sauce on its own merits, but if our testers could only choose three, it would be the odd sauce out.
Overall, though, we’d recommend them all … and if you’re like us, you might even pick up one of each to mix things up.
Just now available in our Aldi so I will have to try it with salmon or chicken (or both?!) next week!
I found this article because I just discovered these sauces at Aldi earlier this summer. I purchased all four flavors. I was blown away by the robust flavors and perfect viscosity of each. I depleted my supply and went back and filled a shelf of my pantry with them.
I noticed my supply dwindling, so I put them on my grocery list. I was horrified to find they were no longer on the shelf. I asked an employee if they had been moved, and was told that they no longer sell them. I was saddened. I came home to do a search online to see if I could locate any, and found your article which gives me hope. Seasonal favorite you say? Ok. I’ll twiddle my thumbs until the next few seasons pass.
These sauces are delicious. Thank you for your article.
Christopher, it is now July 2023, and they are back in my Aldi, so I hope yours got them back in.
I guess we will both just have to wait.
Can I buy these privately??
Sad, sad ,sad no longer available in North Atlanta stores. were the best in my opinion and I have been smoking meet over 45 years.
Always flew off shelf in my stores, especially Carolina.
I think a marketing mistake.
It’s a seasonal item, so there’s always hope it will be back in the spring.
If they don’t bring these four back I may have to quit shopping at Aldi!! I live in Kansas City area and these are some of the best around!! They regularly stock Sweet Baby Rays which is available everywhere and is just an okay sauce. (MEH) I will be buying cases next time because they don’t stock enough!!
I’m hoping they’ll come back around in the spring.
Best barbecue sauce I’ve ever tasted Burman’s Kansas City barbecue sauce so saddened that can’t find it anymore
Picked up the Texas today. Kansas City goes perfect with ribs! Love these and yes there available as of July 2022
I love all four flavors. They are still in my Aldi. I’ve been using these sauces for 3 years. I’m in SW Florida. If you know anyone down here have them ship you some because they are delicious!
$1.99?
That Burman Texas sauce is slamming. It’s one of the best i’ve had of any brands sold in my area…. I just picked up a bottle of K.C. and a bottle of Memphis. I’ll try the Memphis tomorrow on some chicken…
I really love the Burhmans Texas BBQ sauce but can’t find it in any of the Sioux Falls SD stores. Is there a reason why some stores have it and others don’t?
It’s only available during the summer.
Is it any way I can order the Barbecue sauce Why not sell it all year round I need some today when will the sauce come back
These are products Aldi stocks during grilling season, so around late spring until early fall. They’re Aldi exclusives, and if they aren’t in stock at your local store(s), you can’t order them online. https://www.aldireviewer.com/does-aldi-ship-its-products-online/
We love the KANSAS CITY sauce. Tangy, but not hot. We found at ALDI and would buy 5 bottles at a time. We can’t seem to find it. I’d buy a case at a time if we could find it.
I love the BBQ sauces, all of them. Do they have an expire date?
Thanks to your review, I now need to go to my Aldi and get some of the Carolina style sauce. We all love mustard, but I have never had mustard barbecue sauce. I also bought quite a bit of salmon to put in the freezer, and will try the Carolina style on it. I am cooking some country style ribs in the oven and just put some of the Kansas City style on them. They smell delicious.
Burman’s KC BBQ sauce……can I order a case…..no Aldis here has it
Aldi doesn’t sell products online, unfortunately. If you can’t find it in your store, it may mean it’s being phased out for the fall. Those sauces are seasonal and generally only available in the late spring to summer months.