Product: Stubb’s Original Bar-B-Q Sauce – $3.69+
Sauces and dressings can be scary, scary things when you have a gluten intolerance. Honestly. Depending on the ingredients that go into something, it may or may not be safe. That’s not a good feeling when you’re either dining out or just trying to add a bit of pizazz to a dish you are creating at home.
Thankfully, there are some companies that label their sauces as being gluten-free, taking the guess work out of it.
Stubb’s is one of those companies.
Normally I use Bulls-Eye Original BBQ sauce when it comes to my bar-b-que sauces. While Bulls-Eye Original is gluten-free, I came across a bottle of the Stubb’s Original BBQ sauce on the Manager’s Special table at my local grocery store. This meant…it was a deal. And since it was clearly labeled as gluten-free and all the ingredients were gluten-free, then…to me…it took a lot of the guess work out of it.
As none of the current vegetarian protein companies that supply my local food shops with goods make a gluten-free vegetarian/vegan nugget, this has sat around in my pantry for a little while. But, tonight, I whipped up a Gluten-Free Bar-B-Que Grilled Tofu Sandwich with oven roasted red onion and green heirloom tomatoes and just a dash of vegan mozzarella cheese for dinner. I definitely needed some bar-b-que sauce to marinate the tofu in before grilling, so the Stubb’s Original Bar-B-Q Sauce was the obvious choice.
I dug it out of my pantry and quite happily filled a bag with a bit of it. The slice of tofu went in and a little more sauce was added. The bag was given a good massage and shake, until everything was coated and then placed in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, I flipped it over and let it sit until dinner time. Then, onto my cast iron grill pan the tofu went, being brushed with a bit more of the sauce until it was perfectly grilled. I spread a bit of the sauce over a gluten-free sandwich roll, topped that with a bit of vegan mozzarella cheese, which I then melted in the microwave. Over that went some spinach, the grilled tofu, the oven roasted tomatoes and finally the red onions.
One bite, and I was sold on the flavor of this sauce. Stubb’s Original Bar-B-Q Sauce is sweeter than Bulls-Eye, but contains a hit of smokey flavor at the end. And that’s what I look for in a bar-b-que sauce. While I love a more robust flavor, the sweetness to this sauce is the perfect balance, especially when that finishing smoke hits the palate. I definitely fell in love with the bold, yet sweet flavors that really married this sauce together. I hope that the one brand of vegan and gluten-free nuggets I discovered some day get to my area, because I think this sauce would be fantastic over it. Until then, I’ll play around with other options and see what sort of bar-b-que goodness I can create.
Stubb’s took a great recipe with fantastic flavors and bottled it up with a smokey finish that makes this sauce…amazing to taste and even better to pour on. It’s a keeper. And I’m so glad I took a chance on it, stepped away from my norm, and gave it a try.
The Celiathlete 