When our friend Luigi said she was sending us a bottle of Gates Kansas City BBQ Sauce, I knew right away I was going to like it.  Our taste buds are really in sync.  (Actually, so are our political beliefs, humor, outlook on life – and she was partly responsible for Victor and me getting together in the first place.)  If she says I’ll like something, the odds are pretty good I will.

So, while it was no great surprise that I was going to like the Gates BBQ Sauce, it was a bit of a surprise to find that it may just be my favorite bottled BBQ sauce – ever.  I actually just went to their website and ordered more.  Another bottle of Classic Original, and a bottle each of  Extra Hot and Sweet and Mild.  Experiment time!

And I especially like that it is made with real ingredients.  It totally packs a wallop and there’s no crap in it!

Bold, sweet, smoky, spicy…  everything a BBQ sauce should be.

I’ve had a lot of BBQ sauces in my time.  Yellow sauce from South Carolina, compliments of Mike and Barbara, Memphis, Texas, Kansas City… and I’ve made BBQ sauce for years, including Strawberry and Root Beer.  I actually don’t buy a lot of bottled sauces anymore because I don’t care for the ingredients, so getting this is an extra-special treat.

I was feeling adventurous (gluttonous?!?) and wanted to try it on a lot of things at once, so I cooked pork ribs, beef tips, and chicken breast.

The ribs I baked in the oven for about an hour with nothing on them at all.  I then slathered on the sauce and placed them on the top rack of the grill and just let them slow-cook.

The beef tips and chicken were marinated in the sauce and then grilled over medium heat.

I’m not sure which of them I liked best.  The flavor was most pronounced on the chicken breast, the beef was smoky-spicy rare, and the ribs… they were fall-off-the-bone tender with flavor that just exploded.  No choosing necessary.  It goes with everything.

Potatoes were done in a  grill basket with a splash of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.

And Grilled Pineapple, too!

I marinated the pineapple in rum, brown sugar, and sambal oelek.  Sweet and spicy.  Onto the grill it went.

The only thing that wasn’t grilled was the corn.

We have friends coming down from Boston for July 4th weekend.  I’m thinking bacon burgers…

Thanks, Luigi!

Oh!  I almost forgot…  Today’s weigh-in…  down a pound and a half!