Four City BBQ Sauce Tour

At every tailgate, especially in the South, there will be at least one appetizer featuring BBQ sauce. As a fifth generation Alabamian, BBQ sauce is a really big deal to me. So naturally, I was beyond thrilled when Copa suggested a Four City BBQ Sauce Tour with the Heinz Pitmaster Collection. Read about our faves AND about our surprise party crashers!

Growing up in Huntsville, AL, you could count on being asked two things during football season:
1) Who do you like – Alabama or Auburn?
2) What kind of barbecue sauce do you prefer?

You could learn a lot about a person based on the answers to those questions.
Seriously, these questions were thinly veiled qualifiers for future companionship.

Answer correctly, and you might get invited to a join a Supper Club.
A wrong  questionable answer might garner you a “bless your heart”, and eyeball roll, and a turned back. For real.

In case you are wondering, Question #2 is really two questions in one. The motive? To find out who your mama’s mama was….in other words, where are you from in the South? You see, your BBQ sauce preference will tell us a lot. Vinegar based BBQ sauces have deep roots in the Carolinas. Thick & spicy tomato based BBQ sauces give a nod to our Kansas City kinfolk, whereas a sauce with a kick can be found in Texas. A sweet, slow pour sauce can be found in Memphis.

Folks are just as particular about their barbecue sauce as they are their football teams. If you are like us, you stick to a regional favorite and rarely stray due to your location. But……

Heinz will take you on a tour of the South with their Pitmaster BBQ Sampler pack!

Photo credit: Business Wire and Heinz.

I was in heaven when Copa set the sampler pack on our counter. We could take a Four City BBQ Sauce Tour while tailgating in FLORIDA! I mean seriously, the best of the best right at home.

We decided to have a mini tailgate tasting at the park. All was well (and yummy!) until we saw our unexpected party crashers.

Just beyond the picnic table you will see a gray blur in the above picture.

It was a Florida Sandhill Crane family! They are ALL over our neighborhood, and in the early summertime their babies are large enough to join mom and dad on walkabouts.

Now, Florida wildlife is just that: wild. It is against the law to feed wildlife in Florida. Why? Because wildlife, and even cranes, can become aggressive when fed by humans. These are big birds, folks. We see them all over the neighborhood. They ignore us and vice versa. Even so, we Floridians know not to purposefully encroach in their space or habitat. When I realized that our Four City BBQ Sauce Tour with chicken fingers smelled enticing to this little Florida Sandhill Crane family, I started packing up shop. As I packed, in a matter of moments, Mama Crane decided to crash the party:Look at her! She was BIG. And baby #1 is in the back.

And then this happened…..

She moves in. I move BACK. My camera lens zooms IN…… BOOM. Mama goes in for the chicken finger!She drops the finger and she and baby dig in. ALL of this happened in under five seconds. I put my camera down and start shoving chicken, BBQ sauce, etc. into my picnic basket. I had no idea cranes would eat…chicken??? And then I had a true Jurassic Park moment……

And, as I was walking out of the picnic pavilion, guess who came back?!?Mama crane came back for round two. My time had been used wisely, and not a crumb was left for the old girl. Nothing. Nada. I ran walked back to my car and they sauntered on to the lake. 

Look at her RED eyes. She means business!

By the way, I zoomed in with the above shot and my arms were full of picnic goods. So, she looks a little blurry. BUT, I did not want to risk intentionally getting near her for a fully focused picture. So there’s that. Safety first.

Before our party crashers arrived on the scene, we thoroughly enjoyed our Four City BBQ Sauce Tour. The easy pour bottles were super easy to snap open & shut for repeat pours. 🙂  

To get the most our of our Four City BBQ Sauce Tour, I poured all four sauces on a sampler plate. You can see how each variety differs in color and thickness. We loved all of them! Each one was quite different. The Carolina sauce was certainly tangy and paired well with the breaded chicken nuggets. I like anything and everything spicy, so the Texas sauce was spot on for me. Copa commented that the Memphis sauce would be awesome slathered on ribs….we are definitely going to try this! The Kansas City offering was probably my favorite because of the perfect melding of spice and sweetness. I ended up using this one later in the week in my pulled pork recipe! All in all, Heinz did really well. 

Enjoy the summer and show us YOUR barbecue creations! Tag them #totallytailgates on Instagram . We loved our Four City BBQ Tour! In case you were curious, this post was not sponsored by Heinz, we simply wanted to share with you something we found that made summer a little bit more fun! It is also worth noting, Copa’s very favorite food is a plain hamburger with ketchup. Let’s just say he is very familiar with the Heinz product family and did not hesitate to grab the Pitmaster Sampler Pack when stopping by Walmart one weekend. He’s such a sweetheart and knows that I like BBQ sauce as much as he likes ketchup! 🙂 Guilty admission: our family goes through ketchup like the Real Housewives go through chardonnay….

Happy Tailgating!

Heather