Sun May 1, 2011
Joshua Bousel
Sauced: Johnny Harris Original Famous Bar-B-Cue Sauce
Sauce Stats
Name
Johnny Harris Original Famous Bar-B-Cue Sauce
Produced by
Cost
$15.99 for 3 12oz bottles at Johnny Harris
Ingredients
Vinegar, Ketchup, Prepared Mustard, Worcestershire Sauce, Salt, Soybean Oil, Sugar, Spices
Color
Rusty Orange
Meatwave Rating
More Sauce ReviewsThe lack of sweetness and harsh vinegar made this not a very pleasant of sauce out of the jar, although by no means the worse. Then the loss of flavor combined with poor grilling properties showed it wasn't suitable for cooking. The label states this can be used to dress anything from ribs to gravies to fried chicken, but I think if you want those tasting the best they can, this isn't sauce to be using.
Background
Johnny Harris started up his barbecue venture with a small roadside shack in Savannah, Georgia in 1924. It wasn't long until he teamed up with Kermit "Red" Donaldson at the restaurant, and by 1936 they had outgrown the original location and built a new place down the street. Johnny Harris passed in 1942, but the business continued under Red's leadership, including the production of the sauce that was passed on to him. It wasn't until 1959, when Red had to temporarily leave the restaurant due to illness, that he was able to focus on the sauce and flourish the business behind it. Red passed in 1969, but the sauce continues to be produced by his son Phillip and later, Phillip's son-in-law Bernard "B.J." Lowenthal. Today Johnny Harris produces four different barbecue sauces along with rubs, a hot wing sauce, and steak sauce.
Aroma
This sauce stings the nose with it's heavy dose of vinegar. There's a ketchup base there, but the sweetness is overtaken by the tang of vinegar. Onion and Worcestershire are also pretty strong contenders in the aroma department.
Thickness & Texture
Running medium-thin and drizzly, this smooth, rusty orange sauce is opaque but shows clear specks of spices.
Out of the Jar
There's not much sweetness to be had here, with vinegar getting all up in your face at first, followed by a wallop of Worcestershire that leaves you with a complex and bitter flavor. Like the smell, onion is also pretty strong, along with a peppery kick.
Slathered & Cooked
Definitely constructed for dipping over grilling, this sauce did not stand up well when taken to the flames. The sauce just sat on top of the chicken, never baking in or caramelizing. The strong flavors that I wasn't so crazy about raw, almost disappeared after being grilled, but were not replaced by anything, leaving a pretty blah tasting chicken on top of one that wasn't very pretty to look at.
Put to Use
The lack of sweetness and harsh vinegar made this not a very pleasant of sauce out of the jar, although by no means the worse. Then the loss of flavor combined with poor grilling properties showed it wasn't suitable for cooking. The label states this can be used to dress anything from ribs to gravies to fried chicken, but I think if you want those tasting the best they can, this isn't sauce to be using.
Comments
Johnny Harris restaurant is a sentimental Savannah institution, although its barbecue isn't very good. I bought some of their sauce and about the only two things I've found that it compliments are barbecued bologna and chicken nuggets.
Posted Mon, May 2 2011 12:17pm
My family has grown up with Johnny Harris sauce. We have used only this sauce for years and the ribs we make are gone within minutes everytime we entertain. We send bottles up north to family and friends who can't find it locally. This sauce is not like the commercial tasting ones like Kraft. The beloved restaurant itself is a piece of Savannah's history.This reviewer sounds like he has a limited palate.
Posted Mon, May 2 2011 8:39pm
Confused? I grew up on the sauce. I always grab a new sauce that pops onto the shelf just to see if anyone can out do this stuff. Nothing ever measures up. It's like the droid to the Iphone. There are a lot of wannabees, but nothing ever measures up. One suggestion to the dude who did this analysis is to read the label. It's a sauce, not a marinade. It's got tomato sauce in the recipe so it will scortch. Be fair to the folks at Johnny Harris. Get some culinary experience if you are going to critique a place that knows more about sauce than you.
Posted Thu, May 5 2011 5:27pm
Read the instructions. This sauce is a finished sauce and you add it to the ribs or chicken after cooking or just before taking them off the fire. It's the best tasting BBQ sauce I've ever tasted. You need to try it again and use the correct cooking procedure.This was the worst review I've ever read. Don't put it in writing until you have the facts.
Posted Sat, May 7 2011 10:42am
Jeez - The Paula Deen lovers society has weighted in on Johnny Harris.
How about this for a fact: There are no directions on the label other than:
"Heat sauce to double flavor". Quote, unquote. A fact. Right on the freakin' label.
Maybe those who getting their bloomers in a wad over the review are the ones with "limited palates" and are lacking in "culinary experience".
Maybe this stuff is suppose to taste better if eaten in a tacky buffet full of old yankees who are disgorged by tour busses in front of tourist pits that are dished up by the Food Network.
Posted Sat, May 7 2011 11:51am
From the Johnny Harris web site we find this recipe for pork spare ribs:
QUOTE After five hours, brush liberally with heated Johnny Harris barbecue sauce and continue cooking for another hour.
UNQUOTE.
http://www.johnnyharris.com/info_pages.php?pages_id=11
Quick Paul, write to Johnny Harris Co. and tell them that they're not following your instructions. I know they'll rest easier at night.
Posted Sat, May 7 2011 11:58am
Happy to see this debate, this is what makes barbecue sauce so great--there are so many forms and tastes that there is something for everyone to take sides with. I test all of my sauces the same, and based on my experience, I firmly stand behind my review of this sauce as it compared against other sauces I've tested.
@Joe Cowen @Paul Daniels You can see how I use each sauce on the grill, which is as a baste and not a marinade. The issue with this sauce was not that it burned, but quite the opposite, it didn't caramelize or bake into the chicken.
Posted Wed, May 11 2011 4:33pm
To each their own, I suppose, but I'll go on the record to say that Johnny Harris Original is the finest baste available. I live in Canada, and go to the trouble/expense of shipping cases of the stuff to friends and relatives in the US, just so I can have a ready supply on hand. I especially like this with chicken - I've never liked sweet as much as savory, and the tomato/vinegar base, combined with low sugar content makes this best for avoiding flareups and scorching. Left exposed to open coals or jets, virtually any sauce can burn, so just use your common sense - grill indirectly, or over a drip pan, and this will prove to be one hell of a complement to your meat & chicken.
Posted Fri, Mar 9 2012 11:29am
You are joking, right? As a 52 year old family man grilling machine from eastern NC I can tell everyone if you follow the instructions and heat it a little before eating with your grillled chicken you will probably be looking for it at every market and finally ordering it online like I have. Eastern NC pork BBQ is consistently ranked as some of the best in the world and we use a vinegar base. So the vinegar kick along with the mustard tang fills our cookie around here.
It makes me look forward to trying some of that eastern SC mustard based pork BBQ in Charleston the next time I'm down.
Posted Tue, Apr 17 2012 6:41pm
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