Dickey's Barbecue Pit charges for sauce, which is unusual — most barbecue chains run a free sauce wall and let you take a handful. At $0.50 to $1.00 a portion it is hardly a burden, but it changes the behavior: you choose one deliberately instead of grabbing six and using two. Here is what each of them actually is, and where it belongs.
The six sauces
| Sauce | Heat | Style | Order it on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | None | Sweet, tomato-based | Anything, if you are undecided |
| Sweet | None | Sweeter still | Ribs, chicken, kids' plates |
| Spicy | Mild-medium | Original with heat added | Pulled pork, kielbasa |
| Carolina | Low | Vinegar-forward, thin | Pulled pork |
| Texas Hot | Medium | Thin and peppery | Brisket, burnt ends |
| Dr Pepper | None | Sweet, dark, faintly cherry | Ribs, once |
Pricing splits the range in two. Original, Sweet, Spicy and Dr Pepper are $0.50. Carolina and Texas Hot are $1.00 — which is a small clue that the two thin, vinegar-and-pepper sauces are the ones the chain considers its serious offering. Buffalo sauce also appears on the menu, though it mostly shows up built into items like the Buffalo Chicken Baker at $15.00 and the Buffalo Chicken Mac Stack at $10.50.
Original and Sweet
Original is the house default: tomato-based, molasses-sweet, thick enough to sit on a sandwich rather than run off it. It is designed to be inoffensive and it succeeds. Sweet takes the same base further in the obvious direction — it is the one children take, and the one to avoid if you have ordered good brisket, because it buries the smoke.
Both are $0.50, and both are the wrong choice on anything that came out of the pit well. Use them on chicken, on kielbasa, or on a Slider Sandwich at $5.00 where the sauce is doing most of the work anyway.
Carolina — the one for pulled pork
Vinegar-forward and thin, at $1.00. This is the sauce that belongs on Pulled Pork at $21.15 a pound or on the Pulled Pork Sandwich at $9.75, and it is not a matter of taste so much as chemistry: pork shoulder is rich and needs acid to cut it. If your Dickey's is having an average day, Carolina on pulled pork is also the most reliable order on the menu, because pork forgives inconsistent smoking in a way brisket does not.
Texas Hot — the one for brisket
Thinner than the Original, peppery rather than sweet, $1.00. Founded in Dallas in 1941, Dickey's is a Texas chain, and this is the sauce that reflects it. Use it on sliced brisket at $28.00 a pound and on brisket burnt ends, which sell at the same $28.00 — the only chain covered here that does not charge a premium for burnt ends.
One caveat worth stating: good brisket needs no sauce at all. If the bark is dark, the smoke ring is visible and the fat looks translucent rather than white, eat the first few slices plain. The Texas BBQ guide covers what to look for at the counter.
Dr Pepper sauce
A Texas curiosity and, at $0.50, worth trying once. It is sweet and dark with a faint cherry-cola edge, and it works better on ribs than on anything sliced. Nobody needs it. Everybody should try it — it is the most Dickey's thing on the sauce list, in the way that the Big Yellow Cup is the most Dickey's thing on the drinks list.
Buying sauce sensibly
- One sauce per person is enough at $0.50 to $1.00 each.
- For a group, buy Extra Sauce for the Group at $5.00 rather than a dozen individual portions.
- Sliced Cheddar Cheese and Jalapeno Peppers are $1.00 each if you want to build a sandwich up rather than sauce it.
- Taste the meat before you sauce it. With roughly 380 franchised locations, quality varies enough that the sauce decision should follow the brisket, not precede it.
If you are ordering for a crowd, sauce quantity is one of the easiest things to underestimate — the Dickey's catering page has the group-order arithmetic.