Bratwurst are a tailgating staple in the Midwest, particularly in Wisconsin. These brats are simmered with onions in a Midwestern brewed beer before being finished on the grill and dressed with a spicy mustard sauce.

You only need a few basic ingredients for this recipe (see above). The choice of beer and mustard is yours.

Pour three bottles of beer in a heavy duty aluminum pan or sauce pot. Add two sliced onions and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium/low and add the brats to the beer. Simmer the brats for 15 minutes. Make sure that the water is not hot enough to boil while the brats are simmering. The natural casings will split if the water is too hot. Finish the brats on the grill for 10-12 minutes on medium heat. At this point, the brats are fully cooked. They can be served immediately or returned to the beer bath to be kept warm.

There are plenty of options for topping these brats, but I like to keep it basic. I topped my brat with the beer soaked onions and spicy brown mustard.

Hack's BBQ Sauce was created by Stephen Dodd in 1999. With his wife's health in mind (story here), he set out to create a sauce that contained no onions or peppers, but still provided plenty of flavor. Stephen's background in chemical engineering translated well to the kitchen. After much experimentation, he formulated an ultra thick, sweet and tangy sauce that his friends and family raved over. Eventually, Stephen decided to bottle and sell his sauce commercially. Thus, Hack's was born.

I had the opportunity to sample Hack's signature sauce this week. The sauce comes in a stout 20 oz. bottle with great looking label. The overall packaging of Hack's was very nice. In the bottle, the sauce has a beautiful dark red color.

Hack's has a bold, smokey aroma. I poured (or at least tried to pour) the sauce into a bowl to examine the texture. It's probably the thickest sauce that I've encountered. Hack's also has a slightly grainy texture compared to the typical smooth, glossy consistancy that most BBQ sauces exhibit.

The absence of peppers and onions doesn't hurt this sauce one bit. The sauce is still a bold blend of sweet, smokey and tangy flavors. Hack's was very good brushed on BBQ chicken. The thickness does limit its uses a bit, but it makes a fine finishing baste for chicken and ribs.

If you have digestive issues with onions or peppers, don't let that stop you from enjoying BBQ. Hack's is a quality sauce option that packs plenty of flavor despite its missing ingredients. You don't need to have an aversion to onions or peppers to enjoy Hack's. If you enjoy a thick, sticky sauce on your chicken or ribs, Hack's is a nice option for just about anybody.

View Hack's website by clicking the title of this review. Hack's can be purchased online or in several specialty stores in Illinois. See how Hack's compares to other sauces on the "Product Reviews" page.

Dimples BBQ sauce is a sweet, tangy tomato based sauce produced in Raleigh, NC. Dimples is the creation of BBQ competitor, Rich Campana. Rich originally concocted the recipe to for use by his competition team, Kings of Q. After the team decided to go a different route, Rich and his wife decided to bottle and sell their sauce in January of 2011. They named their sauce Dimples after a family trait shared by Campana men, the dimpled chin.

The medium-thin sauce is bright red and brushes beautifully on meat. I used Dimples on BBQ chicken thighs. The sauce gave the chicken a beautiful glossy red shine. The sauce also works great as a dip for just about any kind of BBQ.

Originally from Chicago, Rich combined his Midwestern sweet tomato based roots with the tangy vinegar BBQ culture of the Carolinas. The result is a unique sauce that doesn't quite fit into any particular category. I love these types of transitional sauces. In an area like North Carolina, it takes inventiveness and a little bit of courage to step outside a very narrow traditional view of BBQ sauce. By successfully balancing sweet tomatoes and tangy vinegar, Dimples is a sauce that most everyone can enjoy.

Many newcomers to the Carolinas find the vinegar sauces overwhelming in comparison to the sweet, mild sauces that they're used to. For anyone looking to introduce a newbie to Carolina Q, Dimples would be the perfect starting point. Rather than throwing them into the deep end with a spicy Eastern style sauce, it may be best to let them dip their toes (so to speak) into the world of vinegar sauces first. Dimples is the best blended style sauce that I've tried yet.

Dimples has only been around for a year, but their popularity is spreading (300+ likes already on Facebook). With a sauce this good it's easy to understand. I highly recommend Dimples BBQ sauce for chicken, brisket or pulled pork. In fact, the sauce's texture and flavor are versatile enough for nearly anything you want to throw on the grill. Dimples BBQ sauce is currently available in several retail stores in the Raleigh area. It can also be purchased online.

Click the title of this review to view the Dimples website. Check the "Product Reviews" page to see how Dimples compares to other BBQ sauce.

One of the cool things about BBQ is the unique locations and settings in which great "Q" can be found. In my travels, I have yet to find a cooler place for "Q" than Rockstore Bar-B-Q just outside Charlotte, NC. The small stone structure was originally erected as the first and only gas station in the area in 1936. It later became a convenience store until two Stallings natives purchased the building and converted it to a Southern BBQ joint.

Today, Rockstore Bar-B-Q serves authentic smoked favorites like pulled pork, brisket, pulled chicken and the house specialty, baby back ribs. The menu is small and simple. Customers have the choice of getting their pork, chicken or brisket on a sandwich or a plate with homemade sides. Ribs can be purchased in half racks, full racks or as a half rack plate (including two sides and a drink).

Though, I'd already spent the better part of the day in Lexington, NC at the Barbecue Festival, I jumped at the chance to check out Rockstore Bar-B-Q when a close friend, whom I was visiting, suggested it  Saturday evening. We arrived around 7 p.m. shortly before closing. There were just handful of lingering patrons finishing up their dinners and picking up orders to take home.

When I visit a joint for the first time, I try to get a sampling of as many different meats as possible, but Rockstore Bar-B-Q doesn't offer any type of combination platter. After speaking with the attendant at the counter, he suggested that the ribs were Rockstore's signature item. I didn't need a lot of convincing. Ribs are always my first choice anyway. I ordered the rib dinner (half rack w/ 2 sides - beans & slaw). Knowing that I would undoubtedly have to share with Katie when I returned home, I picked up another 1/2 rack just to be safe.

The ribs come with or without sauce. I ordered mine with Rockstore's Western style (ketchup based) sauce on the side. The ribs definitely passed the two initial tests, smell and sight. They filled the car with an intoxicating smokey aroma as we drove home. Thankfully it was a short drive. The baby backs were meaty and had a beautiful pink smoke ring.

Getting the sauce on the side really allows you to get a better sense of the actual flavor of the rib. Rockstore Bar-B-Q's ribs are lightly seasoned. They rely heavily on the hardwood smoke flavor and the natural deliciousness of the pork. While most ribs come slathered in a sticky sauce, Rockstore's baby backs were a refreshing change of pace.

The ribs were moist and very tender. I was able to pull the bones apart pretty easily. However, the meat was still firm enough to cling to the bones as they were pulled apart (like it should). It's rare to find smoked pork ribs so perfectly cooked in a restaurant.

The smokey, lightly seasoned ribs were excellent on their own, but I wanted to test out their sauce as well. Rockstore Bar-B-Q's Western style (one of four varieties) sauce is thin and tangy with a hint of spice in the finish. It's not the style of sauce that I would typically use for ribs, but I was very impressed with how well it complimented the pork. Drizzling the sauce over half the rack worked well. It also made a fine dip.

The beans and slaw were suitable side dishes. Both were above average in quality if slightly below in quantity. They were, however, an afterthought as I devoured the ribs. Sure enough, I ended up having to share a pretty good portion of them with Katie. They got a strong "thumbs up" from her as well.

Rockstore Bar-B-Q turned out to be as tasty as it is unique. The small rock building is definitely the coolest looking joint that I've come across and the ribs were the best that I've had this year (2011). If I had a complaint it would be the inability to order different meats in combination for one price. However, the ribs were good enough that I probably won't get around to ordering anything else anyway.

Click the title of this review to see Rockstore Bar-B-Q's website. See how their ribs compare to other joints from across the country on the "BBQ Ratings" page.