FANCY HANKS: Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce – 330ml

Carolina's best idea, bottled on Bourke Street

North Carolina worked this out generations ago: pork doesn't want tomato, it wants mustard. Fancy Hank's took that idea back to their Melbourne smokehouse, mellowed the bite with real honey and brown sugar, and bottled it. It's for anyone who's ever glazed a ham and quietly wished it had more to say.

The flavour

American mild mustard leads at 41% — bright, vinegary and unmistakably mustard, right on the front of the tongue. Brown sugar and 10% honey roll in behind and take the sharpest edge off, while tomato puree and apple cider vinegar keep the whole thing tangy rather than sweet. Garlic and turmeric sit underneath. The finish is clean and zippy, savoury enough that you keep going back for another chip.

How to cook with it

• Score a ham in a diamond pattern, sit it in the kettle at 130°C with the lid down, and baste every 20 minutes until the glaze goes dark and lacquered.
• Brush pork ribs in the last twenty minutes of the cook only — go earlier and the sugars catch before the meat is ready.
• Whisk a spoonful through your slaw dressing or mayo to give a coleslaw some actual backbone.
• Straight from the bottle as a dip for fried chicken and hot chips. No apology required.
• Spoon it over a wedge of sharp cheddar on the cheese board and watch it beat the quince paste to the finish.

In the bottle

Golden-yellow and glossy, with the colour lifted by paprika oleoresin and ground turmeric rather than anything artificial. It's smooth and pourable — thin enough to brush on in thin coats, thick enough to cling to a scored ham instead of running straight to the tray.

Ingredients & Dietary

Ingredients: American Mild Mustard (41%) (Water, Vinegar, Mustard Seeds and Flour, Sugar, Salt, Herbs and Spices, Canola Oil), Tomato Puree (Contains Food Acid (Citric Acid)), Apple Cider Vinegar, Brown Sugar, Honey (10%), Salt, Garlic, Natural Colour (Paprika Oleoresin), Ground Turmeric.

Dietary: Contains mustard. Contains honey, so it isn't vegan. All natural — no preservatives or artificial colours. Best before 24 months; refrigerate after opening. Gluten status is not stated by the brand for this sauce — always check the physical label.

The Rub Smuggler's Verdict

Mustard barbecue is the most undervalued cargo on the dock — the Americans have been onto it for two hundred years and we're still catching up. Rub a pork shoulder with SuckleBusters Hog Waller, then brush this on for the final twenty minutes only; any earlier and the sugars turn bitter on you. Cure your own leg with Coast n Smoke Bacon Cure and Christmas is sorted.

Questions answered

How hot is Fancy Hank's Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce?
No chilli heat. The kick comes from mustard and vinegar rather than chilli, so there's tang and a gentle warmth but no burn. On Hub Heat it rates 0/11 — Cool As.

Is it vegan?
No. It's made with real honey (10%), so it isn't suitable for a vegan diet.

What is a mustard BBQ sauce?
It's the Carolina school of barbecue sauce — mustard-based instead of tomato-based, built for pork. This one is a North Carolina style mustard sauce with honey and brown sugar rounding it out.

What's the best way to use it on ham?
Score the fat, cook low with the lid down at around 130°C and baste every 20 minutes. The glaze builds in layers and goes lacquered rather than burnt.

How long does it keep?
The brand lists 24 months for their BBQ sauces. Refrigerate after opening.