FANCY HANKS: BBQ Sauce Coffee & Molasses – 330ml

Built for brisket, and nothing else comes close

This is the bottle Fancy Hank's put next to their beef in the restaurant, and it exists because coffee and molasses do something to smoked beef that tomato alone never manages. Strong, dark and unapologetically bitter around the edges. If your brisket is good, this is the only thing you should be putting near it.

The flavour

Molasses hits first and hard — 29% of the bottle — all treacle-black and faintly bitter. Coffee powder deepens it rather than announcing itself, adding roast and a dry edge that stops the sugar running away. Cumin, mustard flour and garlic build a savoury middle, and chipotle powder trails smoke across the finish. It's the least sweet sauce in the range and all the better for it.

How to cook with it

• Slice a rested brisket against the grain and pour a line of this down the side of the board — dip, don't drown.
• Warm it gently and brush over beef short ribs in the final half hour so the coffee bitterness sets against the bark.
• Whisk a spoonful into pan juices with a knob of butter for a steak sauce that tastes like a twelve-hour cook.
• Drizzle it over fried eggs the morning after a cook. The Fancy Hank's crew do exactly this and they're right.
• Stir it through a pot of baked beans with a bit of bacon and let it sit on the edge of the coals until it thickens.

In the bottle

Almost black, glossy and thick. It pours like treacle and clings to a brush, so it layers onto ribs without sliding off into the coals.

Ingredients & Dietary

Ingredients: Molasses (29%), Ketchup Tomato Paste, Water, White Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Spices, Water, Onion, Capsicum, Worcestershire Sauce Brown Vinegar, Apple, Treacle, Sugar, Garlic, Salt, Spices, Mustard Flour, Coffee Powder, Garlic, Salt, Cumin, Cider Vinegar, White Vinegar, Chilli Chipotle Powder, Xanthum Gum (415).

Dietary: Vegan. Preservative free. No gluten. Contains mustard flour. Always check the physical label.

The Rub Smuggler's Verdict

Coffee in a barbecue sauce sounds like a stunt until you put it on beef, and then you understand. Bark the brisket with Butchers Axe Bullseye Beef Rub and finish the slices with a pinch of Falksalt Hickory Smoked Sea Salt Flakes. Serve this on the side, never brushed on — the bitterness wants to land clean, not cooked.

FAQ

Does it taste like coffee?
Not overtly. The coffee adds roast and a dry, bitter edge that balances the molasses — you notice the depth before you notice the coffee.

What has it won?
A Silver Medal at the 2018 Australian Food Awards.

Is it hot?
No. There's chipotle powder in there, but it reads as smoke rather than heat.

What's it best on?
Beef. It's the sauce Fancy Hank's serve with their smoked brisket, and it works on short ribs, steak and eggs.

Is it vegan?
The brand lists it as vegan, preservative free and no gluten. Always check the physical label.