The Berry Patch at the Market (Colfax, NC) has been a staple of the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market for several years. They are a family owned retail operation that sells homemade baked goods, packaged dry goods and large selection of small batch North Carolina sauces and condiments. I've had my eye on their sauces ever since our first trip to the market seven years ago. Before moving back to Michigan, I made a dash to The Berry Patch's retail location and picked up a few of their sauces.

On a recommendation from the young lady working the cash register, I picked up an 18 oz. mason jar of Apple Butter Barbecue Sauce. She said it was her favorite of all The Berry Patch sauces. As an apple butter lover, I was intrigued by the sauce's ingredients. The thick sauce has a beautiful, brown / mahogany color. Because the most prevelant ingredient is apples, its texture is somewhat like an apple sauce or apple butter.

The aroma out of the jar is incredible. The  apple scent is clear. It's also accented by spices reminicent of apple pie. Additionally there is a smokey element to the sauce. One other ingredient that clearly stands out is the horseradish.

I used the sauce this weekend for some baby back ribs that I smoked with my father. I was testing out a new technique for creating "Applebacks". As you probably gathered from the name, apple flavor is at the center of this technique. The Berry Patch's Apple Butter Barbecue Sauce was perfect for my purpose.

I was blown away with the sauce's flavor. It was far more complex than I had expected. It was sweet, smokey and tangy. The flavors complemented each other so nicely. The combination of fruit and spices reminded me a bit of Nephew's Ghostly Pumpkin. The sweet apples are the first thing that you notice, but the flavors continue to build. Tangy vinegar balanced the sauce well. What really took the sauce to a whole new level was the horseradish. It added a unique depth to the flavor and a bit of spice that was unexpectedly phenomenal.

 I really can't say enough good things about this sauce. The ingredients are all natural and the flavors are an excellent complement to smokey pork. Because it's so thick, I recommend this sauce as a finisher for pork ribs. It doesn't give quite the smooth, high gloss shine that competitors tend to look for, but the color is nice and the flavor is outstanding. I wish I would have bought more than one jar.

The Berry Patch doesn't currently have an online presence. If you want your own Apple Butter Barbecue Sauce, you'll have to travel to the Piedmont Triad Farmer's Market to purchase a jar. Before you plan your road trip to North Carolina, check out this sauce rates on our "Product Reviews" page.