How To Elevate Store-Bought BBQ Sauce, According To Bobby Flay

What do the best cuts of pork to smoke and the brisket cut for the best barbecue have in common? Sheer size. From spare ribs to broiler chickens, just about every barbecue meat leaves you with so much food that you may want to look into how to diversify meals for your guests or leftovers for yourself. Luckily, Bobby Flay's three-ingredient hack gives you a delicious sauce no matter what brand you bought at the store.

Flay recommends adding a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce, a squeeze of lime, and a heaping spoonful of pureed chipotle in adobo to your sauce and letting it simmer for 15 minutes (per YouTube). Together with your store-bought barbecue sauce, these ingredients easily (and deliciously) encompass the five basic flavors of cooking: sweet, salty, bitter, acidic, and umami. While your sauce likely already has plenty of sugar and a bit of acid from vinegar or tomatoes, that extra squeeze of lime cuts through heavy seasonings and sweetness to really brighten it up. The anchovies and tamarind from Worcestershire add umami and bitterness — two flavors most store-bought sauces lack — to create a complex condiment that can revive even week-old barbecue.

The pureed chipotle has tons of its own smokiness, giving your barbecue an extra layer of perfect flavor to make leftovers taste like new — and fresh barbecue even better. Knowing how to customize different kinds of store-bought sauces gives you the flexibility you need to create the best meal possible, no matter the meat or seasonings.

Bobby Flay's three-ingredient hack works best for brown sauces — those heavy with ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, or syrup. However, every style of American barbecue has its own sauces, from creamy mayonnaise-based concoctions perfect for chicken to peppers and vinegar that brighten up even the fattiest cuts of pork.

White sauce typically already has quite a bit of tang to it, so forego any additional acids. However, Worcestershire is still a great choice, adding tons of umami that complements the heavy richness of the dairy ingredients. For an extra dose of subtle sweetness, a bit of turbinado sugar adds more complexity than typical white sugar while still dulling any excess tanginess you may not like. If you like your sauce with a bit of kick, try adding some horseradish or cayenne to your taste to really liven up your next plate of smoked poultry.

A classic Carolina vinegar-based sauce is rarely meant to be complex, providing a simple accompaniment of acid and peppers to moisten meat and let the skill of the pitmaster shine. Still, a drizzle of honey pairs excellently with pork, and a couple herbal notes from fresh thyme, rosemary, or oregano can round out the flavor profiles of everything from chicken to brisket. You can also simmer some with fresh, hot peppers like Scotch bonnets or serranos for some extra kick.