Give Your BBQ Sauce A Spicy Kick With One Unique Ingredient

Whether you're dressing up the bottled stuff or making your own Kansas City barbecue sauce at home, you can kick up the heat with the addition of some harissa paste. With a spicy and smoky taste, adding a dollop or two of the Tunisian condiment can easily layer up the flavors of your sauce. The bite of the peppers can balance out the sweetness of the barbecue sauce while adding complexity from flavors like olive oil, garlic, and heady spices. Spoon some harissa barbecue sauce over meat before it hits the grill, or serve a bowl on the side for dipping afterward. Either way, you'll probably never go back to a mild variety after the first bite.

Harissa is typically made with the basic mix of chile peppers, olive oil, spices, and salt, but each recipe is a little different. You can blend up your own harissa or buy it at a specialty market. Cans of harissa paste can generally be found at Middle Eastern or French grocery stores, due to Tunisia being a protectorate of France in the past.

Stick with harissa paste, as opposed to the sauce or powder, as it has the deepest flavor. Each brand varies in heat, but choose one labeled "mild" if you're worried about too much spice. No matter what type you use, give it a quick saute in your saucepan for a minute or two before mixing up your barbecue sauce. This amplifies everything and adds a toasty element to the blend.

Ready to make even more spicy barbecue sauce varieties? There is a world of international ingredients just waiting to improve your next grill-out. Bobby Flay swears by gochujang for his steak glaze, but the Korean staple works just as well for any barbecue sauce too. A dollop of the bright red paste adds spiciness along with a depth of umami thanks to being fermented.

Canned chipotles in adobo sauce are a great shortcut to smoky flavor without needing a trip to the grill. Made with dried and smoked jalapeños, these peppers are canned in a red sauce typically created from tomatoes, vinegar, spices, and garlic. If you just want a little heat, add a spoonful of the sauce, but if you want to amp up the spice and texture, then finely chop up the chipotles and use those too.

Sambal oelek is an Indonesian chili sauce that is very spicy and garlicky. It has a taste similar to using fresh chiles, but with a bite of salt and vinegar in each spoonful. Start slow when adding this condiment to your barbecue sauce — a little dab will do it!