The BBQ Sauce Quick Fix To Make Meat Taste Backyard-Smoked

Charcoal obsessives, tong torch holders, and aspiring pitmasters, look away, for today we must discuss the occasional foray into (we warned you!) store-bought barbecue sauce. Yes, we are aware that one can make a terrific barbecue sauce with just three ingredients, and that some homemade BBQ sauce secrets can make it even greater, but sometimes bottled will just have to do. And a spoonful of well-meaning deception can better help it approximate your own signature batch.

Adding a bit of liquid smoke is one of the fastest, easiest ways to improve store-bought barbecue sauce. Liquid smoke is the natural infusion of the smoke produced by burning wood into a liquid vehicle, ideally water alone without any additives. It's intended to mimic the effect of actually smoking meat all day, and it's already present in plenty of grocery items like potato chips, processed meats, and yes, sauces, including barbecue. Check your store-bought barbecue to make sure it isn't already a "smoky" variety, because a little bit of this culinary trick goes a long way. Otherwise, get to conjuring.

Like its literal composition, liquid smoke's wood-fired notes are concentrated by force of necessity: it just wouldn't be as effective if you needed ounces and ounces of the stuff to eke out its flavor, soaking or diluting your main ingredient in the process. Let's say you've successfully made oven-baked ribs to fall off the bone, but you still want to zhuzh them up with the essence of the grill. You'll want to remove about a cup of the bottled sauce to a bowl and mix in a couple of dashes (about a half of a teaspoon) at a time to taste. It's highly unlikely you'll surpass a tablespoon before you're satisfied with the outcome.

So, what are you going to do with the rest of that bottle of liquid smoke? Fortunately, because you'll use so little, most brands will last for a couple of years. But you can also shake a drop into your bloody Marys, or even add some to your cheaper whiskies to get that smoked quality without requiring any special equipment. It can also give dips and marinades a little extra oomph, or just jump into service anytime you want to capture that cozy campfire sensation.