The Trick To Adding Tropical Flavors Into Your Store-Bought BBQ Sauce

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If you've picked up a good (or bad — it happens!) barbecue sauce at the grocery store and are interested in experimenting with its flavors at home, give fruit a chance. The right fruit can lend tropical flavors to your barbecue sauce and elevate your grilled meal with beach vibes — imagine tropical flowers, waves lapping at the sand, and a plate of sweet, tangy protein like beef, chicken, tempeh, tofu, or seitan.

Not all fruit reads as tropical to your palate; citrusy choices like orange or lime are excellent at yielding this effect. Stirring in your favorite fruit preserves is one of many ways to improve store-bought barbecue sauce, but the trick we're interested in here is a bit more involved — and totally worth it as it ensures a fruit's flavors are truly integrated into the final product. To completely infuse those sweet juices and tropical notes, sweat a bit of the zested rind in a pot, then add the fruit's juice and partially cook it down. Empty your barbecue sauce into the pot, stir thoroughly, and allow the mixture to finish reducing. The end result: Tropical flavors that, when combined with the already toothsome nature of barbecue sauce, will have your taste buds doing a dance.

Citrus fruit is certainly not your only option for adding tropical flavor to bottled barbecue sauce. Pineapple, mango, and watermelon are tropical powerhouses that are also delicious contenders. The key to working with them is to capitalize on their distinctive sweetness and profiles, along with pairing them with a barbecue sauce that isn't already sugar-rich (unless you've got the sweet tooth to end all sweet tooths).

When Chowhound asked the Grillin' Fool, Scott Thomas, about adding fruit to barbecue sauce, he said some fruits just beg to be browned first, sending that sweetness into the spotlight. Roasting mango, pineapple, and watermelon caramelizes the sugars, making for an uber-sweet (and deliciously complex) experience. After roasting, Thomas explains to puree the results before adding them to your barbecue sauce; the flavors will be exceptional.

To keep the sweetness in balance, pair roasted tropical fruits with a sauce like Bone Suckin' Sauce Eastern Vinegar BBQ Sauce, a zesty, vinegar-based style. Another popular barbecue sauce on Amazon that's a perfect blank (i.e. sugar-free) slate is Lillie's Q – Zero Sugar Carolina BBQ Sauce. Your roasted tropical fruit will beautifully complement its vinegary notes.