This trick with 1 ingredients immediately makes homemade in bottles in bottle-barbecue sauce.

I love grilling enough to have years of my career for cooking in the styles and study the regional variations that make the American tradition so rich. I will be happy to spend a whole weekend to maintain a smoker, to have a pork shoulder perfect and to dry up my own sauce from scratch. And I love to know enough Vinegar-sharp saucen from North CarolinaMustard South Carolina GoldPresent Alabama WhiteOr the melasspoles Kansas City ClassicEveryone has a lawful place at the table.

But even as a grill and pit lover, there are times when I just don’t have the luxury of making sauce from scratch. A chicken cookout in Weekentight, a spontaneous rib session or a burger at the last minute. Then I reach for a bottle from the grocery shelf. And while we have tested taste in serious food and approved several Good sauces in bottlesThere is a universal truth: most grill sauces bought in the shop tend to the sweeter Kansas City style.

Kansas City sauce is famous for tomato base, sweetened with brown sugar or molasses and thick enough to cling to ribs or brisket. Well done, it compensates for tang, spice and exactly the right amount of wealth. In a filled form, however, it is often too sweet, too thick and unfortunately one -dimensional. If you brush it on a smoky chicken leg and instead of improving the meat, it can drown it.

The solution that you may be happy is not only to make all grilling from scratch – you can and should improve the filled things. All you need is a vinegar.

Why vinegar works

Grilled and smoked meat are naturally rich and fat. Pork shoulder, breast and ribs rely on fat and collagen to remain moist during the long, slow cooking, but the same wealth can coat the aromas of the palate and mute. Vinegar cuts directly through this fat. It brightens, balanced and browsing your taste buds back to life, so that it actually taste the smoke, the spice drop and the meat itself.

In most filled sauces, sufficient acid is missing to carry out this task. But to add a spoon (or more) vinegar to a swiveled sauce.

How to make grill sauce bought in the store better

My basic ratio is simple: For every cup of barbecue sauce filled with only one teaspoon of vinegar. A teaspoon may not sound like anything, but remember that vinegar is a strong ingredient and you can add more and more, but you cannot take it out. Next they taste, adapt and add more if you want an additional tang. The exact amount depends on how cute your specific brand is, but in my experience the sauce usually needs more vinegar than expected – because it hits smoky, fatty meat, these sharpness soft and mellows.

Also ensure that you use the best vinegar for the job. Hold on something neutral and not overly enforceable, such as apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar or simple distilled white vinegar. Avoid stronger, more complex options such as balsamic or sherry vinegar that can collapse with the taste of the sauce.

Tips for further adjusting the taste further

The addition of vinegar alone turns the excessive sweet sauces into bottles, but your spice cabinet can continue. A pinch of cayenne or chil powder gives heat. A dash of smokers paprika gives a touch of grill taste. A spoon of mustard or Worcestershire deepens the complexity. None of this is required, but everything is welcome.

The key is that you don’t have to start over. They don’t form a sauce so much just to improve one. Vinegar can already balanced what is already there and a bottle sauce that is too sweet into a light, lively and dynamic sauce. With just this one upgrade, the barbecue sauce from Passable Backup bought in the shop goes to something that you are actually looking forward to.