This Powerhouse Condiment Turns Sweet Baby Ray's Into A Whole New Dip

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We ride hard for Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, which contains the building blocks of a popular name-brand sauce as a hidden ingredient that lends irresistible flavor. Whether we're brushing it on grilled meat or squirting it straight from the bottle as an accompaniment to chicken tendies, it's a must-have part of our pantry line-up. Therefore, you can only imagine our delight when we discovered a simple two-component "recipe" for a dip that totally blew our minds by doing the heretofore impossible and improving on SBR's. 

This dip isn't complicated ... in fact, it's actually so incredibly simple that we wondered why we never thought of it ourselves. All you need is Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce — the specific flavor is important — and ranch dressing. Mix them up in a 1:1 ratio, and you have a chipotle BBQ ranch dip that's sweet, spicy, smokey, and a little creamy in turns. Basically, it's nature's perfect condiment. 

We're ranch purists and so always keep a couple bottles of Hidden Valley Original on hand, but you really can't go wrong with your favorite brand. Your sauce will have that signature orange hue that subconsciously lets you know that the dipping is about to be first-rate, like boom boom sauce or its close cousin, comeback sauce. Just keep in mind how long opened ranch can last in the fridge and be mindful to use up your stash ... although, once you try this dip, we don't think that will be a problem!

Although the natural pairing for your Sweet Baby Ray's sauce is chicken tenders, nuggets, or strips, there is no reason why you should stop there. Dipping fries in ketchup has history and precedent on its side, but we think fried 'taters would pair with this chipotle BBQ ranch like peas in a pod. Homemade potato chips would also be an amazing vessel for conveying the dip into your mouth as expeditiously as humanly possible. Anything you might put on an appetizer dipping platter, like mozzarella sticks, stuffed jalapeños, sliders, or fried pickles, is going to be vastly improved when you stick a dish of this stuff in the middle.

We also love the idea of using it as a condiment, too. A chipotle BBQ ranch-topped burger? Um, where do we sign up? It's also easy to picture drizzling it over a bowl of homemade mac and cheese with some french-fried onions for a jaw-dropping pasta side for your cookout, or even giving some sourdough bread a schmear before piling on turkey, swiss, and plenty of lettuce and tomato. Lawrence Page of WE tv's "Hustle & Soul," has stated that he likes to doctor his Sweet Baby Ray's with a bit of bourbon, white pepper, and maple syrup to enliven the nuances of the sauce. Can you imagine upgrading your BBQ sauce and then taking it over the top with ranch? Basically, we're drooling. BRB, off to BBQ (+ranch) heaven.