How To Totally Improve Store-Bought BBQ Sauce Like Bobby Flay

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Bobby Flay is more than just our celebrity chef crush; he's also a failproof source of some of our favorite and most-used kitchen tips and tricks. We use Flay's salad dressing hack all the time for total coverage of our greens, and we whip out old episodes of "Beat Bobby Flay" when we want to feel better about having to come up with last-minute dinner inspiration ... if Bobby can win over the judges with a gourmet dish at a moment's notice, then so can we!

Flay caught our attention once again on an episode of "BBQ Brawl" on Food Network when he showed us how to gussy up store-bought BBQ sauce with three simple ingredients, some of which you probably already have at home. Bobby Flay is no stranger to bottled condiments — by his own admission, he keeps a bottle of his go-to store-bought Bone Suckin' BBQ sauce in his pantry at all times — but he takes a few simple steps to really amp up the flavor of a good product by adding his own touch. Namely, he adds Worcestershire sauce for umami, chipotle puree for smoke and heat, and the juice of half a lime for acidity and brightness. Then, he simmers the new-and-improved sauce (with a lid on the pan to prevent splatters!) for 10- to 15 minutes to let the flavors come together and harmonize. The resulting sauce is almost as good as scratch-made and is ready to slather on your grilled meats in mere minutes.

A little sweet and a little sour, store-bought BBQ will take you far ... but not as far as if you give it a bit of TLC with some home add-ins. We previously covered how to add chocolate to BBQ sauce for a condiment with Mexican mole vibes, but that's not even close to the extent of what you can do with even the most humble bottle of sauce that's BOGO at the supermarket.

The natural additions to BBQ sauce are ingredients that punch up flavors already in the bottle. To amplify sweetness, stir in some pineapple juice or a quality hot honey for a sweet-spicy kick. Like a bit of a pucker with your sauce? We're a little obsessed with orange juice, which adds not only zest but also a fruity je nais se quois that will have you coming back for seconds. If you love the umami of the tomato in a good sauce, garlic or onion powder (or both) will play up the savory notes. Want to give your BBQ some earthiness to ground it? Social media users swear by large amounts of cumin or a splash of good beer. Of course, if spice is what you're after, that might be the easiest aspect to manipulate: cayenne, chili flakes, or even the pickling liquid from jarred jalapeños are all easily accessible.