Instantly Improve Bottled BBQ Sauce With The Help Of This Pantry Staple

If you've ever cooked up your own homemade barbecue sauce — say, if you were cooking some exquisite baby back ribs – then you'll know that nothing beats the impactful punch that a flavorful sauce gives you. So when you revert back to a generic bottled barbecue sauce next time out, you'd be forgiven for being a little disappointed at the relative lack of spirit found in many store-bought offerings. So what should you do with a bottle of sauce that's just sitting on your shelf, waiting to go bad? Worry not, there's a solution to elevating that hum-drum bottle of sauce to yield a product more akin to your delicious homemade goods.

The solution here is actually quite simple — all you need is a good helping of vinegar to give your bottled barbecue sauce the kick it so desperately needs. Your standard white vinegar works perfectly well here — just throw some in until your sauce is nice and punchy. And you can also work with other types of vinegar to add in some other flavors. Apple cider vinegar can be a great addition for typical barbecue fare, and white wine vinegar can add some wonderful notes too. So when in doubt, reach for some vinegar to enhance your bottled barbecue sauce.

Different kinds of vinegar are a surefire way to elevate your sauce. But really, you can broaden your horizons to other ingredients to serve this purpose as long as they have a vinegar and acid element to them. Take spicy whole-grain dijon mustard for example. You can use this to add a pungent kick to your sauce while making an inspired twist on one of the many sauces from around the United States. You can also implement your favorite hot sauce for this same purpose or even a helping of spicy kimchi. A serving or two of the hot stuff can really amp up your bottled sauce.

There's no reason to stop there, however. Though all of these definitely fulfill the vinegar requirement, there's still room to expand. Toss the need for vinegar aside and instead focus on acidic ingredients more generally, and you unlock a new trove of tools at your disposal. Take inspiration from Hawaiian huli huli sauce and use some sweet but tangy pineapple juice –- the acidity will cut through your sauce and the fruit juice adds excellent flavor. Or utilize the acid found in other citrus fruits, such as lemon. The options end at the edge of your own creativity, so there's no doubt you'll expend that bottle of barbecue sauce in no time.