When You Use Store-Bought BBQ Sauce, Add This Juice First

Some popular store-bought barbecue sauces are better than others, but it is hard to find one that is perfectly suited to your tastes. Luckily those grocery store sauces are fairly easy to doctor up, and there are so many ways to adjust the flavor profiles of most sauces. We spoke with Michelle Wallace, renowned pitmaster, TV personality, and owner of B'tween Sandwich Co., who suggested a surprisingly easy and unexpected way to give a bit more life and flavor to a bottled barbecue sauce that you likely already have in your refrigerator. 

If it is done with intention, "adding pickle juice to level up your store-bought BBQ sauce is a smart move," Wallace tells us. "This move can take the BBQ sauce from heavy to bright, balanced, and addictive." Out of all the ways to use up leftover pickle juice, this might be the most original that we've come across. When we asked why pickle juice specifically, Wallace explains that "many store-bought BBQ sauces lean sweet." To help balance out any overly cloying sugary notes, Wallace says that "adding pickle juice will help cut that sweetness with the acidic and salty notes that pickle juice brings." Not only will a few splashes from the pickle jar balance the sugar levels of a store-bought sauce, but Wallace says that pickle juice "will help build complexity, creating layers of flavor with the tang of vinegar and dill and garlic notes."

In terms of how much pickle juice to add to your store-bought barbecue sauce, start slowly with a small amount, as you can always add more. "A good ideal amount to use when adding your pickle juice [is] 1-2 tablespoons per 18 ounces of BBQ sauce," Michelle Wallace advises. She also provides us with an additional tip, which is to "warm the BBQ slightly before adding the pickle juice." Wallace says that this will help you "taste the balance of the pickle juice and BBQ sauce better."

We also spoke with Robbie Shoults, chef and third-generation owner of Bear Creek Smokehouse, who has another source of acid he prefers. For a balanced BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar is Shoults' go-to acid, saying that "it cuts through the sweetness of a store-bought sauce and gives it that tang barbecue is known for." Although Shoults has not actually used pickled juice in store-bought barbecue sauce before, in terms of how much to doctor up a bottled sauce, he says "whether it's vinegar or pickle juice, add a little at a time and taste as you go." He suggests adding less than what Wallace advises, saying to "start with about a teaspoon per bottle, then adjust to your liking." When adding pickle juice to a barbecue sauce for the first time, start with a very small amount before tasting, then you add more if you prefer.