Boozy Hot Sauce Is The Spicy Way To Add A Kick To Summer Barbecues
During the summer when the temps are scorching, we seem to crave spicy foods more than ever. With an endless variety of possible flavor combinations, every chef has their own cache of secrets to making a great sauce. Lately, cooks are getting creative when it comes to combining sweet, spicy, and even boozy elements. One such recipe from user @gs_cajunkitchen is lighting up TikTok as a summer go-to. With wings, it's all about the sauce. In this case, the sauce combines butter, sweet chili sauce, fresh habanero peppers, honey, frozen peaches, cayenne pepper, and a special, spirited ingredient.
The whole mixture is put into the blender, processed, then poured back into the pot to reduce. Just when you think the sweet heat is finished, a healthy dram of Crown Royal Black is poured in before the wings are smothered in the sauce. The alcohol brings out the flavors of other ingredients and adds its own distinctive taste profile as well. Crown Royal Black has notes of maple and dried figs. Maple is a time-honored barbecue sauce staple, and adding fig jam to barbecue sauce is a trend that's taking on steam, so this addition just makes sense. The TikTok video has tons of comments from people sharing their love of spicy boozy chicken wings. One commenter says, "Hot damn! This looks fire!!!" At the chef's request, commenters suggest other boozy pairings, including Crown Royal Apple and sweet tea, or henny, maple, and jalapenos.
People love boozy hot sauce
Using alcohol in sauces and marinades for meat is an old-school trick that brings out the savory layers of flavor. Chefs, relying on this trick, have been using beer as a boozy ingredient in their steak marinade for years. Typically, the alcohol replaces the vinegar that is necessary for making hot sauce. The acidity and tartness from the vinegar helps balance the heat from chili peppers, and alcohol serves the same function. Alcohol also acts as a preservative in the same way that vinegar does, adding to the shelf life of your hot sauce.
@gs_cajunkitchen Sorry this aint orange this peach 🍑#wings #sauces #peach #habanero #fyp #gscajunkitchen #easyrecipe #foodtiktok #CapCut
The concept of mixing barbecue sauce and booze isn't new, either, with bourbon barbecue sauce being a familiar item. Start with a basic barbecue sauce recipe and you can play around with additions of alcohol, smokiness, and sweet elements. The alcohol should mostly cook off and reduce as it hits the heat, leaving behind thick layers of caramelly flavor. As the TikTok commenters observed, the booze/spice/smoke combinations are only limited by your liquor cabinet and your imagination.