Four Clever Cookout Condiments

If ketchup makes you cringe and mustard just isn’t cutting it anymore, it might be time to step up your barbecue game. This season, instead of the same old red and yellow accoutrements, check out these four products that showcase bacon, chocolate, coffee and pineapple—in very distinctive ways. They’ll make you look like a gourmet griller and leave your guests begging for more. —Nicole Denis

Skillet Bacon Spread

We’ve seen bacon work its magic in everything from chocolate to vodka. But if you want to give your burgers—and your guests—a taste of  something special, this new jam is made for your sliders. That’s right: bacon jam. Created by Chef Joshua Henderson, the founder of Skillet Street Food in Seattle and a leader in the national street food phenomenon, Skillet Bacon Spread ($14) features Niman Ranch bacon, rendered down along with onions, balsamic vinegar and other spices. Tangy, smoky, savory and slightly sweet, Skillet Bacon Spread overrules ketchup any day. It’s also great on grilled cheese sandwiches and in omelets.

Java & Co. Coffee Infused Syrups

A cup of joe isn’t just for that morning buzz. It can perk up your pork and glaze your chicken. (You might recall Angelo Sosa on “Top Chef All-Stars” wowing the judges with his pulled-pork ribs spiked with coffee.) The folks at Java & Co. have created a line of all-natural specialty coffee syrups ($16/16 ounces) that add a hint of java flavor to meats, ice cream and more—with no corn syrup, fillers or preservatives. Handmade from fresh roasted Arabica coffee beans, the line includes Original and Original Dark, French Vanilla, Java Nut (with hazelnut) and Tiramisu (using dark Jamaican rum). Use in a glaze for ribs or as a dipping sauce for chicken wings; even mix it in martinis for a flavor boost. If you are more of a hands-on cook, Java & Co. also offers Java Spice Rub ($5.95) for meat or seafood—an Asian five-spice rub kicked up a notch and blended with some roasted coffee.

Grandville's Pineapple Gourmet BBQ Jam

Based on a barbecue recipe created in the late 1800s in Kentucky by Grandville Whiteside, a.k.a. “The Sauce Man,” Grandville’s Gourmet BBQ Jam ($8.95/18 ounces) is a thick and chunky jam, billed as the thickest, chunkiest, barbecue sauce on the planet. With a consistency that falls between dessert sauce and jam, the product is filled with chunks of sweet pineapple and bits of zesty garlic. The jam can be used as an accompaniment to burgers, ribs or chicken and can also be mixed with liquids, like soy sauce, to create a tropical marinade for shrimp or ribs.

Herrell's Chipotle Hot Fudge

When you hear hot fudge, you’re probably thinking ice cream, especially when it’s from Steve Herrell, the founder of the original Steve’s Ice Cream shop that opened in 1977.  But this season, with heat and sweet all the rage, Herrell’s helps you think outside the cone. Chipotle Hot Fudge Sauce ($6.96) gives ice cream a kick, but it also creates a smoky Mexican mole sauce to sass up your chicken on the grill. Check out Herrel's mole recipe linked below and surprise your friends with the next great culinary concoction.

RECIPE: Herrell's Sweet & Savory Mole Sauce - Hot Fudge for Grilling 

Nicole Denis is a regular foodspring.com contributor and is the author of foodspring’s foodie-mom blog.

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