The Want List: Cookout Condiments
When bun times lie ahead, relish this list of locally-made gourmet sauces and dressings — mustered from makers in places we call home.
Labor Day Weekend marks the unofficial end of summer grilling season. Make those last barbecues count by taking your condiment game to the next level.
New York Shuk Preserved Lemon BBQ Sauce
from Brooklyn, New York
Barbecue sauce isn’t one-size-fits-all. If you’re grilling the catch of the day, chances are you won’t want to slather it in the standard unleaded vinegar-and-molasses stuff. Delicate flavors deserve specialized treatment. Why not treat your special-occasion barbecue to a special barbecue sauce?
New York Shuk has helped share pantry staples from the Middle East with countless homes, and their Preserved Lemon BBQ Sauce is unlike any other you’ll find. It’s made with just five ingredients: lemon juice, honey, salt, olive oil, and turmeric. On the grill, the citrus acidity can wonderfully cut through the fattiness of a chop, bringing out the flavors you signed up for. On the buffet, it’s great for salads, slaws, and side-vegetables.
Manele Spice Co. Backyard Imu Smoke Salt
from Honolulu, Hawaii
Searching for your lost shaker of salt? If you’ve lost it that easily, it’s probably time for an upgrade anyway.
Created by chef Adam Tabura (winner of Season 4 of Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race), Manele Spice Co. sources the finest ocean rock salts from Hawaii’s volcanic coastline, blending them with premium ingredients to bring out true flavors of the islands. Backyard Imu Smoke Salt pays homage to imu, the underground “earth ovens” used in traditional Hawaiian cuisine for slow-cooking Kalua pig, poultry, seafood, root vegetables, and more. Hickory-smoked powder and a dash of refined cane sugar make it a worthy sidekick for just about anything you can think of putting it on.
Talbott & Arding Seeded Honey
from Hudson, New York
Shelf your preconceived notions of honey. Don’t put this baby in a corner so deep in the cabinet. There are so many more honey-dos than you might think — after all, it’s hardly a singular substance, varying by the many flowers it comes from.
Seeded honey might not be naturally occurring, but it’s a pantry essential you never knew you needed. Talbott & Arding, the longstanding gourmet grocer in Hudson, crafts theirs with honey from Ray Tousey, a noted beekeeper in nearby Clermont. It’s loaded with fennel, poppy, and toasted sesame seeds, along with a dash of Seneca Lake salt to keep things in an Empire State of mind. Try it with cheese, or drizzled on bread as a sweet butter substitute.
Hot Boi Garlic Crunch Chili Oil
from San Jose, California
San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley, sits just half an hour away from the garlic capital of the world — and thanks to online shopping, you don’t even have to know the way there to enjoy one of its more recent culinary delights.
Started as a pandemic hobby by two second-gen Vietnamese-Americans, Hot Boi’s chili oils feature whole cloves, which are slow-fried until they’re crunchy and golden. They’re then mixed with an infused oil of green cardamom pods, Saigon cinnamon sticks, star anise, and bay leaves, with crushed red pepper and Korean Gochugaru flakes to pack the heat. It’s a whole lot of flavor with a whole lot of purpose, whether you’re using it for dipping, drizzling, or marinating. If you don’t run out after the party, save some for your eggs or avo toast the next morning.
Springs Fireplace Aji Mango Hot Sauce
from East Hampton, New York
Based in the far, wooded reaches of the Hamptons, Springs Fireplace crafts “seed-to-bottle” sauces rooted in culture and place — and fittingly, the brand is named for the main road in the place it started. Founders Greg and Lauren have built a loyal following in the area, working the farmer’s market circuit and expanding distribution to a growing number of retailers.
Though you can’t go wrong with any Springs Fireplace offering, the Aji Mango is an exceptional hit, opening with ripe tropical fruit flavor and finishing with a double punch of heat, packed by coveted Aji Amarillo and Aji Limón chiles from Peru. Like all their sauces, it’s naturally low in sodium, with no added sugar, preservatives, or funny stuff.
Jammyyummy Red Pepper Jam
from Miami Gardens, Florida
If you’ve never had jam of the savory sort, you’ve berrily scratched the surface of the versatility this most viscous of condiments is capable of. Pepper jam, in particular, is a staple of the American south, where cultivars like the Charleston Cayenne and Carolina Reaper grow as plentifully as sweet Georgia peaches. Some pepper jams even have fruit added to make those fiery bells ring a little less on the palate. Jammyyummy’s all-natural, pectin-free red pepper jam isn’t cut with anything and it isn’t spicy, making for endless applications. Rub it on a rack of ribs, slap a dollop on a board of cheese and charcuterie, or slather it on the bun to give your glizzy or burger some regional flavor.
Holy Schmitt’s Horseradish Mustard
from Laurel, New York
On 165 acres, Matt Schmitt, a fourth-generation North Fork farmer, grows all the ingredients for his prepared horseradish creations, which are based on his grandfather’s own recipe. You’ll find them all at Schmitt’s two roadside stands, as well as at gourmet markets across the East End (and beyond).
Holy Schmitt’s horseradish mustard brings together the best of both condiment worlds in a single jar: premium, stone-ground horseradish and a sharp mustard, preservative-free. Try it on anything you’d put either on. We think you’ll agree it’s some good Schmitt’s.
