Fire For The Barbecue

 Barbecue food can be somewhat routine. It's the same old burgers and dogs or ribs and chicken. The salad are blah as are those ears of corn. What do do ? Add some spice and fire to your grilling.

Fiery marinades are nothing new. They've been in Asian cooking foe centuries, livening uup all sorts of meats and veggies.One such ingredient chili crisp is becoming flavor of the summer with many home chefs adding it to their menus.It's actually an easy make and can be used in not just grilled food but to liven up omelets and even spaghetti and pizza sauces.It starts with frying shallots and garlic in peanut oil. Since it;s the crisp part that makes it so special, you can also add some peanuts or sliced ginger. Add to tat sugar soy sauce and the appropriate heat.Gochugaru, or Korean chili flakes is highly recommended but if you can;t find it a mix of cayenne and paprika will do the trick..Also add a cinnamon stick and star anise which brings some sweetness as does the sugar to the chili crisp. The peppery mix is added to the shallots and garlic after they've been removed from the oil.This allows them to  crisp up and give the mix that nice crunchiness. They're added back into the oil while the cinnamon stick and star anise pods are taken out. The entire oil is them left to refrigerate , usually overnight. Use a few tablespoons of this on burgers or even slather ribs in it before grilling.

Of course sriracha also works well in spicing things up. Add a few drops of it to ketchup to liven up sliders and any sausages. Sriracha mustard is another great condiment that can be drizzled on dogs or added to any potato salad. It's an easy make by combining a cup of yellow mustard with a quarter cup of the hot sauce, two tablespoons honey and a teaspoon of lime juice. Mix and serve how you like. Simple salads such as macaroni can easily get a lift from diced pepperoni. Spiced ham can also be added to this to make it more substantial. A teaspoon of pepperoncini flakes can also bring up the heat and make any salad  - even three bean much more interesting.Even grilled seafood can get a lift from some tasty fire. Whip up some bang bang shrimp sauce that's a signature Bonefish Grill dish.It's combining  half a cup of mayonnaise with two tablespoons Thai chili sauce (this can be found in your grocery's international aisle) with one tablespoon Sriracha sauce . A teaspoon of rice vinegar is added to thin it out. This is also good on grilled crab legs too.

Liven up your Memorial Day barbecue by adding some heat.  There's nothing like  some zing with the hamburgers or hot dogs, ribs chicken or shrimp. It's makes for a more exciting grill.