The One Ingredient To Add To BBQ Sauce For An Unforgettable Dip

BBQ sauce — the ubiquitous smoky, spicy, tangy partner to meats on the grill. Sour cream — the darling topper of Mexican food and the heart of many types of dips. It's a marriage that's meant to happen. When you add sour cream to BBQ sauce, you'll find yourself with a quick and delicious dip that's versatile enough to set out at any function. Or, you can keep it to yourself for munching during your next Netflix marathon. We won't tell.

Of course, when you find yourself craving a dippable combination, you can choose from favorite standbys such as Veracruz tomato olive salsa, French onion, creamy lemon hummus, or nacho cheese dip. But when you're feeling the need to try something new, you might as well embrace an option that's easy to make and rewarding to consume. Although at its foundation BBQ sauce and sour cream dip is a simple combination of two ingredients, it's also an adaptable partnership that can result in a variety of taste profiles. Ingredient selection can impact the degree of tartness, savory overtones, or smoky aspects, making it the perfect match for everything from celery to shrimp.

Starting with store-bought sour cream and barbecue sauce means this dip only takes seconds to make. There's no right or wrong technique here. Stir some sour cream into the BBQ sauce, or get rowdy and add the BBQ sauce to the sour cream instead. You can emphasize one flavor over the other depending on your mood or your food pairing. Where your wings might scream for a BBQ-forward flavor, an herbed focaccia might match up better with a creamier finish. Instead of store-bought, feel free to whip up an easy homemade barbecue sauce if the mood strikes. Similarly, experiment with herbed sour cream options for a bit of a flavor punch.

Quantities are also imprecise. If you want a creamy dip with a hint of smokiness or tanginess, add a bit of BBQ sauce and drizzle in more until you get the flavor you want. On the other hand, if you were going to plunge your chicken nugget directly into a bowl of BBQ sauce, but feel it would benefit from a bit of tart sour cream (and you're right), add a dollop to the mix.

In reality, you can make a two-ingredient dip out of any sauce or marinade. While a sour cream and soy dip might be perfect for your dumplings, BBQ sauce has a complexity that pairs well with a variety of foods. This is partly because BBQ sauce and sour cream are both amazing on their own, so their pairing simply elevates them to superstar status. It's also because BBQ sauce is one of those iconic condiments that has made a name for itself with tasty descriptors like smoky, tangy, spicy, robust, bold, sweet, and zesty.

Focus on the base of BBQ sauce for a minute and allow your mind to remember all the different flavors you've experienced in its presence. Then couple those flavors with your favorite dipping foods. Use it as a substitute for fry sauce and dunk onion rings, hash brown patties, potato wedges, or crispy french fries. It's also a perfect match for toasted breads, raw or cooked vegetables, crackers, or chips. Plus, it makes a delightful spread for pulled pork sandwiches or burgers. This BBQ sauce and sour cream dip is so simple it's almost criminal, but there's nothing wrong with taking the easy road to an unforgettable journey.