The secret to barbecue dips and sauces lies in using them judiciously. The golden rule of the true barbecue purist reads something like this: “Cross your fingers, hope to die, poke a needle in your eye before you EVER put barbecue dips and sauces on your meat before it’s finished cooking.”

As you may have guessed, barbecue dips and sauces don’t add to the flavor of cooking meat. They mask it. Also, because they almost always have a base ingredient of sugar, cause the meat to burn, so despite that luscious looking picture on the bottle, when you use barbecue dips and sauces while cooking, you’ll almost certainly wind up with a burnt, charred, unappetizing mess.

Now that you know the golden rule regarding barbecue dips and sauces, here are a few favorite recipes to enjoy at your leisure – after you’ve finished cooking the meat!

File this under your favorite Indian-style barbecue dips and sauces:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
1/4 cup finely minced onion
2 hot chili peppers, finely minced
1/4 cup roasted and crushed peanuts
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a resealable container and refrigerate for up to one week.

And for a very simple Asian-oriented recipe to place with your easiest-to-prepare barbecue dips and sauces, combine ½ cup good-quality soy sauce with 2 teaspoons molasses and 2 teaspoons of dark brown sugar for quick, delicious dipping sauce especially good with smoked or grilled pork and chicken.

Now, for our final barbecue dips and sauces entry, here’s a great, all-around recipe good with pork, chicken, brisket – you name it:

One large onion, finely minced
3 tablespoons garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup white wine
2 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
3 teaspoons Liquid smoke
2 cups catsup
1 teaspoon Tabasco hot sauce

Combine all ingredients in large saucepan. Simmer for 45 minutes on very low heat. The only important thing to remember: Keep this recipe at the front of your barbecue dips and sauces file – it’s a winner you don’t want to misplace!