Make Homemade BBQ Sauce Irresistible With A Splash Of This Breakfast Beverage

Sometimes, the most difficult part about barbecuing is choosing the barbecue sauce. There are dozens of brands and flavors at any given grocery store, which doesn't necessarily help our decision-making. Of course, you can always make your own, which allows you to tailor the sauce to your preferences. Pitmaster at Sonny's BBQ, Shannon Snell, knows all about making a great grilling sauce. And he likes to include a surprising ingredient, one that you're more likely to see next to your eggs and bacon in the morning than with your grilled ribs. "Coffee adds a boldness and unique depth to BBQ sauces," Snell told The Takeout.

Coffee has a complex flavor that brings balance and adds an interesting layer of flavor. "The best way to incorporate this is to build a base sauce, simmer on a stove or heating element, and add hot brewed coffee 1 ounce at a time until [it fits] your desired taste," Snell explained. Of course, there are certain sauce styles that are better suited to adding coffee than others. Regarding the matter, Snell advised, "Kansas City sweet is the most ideal BBQ sauce to use with coffee. The bitterness of a dark coffee can offset the sweetness of a really rich BBQ sauce."

With this in mind, coffee is not the best addition to mayonnaise-based Alabama white sauce or a South Carolina mustard-based sauce. Instead, it pairs well with sauces that feature ingredients like molasses, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. As for proteins, "The savoriness of beef pairs well with coffee," Snell said.

According to Shannon Snell, coffee isn't just for barbecue sauces. It is also an excellent ingredient to add to dry barbecue rubs, and in this case, the coffee isn't brewed at all. Snell offered, "Blended coffee grounds make for excellent BBQ rubs. They are great for added flavor." 

You can even add coffee grounds to a rub you already have on hand or your go-to recipe. Since coffee doesn't have sugar or salt, it won't throw off the balance of other ingredients. For example, Snell likes pairing dark blend coffee grounds with ribeye steaks that he cooks on a grill. "It brings out the beefiness and the boldness of the steak," he said (via YouTube). In addition to the grounds, he combines salt, chili powder, garlic powder, ground mustard, black pepper, brown sugar, and allspice. He uses a layer of yellow mustard to get the rub to stick, reverse sears the steaks, and serves them with garlic butter. 

A coffee dry rub can elevate the flavor of all kinds of beef cuts, including brisket, skirt steak, tri-tip, and even hamburgers. But it will equally enliven pork ribs, Boston butt or pork shoulder, and chicken wings. Similarly, barbecue sauces made with coffee can baste grilled chicken and pork and be used in recipes that call for barbecue sauce, like baked beans, sloppy joes, and barbecue chicken pizza.