Bobby Flay Uses This Soda To Give Barbecue Sauce More Flavor

Celebrity chef, author, and restaurateur Bobby Flay may have made his initial mark in the culinary world with his Southwestern cooking chops, but he is also famously known for being a grilling master. From steaks to burgers to grilled vegetables and fruits, Flay is more than familiar with how to cook almost everything over an open flame and how to flavor it all as well. He often glazes barbecue sauce over his grilled specialties, and rather than reaching for a pre-made bottled BBQ sauce, he blitzes up his own. His secret? Adding Pepsi.

Flay explained to Parade, "Pepsi has that caramel flavor, so it makes a great base for a barbecue sauce or even more so as a glaze." His latest sauce creation includes Pepsi Peach, one of the iconic soft drink line's two newest flavors — the other is Pepsi Lime. He blends the soda with honey, Dijon mustard, fresh peaches, mint, and sometimes chiles for heat until it's smooth, and either brushes it over grilled meats or stirs the sauce into pulled pork. The chef emphasizes that you don't want to put barbecue sauce or glaze on your grilling foods too soon, but rather wait until they are done or almost finished. The sugar in the Pepsi will caramelize quickly, leading to potentially charred foods if it's added at the beginning of the grilling process.

When Bobby Flay combines grilling with Southwestern and Mexican flavors, he gravitates towards the flavor of Pepsi Lime, which he believes works better with ingredients like cilantro, chiles, and corn. He told Mashed, "You need that acidity to give it that pop, and the lime with the flavor of the original Pepsi is amazing." Southwest flavors tend to include smoky, bold elements, so look for a barbecue sauce recipe that includes chipotle peppers, adobo spice, chili powder, any kind of chile pepper, cumin, or cilantro.

Anyone who likes to grill knows that there are few greater joys in life than grilling with a cold beverage in hand, and Flay is no exception here. He also told Mashed that, when it comes to summer cocktails, he looks to Pepsi Lime as well, which he'd mix with tequila. "When you think about the Pepsi with the lime it makes perfect sense. You already have the sweetness from the Pepsi, you have the acidity from the lime, you have obviously the heat, so to speak, from the tequila, and then I would just add maybe a little bit more citrus, maybe like a squeeze of orange juice or something like that."

Using Pepsi or another flavor of soda is a great technique for adding flavor, sugar, and acidity into your barbecue sauces. The high sugar content creates beautiful caramelization on the grill, resulting in a wonderful charred look and flavor. Because it is high in acidity, soda is also great for tenderizing meat without disintegrating the protein fibers. Cola and orange juice make up a popular marinade for Mexican pork carnitas, and the meat can be ready for cooking in less than an hour. You can also opt for this quick 3-ingredient carnitas recipe. For baked beans, brown sugar can be replaced with a soda like root beer, Dr. Pepper, or Flay's favorite, Pepsi.

Soda can also be used in many other realms of the culinary world. In baking, soda carbonation works much like baking soda, and creates a light and tender texture in cakes, with the added benefit of flavoring. Recipes for 7UP pound cake are common as are those for cola cake; it's a specialty in the South, just like another unusual cola habit: pouring peanuts into your Coke.

Static Media owns and operates The Takeout and Mashed.