The tradition of the summer BBQ stands out as America’s best claim to a home-grown culinary heritage, an American ritual enjoyed in backyards and parks from Alabama to Alaska for as long as a region’s summer weather will allow.

When it comes to food, our love of tradition often depends on getting exactly what we expect: bun-burger-cheese, squirt of ketchup and we’re good to go! But mealtime expectations are changing fast, thanks both to foodie-oriented TV shows that encourage experimentation and to the endless food beauty pageant that is Instagram. There’s nothing wrong with starting a new BBQ tradition this summer, and trying some new directions in sauces and condiments is a great way to do it.

Photo by DisobeyArt/iStock / Getty Images

Hot sauces are increasingly finding their way onto the picnic table lately, but the families who bring the best heat and flavor to the game are the ones where pepper-growing aunts or uncles bottle batches made from their own secret recipes. Inspired by actual traditional Caribbean homemade formulas, the hot sauces in the Corine’s Cuisine line-up will open eyes to how much flavor can be there to balance the burn. In a West Indies style called “Grandma’s Sauce,” Corine’s Cuisine No. 23 uses fresh Scotch bonnet peppers that are chopped minutes before bottling, preserving their fruity taste. Shallots, garlic and turmeric round out the flavors in this versatile sauce, one that you can use to spice up a potato salad, heat up a wings sauce, or blend with ketchup and mayo to make an amazing burger sauce.

Another option that can really liven up traditional BBQ cooking is to look for some cultural variations on the old standby dishes. Burgers will always have their place on the American grill, but adding lamb-burgers alongside them will bring a tasty surprise to the party, one that guests will be asking for at the next one. The recipe below needs nothing more than packaged ground lamb from the supermarket and Corine’s Cuisine No. 5, a mildly spicy cooking and dipping sauce with mint, garlic, coconut flakes, cumin and a touch of jalapeño. Just knead it into the ground meat before making the patties, grill them as you do your traditional burgers, and you will discover a whole new Mediterranean-style taste experience in the most iconically American dish ever!

Every single one of the Corine’s Cuisine line of eight gourmet sauces has a place at the summer BBQ. The Jamaican curry hot pepper sauce can transform the usual potluck chicken salad contribution into an empty Tupperware™ container in no time. The ginger-scallion-lime sauce makes a perfect quick marinade if you like to grill shrimp or scallops, and it can add some zing to any salad dressing as well. The award-winning spicy Asian BBQ sauce goes great on slow-cooked ribs or planked salmon, and the Thai-style sauce with lime and coriander will surprise steak-lovers as their new favorite dipping sauce. Corine’s Cuisine is an easy way to update some BBQ traditions with new flavors and simple recipes that are sure to bring the crowd to your backyard.

Mediterranean Lamb Burgers

Sauce No. 5

Sauce No. 5

Ingredients:

Ground lamb

Arugula or mixed greens

Bermuda onion, cucumber

Fresh mint

Plain Greek yogurt

Feta cheese

Brioche buns, hamburger buns or pita bread

Corine’s Cuisine Sauce No. 5

Prep Time: 10 min

Cooking Time: 6-10 min

Salt and pepper the ground lamb, then mix in 2 tbsp of Sauce No. 5 per pound of meat.

Shape the ground lamb into 1/3 pound patties, very flat because they will puff up on the grill.

Slice the onions and cucumber, cut the feta into thin slices, toast or warm the buns or pita.

Grill the burgers over high heat for 3 minutes (medium rare) to 5 minutes (well) per side.

Serve with yogurt and more Sauce No. 5.

Bring Something New to the BBQ

Mediterranean Lamb Burgers

Sauce No. 5