Frank's chipotle-cinnamon BBQ sauce: How to spice up your 4th of july picnic

FrankenMeg: BBQ Sauce from FrankenMeg on Vimeo.

What is it with men and sauce? Barbecue sauce in particular. They have festivals in its honor; contests to taste and compare various recipes (and, of course, compete for the bragging rights that accompany an "award-winning" BBQ sauce); entire restaurants dedicated to barbecue. I'm from the south, so perhaps I understand this uniquely male love affair better than some. For this reason, I don't complain when my mustard and relish are pushed to the back of the fridge to make way for one of Frank's new sauces. Even when our fridge is bare, it's still teeming with sauces - hot sauces, marinades, teriyaki sauces, steak sauces, but most prominently: Barbecue sauces. Frank dearly loves BBQ sauce, and collects it feverishly in every imaginable flavor and style. He scrutinizes ingredients lists with scientific zeal, occasionally nodding and grunting in approval or disdain.



He's also a whiz in the kitchen and has a keen sense for flavor combinations. When he finds a sauce he likes, he frequently takes it upon himself to create an improved version of it, or to pair it differently. While he may enjoy a bottled or restaurant sauce, it's very rare that he's "blown away" because he can usually make a similar sauce at home (only his is better). In fact, the only time this year he's been really impressed was when we were down in Mexico. Our first night there, we were exhausted after a very long day of traveling. We decided to treat ourselves to dinner at a nice restaurant on the beach. I had a very nice shrimp quesadilla, and Frank ordered the special. It arrived, and the aroma was heavenly - perfectly cooked shrimp served in a chipotle-cinnamon sauce. He devoured it and fell in love with the unusual flavor combination.



Fast-forward five months to Frank's family's annual 4th of July reunion/cook-out. Frank struggled for a bit deciding what to bring as a dish to pass. He wanted to bring something summery and suitable for a picnic, but he didn't want to bring your run-of-the-mill potato salad. Luckily, inspiration struck: Chipotle-cinnamon barbecue wings. He realized the smokey sweetness of the chipotle-cinnamon sauce would easily translate into a savory but distinctive barbecue sauce.