At Chicken N Pickle, the fast-growing pickleball-focused eater-tainment chain, the housemade barbecue sauce is a spicier and zestier take on a traditional Kansas City sauce. It appears across the menu, but perhaps most surprisingly as a flavor builder in the complex Muddy Mary, adding a tang alongside vodka, lime juice, Worcestershire, A.1. Steak Sauce, pickle juice, Tabasco and horseradish.

American barbecue has never showcased more flavor diversity than it does right now. Across the country, chefs are putting their own spins on the classics while also introducing consumers to the country’s wide array of on-trend regional variations. These sauces are true dynamos, showing up across the menu in everything from sandwiches to pizza and beverages to salads. Plus, a truly successful sauce can be bottled and sold at retail, extending the brand and providing an additional source of revenue. Here, we look at the broad range of flavor builds that are driving barbecue sauce innovation on menus today.