Barbeque Grilling Sauces, Spices And Snacks

We beelined for the grill with new spices and sauces in hand during last week's burst of hot weather. Prepare for the next wave with the game plan below.

Spice: Mediterranean grilling seasoning ($7 for 2.2 ounces) is the newest product from Chicago-based importer Spices of Lezzet. Owner Akin Girav encountered the blend of oregano, bay, cumin and clove on a recent trip to his native Turkey. Add olive oil, garlic and lemon and spoon over grilled first-of-the-season asparagus, or use as a seafood- and meat-friendly marinade. Available at lezzetspices.com.

Sauce: Local Folk Foods' Bar-Bee-Q Sauce ($6) is made with Midwest tomatoes and sweetened with honey and brown sugar; it's ideal for slathering on grilled chicken and ribs. For a departure from the standard sweet-and-sticky, there's spicy mushroom steak sauce ($6) from mushroom grower River Valley Ranch. The savory, coarse-ground condiment is a blend of spices, jalapeños and Wisconsin-grown portobello mushrooms. Both are available at Provenance Food & Wine.

Snack: Hickory smoke and paprika add meaty heft to Bacon Pickles ($9) from Portland, Oregon's Unbound Pickling, now available at Provenance Food & Wine.