Sweet, tangy and with just enough spice to give the dish extra personality, these barbecue beans are robust enough to stand next to any hearty main at your summer gatherings. For this recipe, I combine chopped bacon all of the essentials that go into a great barbecue sauce — dark brown sugar, ketchup, chiles, a touch of cider vinegar and Worcestershire sauce — to add big flavor and richness to this classic bean dish. As with so many comfort foods, the flavor only improves with time, and the dish is best made a day or so before serving.

This Kentucky bourbon barbecue sauce is a recipe I’ve developed over the years, tweaking ingredients and flavorings to suit my cooking. If you’ve never made a barbecue sauce before, it’s a great place to start. Like many barbecue sauce recipes, it’s tomato-based, with a foundation built on tomato paste and ketchup. The ingredients may seem contradictory at first — at once sweet, sour, spicy and tart — but gentle cooking gives them a balanced harmony that only gets better with time.

Ever try jerk chicken? It’s one of my favorite marinades to play with during the summer months. Combining a rich assortment of herbs, spices, and flavorings, it’s a wild ride for your mouth —first sweet and tangy, and then POW! Your tastebuds are punched with spicy heat.