Nicholas Gavin is the Culinary Creative Director of ChefSteps, where he develops recipes and is responsible for making all the food look beautiful. Nick has worked at ChefSteps for over a decade; he and ChefSteps co-founder Grant Crilly worked together at Modernist Cuisine. Nick has worked in professional kitchens both in the United States and abroad, most notably at Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain.

Nicholas Gavin

It’s hard to top <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/put-it-on-everything-chili-crisp">chile crisp</a>—people went crazy for it because it’s delicious: a flavorful condiment that’s at once rich and aggressively seasoned, packed with tons of texture from crispy crunchies. Like that other texture-packed condiment, <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/salsa-macha">salsa macha</a>, it improves everything it gets spooned over because of that one-two punch of flavors and textures.But what if instead of “improving” it, you tweaked it to produce a specific flavor profile? How about one that captures the smokiness of great barbecue? And what if, instead of the chile heat of the original, you packed the condiment with spices you’d find in a barbecue rub, grinding them coarsely so they offer extra crunch, along with fried pecans, sliced garlic, and shallots?That’s what we did, and this condiment gives you a taste of great ’cue, any time you want, even if your smoker stuff is packed up for the winter or you live a sadly smoker-less existence.

Barbecue Chile Crisp