Kick up your grilled foods this summer by adding high-intensity flavors before, during and after grilling. “It’s all about creating layers of flavor,” said Mike Moran, a barbecue competitor and owner of MoMo BBQ Co.

As grillers become more sophisticated, they are learning it’s OK to be adventurous. Mix and match methods — rubs, marinades, injections and barbecue sauces to elevate the flavor of grilled foods.

Take a pork butt. Marinate it overnight in a sweet citrus sauce, sprinkle it with a spiced rub before it hits the grill and then finish it off with a barbecue sauce. Same with chicken. Coat it with spicy rub, grill it and slather on the barbecue sauce.

"You have the contrasting flavors going on. You have a bunch of different layers of flavoring," said Moran, who operates a MoMo BBQ stand at Metro Bank Park in Harrisburg.

There are no hard and fast rules. Experiment to find out what you like. Moran uses basic recipes and then adjusts the ingredients. “That’s the beautiful thing about cooking. You take basic recipes and tweak them and make them what you like. It’s putting your stamp on it,” he said.

Basic BBQ Sauce

1 cup ketchup

½ cup brown sugar

3 tablespoon vinegar (any type of vinegar will work)

2 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon onion powder

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low for about half hour.

For an Asian twist, exchange the water for pineapple or orange juice and switch out the Worcestershire sauce for soy sauce.

Instead of water, add bourbon for a Kentucky bourbon sauce.

Add rum in place of the water with some orange or pineapple juice for a spiced rum sauce.

Add 1 tablespoon honey or molasses for a sweeter sauce.

Basic BBQ Rub

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cups seasoned salt

½ cup paprika

¼ cup chili powder

½ cup each garlic salt and onion salt

2 tablespoons black pepper

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon cumin

Combine all ingredients.

For a different twist, add white pepper instead of black pepper. Adjust the heat by using ancho, chipotle or habanerno chili powders. Or, add ground up dried orange peel or lemon zest.