هريسة
Also: Harissa
A Tunisian chilli paste, inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2022. Sun-dried chillies ground with salt, garlic and coriander, made at home and kept in a jar — a provision rather than a barbecue sauce, and BBQHQ says so rather than adopting it as one.
What it is
- Base
- chilli
- When it goes on
- table sauce
- Burn risk over the fire
- low
What it goes with
Grouped by how the pairing is known rather than by how good it is. The first group is somebody else’s statement; the last is ours, and says so.
Structurally compatible
A structural fact rather than a cultural one: what the sauce is made of against what the cook does to it. Sugar burns over a long direct cook whoever is doing the cooking.
- Whole aubergine — A charred whole aubergine is scooped out as a soft smoky pulp and dressed after cooking, so a raw stored paste can meet it without ever going near heat. Structural, not cultural.
BBQHQ's suggestion
BBQHQ's own suggestion, with the reasoning stated so you can disagree with it. Nobody published this pairing; it is not presented as though they had.
- Lamb kebab pieces — BBQHQ's suggestion. A dense chilli paste thinned with oil coats diced meat well, and diced meat has the surface area to carry it. The UNESCO inscription says nothing about grilling and this pairing is not derived from it.
- Whole mackerel — BBQHQ's suggestion. Oily fish takes strong chilli and acid; that is a judgement about flavour and not a documented Tunisian practice.
What this rests on
- Harissa is inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as a chilli-pepper-paste seasoning integral to daily Tunisian food traditions, prepared by drying, deseeding and grinding chillies with salt, garlic and coriander, and stored for later use. The inscription does not connect it to cooking over fire.