Finishing Kiss is not a mop sauce you drown meat in for hours. It is a late-cook shine layer — the kind of lacquer that makes competition turn-in boxes pop with color before the first bite. Use it when the cook is already done right and you want the last five percent of presentation and sweetness.
Apply it on ribs, chicken thighs, pork loin medallions, or brisket burnt ends in the final minutes. Rub builds the foundation; Finishing Kiss is the kiss. Need help choosing a rub stack? Call 1-844-4AUSSOM.
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Build bark with Black Label Competition Rub
The competition mindset
Judges eat with their eyes first. A thin, even glaze signals control. Thick puddles signal sugar and panic. Finishing Kiss is formulated to brush thin, set quickly, and leave a clean sweet finish that does not erase the rub underneath — especially Black Label or Barbie Dust.
Ingredients (turn-in style ribs or chicken)
- Fully cooked protein with set bark (ribs probe-tender; chicken at temperature)
- 1/3–1/2 cup Finishing Kiss, warmed slightly for brushing
- Optional: 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or water to thin for ultra-thin coats
- Black Label or Barbie Dust already on the meat from the cook
Steps
- Cook first, glaze last. Get tenderness and bark before any Finishing Kiss hits the surface.
- Warm the glaze. A slightly warm bottle brushes thinner and more evenly across bark.
- Two thin coats. Brush, return to heat five to eight minutes, brush again. You want glass, not syrup pools.
- Watch sugar. Keep off roaring direct flame. A 275–300°F finish is plenty for set and shine.
- Box or plate immediately. Competition shine fades under a lid — glaze, rest briefly, then serve or turn in.
Where Finishing Kiss shines
Burnt ends love it. Chicken skin drinks it. Ribs get the color judges notice before flavor notes even start. Pair with Black Label underneath for a classic Aussom competition stack. Keep Blue Flame bottled for the heat-seeking table so the glaze stays balanced and pretty.