|
Hot Sauce
I have been fortunate enough to review several of Heartbreaking Dawns' sauces. This particular one was bred from consumer input. They loved the 1498, but wanted it hotter. Well let me tell you I am glad they did. In order for me to properly review this sauce I have had to experiment with it and try to channel my inner Johnny. If you don't know Johnny McLaughlin, the owner of Heartbreaking Dawns and contestant on the Food Network's Chopped, he is a master of using his sauces in a gourmet way. To honor that I have done the same for this review. More on that later.
The sauce itself, besides the great aroma and consistency, has a very complex taste. The combination of the Scorpion with the sweetness of the blueberries and apricots, accentuated by the Asian overtones of the soy sauce, ginger, and garlic makes this a truly gourmet sauce. The only thing my palate questions is the use of cider vinegar rather than rice wine vinegar, but that is splitting hairs. This sauce is begging to be a finishing sauce for grilled foods.
As scary as Cauterizer looks and smells, it is surprisingly pleasant in the heat department. Don't get me wrong, I am not doing shots of it, but the heat is ideal for letting you taste the nuances of the sauce. It gives you a little pang on the tip of your tongue as you first taste it, little pinches on the sides of your tongue, and a lingering burn on the back of your tongue and throat. As you eat it a sweat may form on the back of your head, but you WILL go back for more. Okay enough of this, let's eat!
Read review →
I jumped at a chance to review a sauce that included fire roasted peppers. I often prefer roasting and smoking my peppers for sauces as it gives them a unique taste and flavor profile. This gives a sauce made with the same exact ingredients and peppers a nice little twang. The sauce comes with a bottled date of 1-3-12 so doing the review a month and a half later has given the sauce some time to mature a bit.
Once I opened the sauce I noticed it was very thick. In fact, a few taps on the bottom of the bottle didn’t convince the sauce to poor freely so I enlisted the assistance of a chop stick to get some air into the bottle. I got a nice teaspoon full and realized the sauce is pretty thick compared to most other sauces. Once I managed to get some on the spoon, I could see all those nice chunks of pepper and some smoky charred bits of goodness up close. It’s almost as thick as a smooth salsa. The aroma was amazing. It gave off nice zesty smoky overtones followed by a sharp spicy vinegar flavor. I engulfed the spoonful and got a nice sharp smoky draw with a med-hot pepper spice on the tail end. The sauce was a bit sharp initially, but I then picked up a bit of garlic and seasoning as the lingering heat slowly dissipated allowing the other flavors to come forth. Not a bad first taste, but the vinegar and lime seemed a bit sharp and direct when tasting the sauce only. I followed up the spoonful with a dab on a butter cracker and the flavors where a bit more balanced and not as sharp as the first spoonful. Nice soothing burn with a great lightly smoky taste with a hint of spice and sweetness. The heat level is not too aggressive and has a good mellowing linger. Scott did mention the sauce has a flavor profile that would allow it to be paired with a wide variety of foods, so I wasn't expecting to be floored with heat.
I decided to pair the sauce with a lightly seasoned grilled chicken thigh. The sauce listed meat, eggs, pizza, and pretty much anything as its uses so I thought something grilled would go great with this roasted sauce. I grilled up a couple of thighs and allowed them to rest for a few minutes before I poured a generous amount of sauce on and cut a slice. The fire roasted flavors really complemented the grilled chicken and the two went hand in hand. The heat level was a lot more balanced now that it was being consumed on something with a bit more substance. The previous sharp, zesty, smoky flavor was not as dominant and the sauce really helped the grilled accents beautifully. You can really enjoy the taste of garlic, spices, and onions. My advice if you're eating this with some meat, let the sauce flavor the meat and only flavor it with a hint of salt and pepper before cooking. The only drawback seemed to come from the slight lime taste that gave it a bit of lingering bitterness, that wasn’t necessarily a bad flavor, but it was a bit of the odd man out in comparison to the other flavors in the sauce. A tiny bit of sweetness really helped the roasted peppers open up and allowed the heat to slowly increase bite after bite. The heat level isn’t a slap you in the face type of heat, which allows this sauce to be used on a lot more foods. Because the sauce is a bit on the thicker side, less is more, and I really didn’t need to cover the meat end to end.
The sauce is in its beginning stages, but you can purchase them now by contacting Scott directly.
Read review →
I saw this sauce advertised on television, then again in a magazine. I thought, "Tabasco wing sauce? Yeah right." Well, I feel it is my duty to give this a shot and report to you all. I should start by saying that I have no real conviction about traditional Tabasco sauce one way or the other. It is aged peppers in vinegar. The sauce itself is very VERY vinegary and thin. Not my favorite, but I don't hate it either. The obvious difference is the use of cayenne peppers rather than tabasco peppers. Cayenne has a little less heat and the burn hits you on a different part of your mouth. Not to say that there is much burn at all from this sauce, but I will get to that later.
The taste is exactly what it says it will be, Buffalo sauce. Buffalo sauce is a vinegary cayenne sauce that is normally mixed with butter to make it creamy and give it that authentic Buffalo taste. It originated at Anchor Bar, Buffalo NY, when the owner of the bar needed to make a snack for her son and his friends. She threw some wings in some hot oil, and mixed up this type of sauce and Buffalo wings was born. This Tabasco Brand version really does taste like you would expect, but with the same aging process that McIlhenny has been using for 144 years it has depth. It is actually better than I expected. I thought it was just going to be a normal, thin Tabasco sauce that tastes like Buffalo sauce. This is actually thick enough to stick to wings. I am pretty impressed so far. Of course there is almost no heat, but that is to be expected from a sauce meant for the masses I guess. Let's see how it works on food.
Read review →
After reading the ingredients of this sauce, I am expecting a very vinegary almost Louisiana style sauce. While it is vinegary, it is nothing like Louisiana sauces. This sauce is hard to explain. It does have the tang of the apple cider vinegar, but it also has the heat on the back end. I thought the tomatoes would be more prevalent, but it's really just vinegar and peppers. I have not had a Bhut Jolokia mash yet, but this is what I imagine it tastes like. The heat is first in the throat, then the sides and tip of the tongue. Not searing, not scorching, but plenty enough to know it's there. After repeated tastes on a spoon I feel a little sweat starting. For the masses this will be plenty hot enough. I find that people, myself included, either love vinegar-based sauces or do not. While I am not a huge fan of them normally, I love the taste of this one. Maybe it's because it's apple cider vinegar, maybe its because of the taste of the ghost pepper, but I like it. The consistency is where I see some flaws in this sauce. I think it's a bit too runny, which doesn't surprise me as water is the number one ingredient and vinegar number two. My other issue is that I am getting bits of hard seeds in there. I don't know, maybe if it were processed longer or cooked longer that would eliminate them. When I tasted this sauce the first time I immediately thought this would make a good wing sauce. Let's see how it turned out.
Read review →
Huy Fong Sriracha is a sauce that is often discussed and debated. I think it is time that I weigh in and give my thoughts. Is this sauce worthy of being on so many grocer's shelves? Should it be in your fridge? Let's find out. First of all, what is this sriracha? It is the American version of the Thai table sauce of the same name. The sauces are very different however, the Huy Fong version is much milder, sweeter, thicker, and more garlicky than its authentic Thai counterpart. The heat is provided by red jalapenos instead of the Thai chiles in the Thai version.
The taste is sweet, savory, garlicky, slightly salty, and complex. I think there has been some fermentation done with this sauce. The texture is very smooth and thick. It is about the same consistency as ketchup. The heat is very minimal to say the least. I would compare it to a store bought cocktail sauce. Not that it has horseradish, but has about the same heat level.
Overall, I think the best thing about this sauce is its versatility. This is where the Huy Fong American version and the authentic Thai table sauce converge. You can literally use this sauce for anything. Ketchup was replaced by salsa as the number one condiment in the US for several reasons. One of which was that Americans like a little spice in their condiment. This sauce gives you that. It is spicier than ketchup and can be used in all the same ways. Let's look at some of the ways you can use this sauce.
Read review →
Well, when Dan (RedtailForester) contacted me to try his sauces I said sure. I mean heck, we are practically neighbors here in PA. That being said, I wasn't expecting a whole lot since he is just starting out. I couldn't have been more wrong! This sauce is like something out of a hot sauce fantasy tale. It has it all (at least as far as I am concerned). Those that know me know that I am a sucker for fruit sauces that deliver a punch. That's what I normally make when I am making my own sauces. This one, by the ingredients, had me salivating from the moment I unwrapped the bottle.
As I said the consistency is thick, but pourable. Think of your favorite BBQ sauce. When I taste it, the first thing I taste is the combination of fruits. I think it is the strawberry first, then the blueberry and banana. A little punch from the bhut, then a little tang from the red wine vinegar. Not much, just a hint. Then the bhut taste. Next, I finally taste the grape juice. That and the bhut linger.
The heat is unexpectedly big. I usually expect a fruit sauce to have a touch of heat, but not the punch that this one has. It's almost as much heat as it is sweet. Like, a nearly perfect balance. The heat is pretty quickly on your tongue (mainly the tip) and then there's the familiar throat burn of the bhut. I think some may have a pretty good surprise at the heat level and especially how long it lasts. Now, how will I use this.
Read review →
| Submit-A-Product
Search Reviews
|
0
