I love fruit based sauces with a bit of sweet and heat so when I read about Bhut Camps "Pineapple Express" I really wanted to pick up a few bottles.
The sauce arrived and it was a bit different from typical fruit based pineapple sauces that I've tried in the past. The color was off brownish orange and the texture of the sauce was somewhat thick. It seems that the peppers where smoked prior to being added to the sauce. Upon opening I got a nice aroma pineapple, and peppers with a hint of smokiness and a bit of Caramel apples.
I took a slight finger dab just to see what type of flavors I should expect before getting a full teaspoon of the sauce. I learned this after making the mistake of taking too much blairs sauce a while back. The heat was definitely there, but it wasn't a slap you in the face full forward heat. It was a nice smooth balanced heat. So I took a small half teaspoon and really enjoyed the first few bits of flavor. There was heat, fruit and sweet, but no one was too over powering or too forward where you had to search for the other flavors. There was also the draw a mild smoky profile not often found in fruit sauces. The balance aroma, and texture where great. It was thick enough to hold itself on the spoon when turned over almost like a smooth chutney. The heat was definitely there, but it was well balanced and didn't over power the sauce.
I actually prefer medium to hot sauces over super hot sauces because once the heat of a super hot sauce hits you, your no longer able to enjoy the sauce and enjoy the food it was placed on. You simply enjoy the pain..
So I placed a dab on a butter cracker and enjoyed the sauce even more. Although the sauce was great it did seem a bit over powering at first, but on a cracker it wasn't so aggressive and direct. The sweet smoky flavor was actually a bit addicting and I ended up having a few more. Although it does pack a punch it's a quick burn that keeps you interested and looking for more.
So I decided to let a few "non chili heads" taste the sauce while attending a dinner function with a few friends. I decided to add a dab of sauce on a small bit sized treat I prepare from time to time. I sear yellow fin tuna that was rubbed with a bit Malaysian sea salt, and lemon pepper. I prepare a mango chutney using soy, rice wine vinegar, a dab of cilantro oil, and olive oil. I normally add in some wasabi powder for heat, but I decided to leave that out this time as I wanted the heat to come from the sauce. I place a small amount of mango sauce on a butter cracker, add the tuna, a dab of pineapple express and then top it off with a few rings of scallion and serve.
The combination was great together, the sauce is somewhat bland without any heat, but it was a lot more spicy this time with the pineapple express on top. I asked for feedback on the sauce as I thought it might have been too spicy for some non chili heads, but because of all the smoky flavor and mango with the tuna they actually enjoyed the sauce and wanted more. Since it's a quick burn everyone enjoyed the heat except for one girl who thought it was a bit much.
All in all the sauce was a huge hit and everyone really liked it. 1 buddy wanted to try some on a sword fish recipe so I'm wanting to get feedback from him. Although it's not the typical sweet heat sauce I actually enjoyed it more then a few other sauces because it's balance of sweet, heat, smokiness, and texture is right on. Looking forward to enjoying the other 2 bottles over time!
Heat Level: nice smooth quick burn that isn't too aggressive or over powering. May not be enough for long term chili heads, but if you want to use the sauce of seafood dishes that you still want to enjoy this is a great sauce.
Taste: Smoky, sweet, fruity, what more can you ask for? The texture is a bit on the thick side making it difficult to apply, but if you use a spoon it's not a big deal.
The sauce arrived and it was a bit different from typical fruit based pineapple sauces that I've tried in the past. The color was off brownish orange and the texture of the sauce was somewhat thick. It seems that the peppers where smoked prior to being added to the sauce. Upon opening I got a nice aroma pineapple, and peppers with a hint of smokiness and a bit of Caramel apples.
I took a slight finger dab just to see what type of flavors I should expect before getting a full teaspoon of the sauce. I learned this after making the mistake of taking too much blairs sauce a while back. The heat was definitely there, but it wasn't a slap you in the face full forward heat. It was a nice smooth balanced heat. So I took a small half teaspoon and really enjoyed the first few bits of flavor. There was heat, fruit and sweet, but no one was too over powering or too forward where you had to search for the other flavors. There was also the draw a mild smoky profile not often found in fruit sauces. The balance aroma, and texture where great. It was thick enough to hold itself on the spoon when turned over almost like a smooth chutney. The heat was definitely there, but it was well balanced and didn't over power the sauce.
I actually prefer medium to hot sauces over super hot sauces because once the heat of a super hot sauce hits you, your no longer able to enjoy the sauce and enjoy the food it was placed on. You simply enjoy the pain..
So I placed a dab on a butter cracker and enjoyed the sauce even more. Although the sauce was great it did seem a bit over powering at first, but on a cracker it wasn't so aggressive and direct. The sweet smoky flavor was actually a bit addicting and I ended up having a few more. Although it does pack a punch it's a quick burn that keeps you interested and looking for more.
So I decided to let a few "non chili heads" taste the sauce while attending a dinner function with a few friends. I decided to add a dab of sauce on a small bit sized treat I prepare from time to time. I sear yellow fin tuna that was rubbed with a bit Malaysian sea salt, and lemon pepper. I prepare a mango chutney using soy, rice wine vinegar, a dab of cilantro oil, and olive oil. I normally add in some wasabi powder for heat, but I decided to leave that out this time as I wanted the heat to come from the sauce. I place a small amount of mango sauce on a butter cracker, add the tuna, a dab of pineapple express and then top it off with a few rings of scallion and serve.
The combination was great together, the sauce is somewhat bland without any heat, but it was a lot more spicy this time with the pineapple express on top. I asked for feedback on the sauce as I thought it might have been too spicy for some non chili heads, but because of all the smoky flavor and mango with the tuna they actually enjoyed the sauce and wanted more. Since it's a quick burn everyone enjoyed the heat except for one girl who thought it was a bit much.
All in all the sauce was a huge hit and everyone really liked it. 1 buddy wanted to try some on a sword fish recipe so I'm wanting to get feedback from him. Although it's not the typical sweet heat sauce I actually enjoyed it more then a few other sauces because it's balance of sweet, heat, smokiness, and texture is right on. Looking forward to enjoying the other 2 bottles over time!
Heat Level: nice smooth quick burn that isn't too aggressive or over powering. May not be enough for long term chili heads, but if you want to use the sauce of seafood dishes that you still want to enjoy this is a great sauce.
Taste: Smoky, sweet, fruity, what more can you ask for? The texture is a bit on the thick side making it difficult to apply, but if you use a spoon it's not a big deal.
