Product Name: Knepper's Peppers AppleTalli
Style: Fruit-based
Manufacturer: Knepper's Peppers
Country of Origin: USA
Website: http://www.knepperspeppers.com
Ingredients: Apple, Lemon Juice, Sugar, Apple Cider Vinegar, Fatalii Pepper (misspelled as Fatalli), Cinnamon
Label/Packaging: Good looking label with the top part of an apple fused onto the bottom half of a fatalii pepper.
Appearance/Aroma: A nice fresh sweet apple aroma with a hint of cinnamon and fatalii peppers.
Body of Review:
So the in-laws were coming by for Memorial Day, and of course I was put to work on the grill. I prepared my famous dry rub injected slow smoked pork loin. Of course I had to find a nice hot sauce to go with the pork and what better pairing with pork than apples. So it was no surprise that I went with my bottle of AppleTalli sauce. Brian is a member here (Justaguy) and makes some great fruit-based sauces. I personally prefer fruit-based sauces to other sauces because of the ability to pair them with various foods. Although I purchased the sauce a month or so ago I have been waiting for a good pairing so I can also do a review.
The sauce has a medium-thick texture with a dark roasted apple color. The first smell of the sauce gives you a great concentrated fresh sweet apple aroma followed by faint scents of cinnamon and peppers. It has great texture and pours like thin apple sauce.
The first dab on my finger had a mellow smooth burn and a dominant apple flavor. I was hoping for a bit more pepper flavor, as fatalii is one of my favorite peppers and can really pack a punch, but it was expected. Brian's site did mention that he made it "Public Friendly" as it was initially made for friends and family. So I pour a teaspoon and enjoy. A bit more immediate burn this time around, but it was a quick pinch on your tongue that quickly subsided leaving you with some great apply flavor lingering.
On to the pork. The pork loin was injected with a combination of Yoshida's and apple cider, then a generous rub of various herbs and spices were applied, and it was slow roasted for about 3 hours and then given a half hour to rest. I cut 3-4 slices and poured a good amount of AppleTalli on top. The first bite was great, as the aggressive sweet apple flavor really complemented the pork perfectly, and the dash of cinnamon worked well with the herbs and spices already on the pork. I did, however, find myself looking and hoping for more heat as the burn was a bit over powered by the pork and spices. Although it's a public friendly sauce I think the sauce could have been a lot better with a bit more heat. I did get the opinion of my better half who enjoyed the sauce, but also thought a bit more heat ould have really enhanced the sauce. She added that she thought the heat was a bit too quick and was easily overpowered even for a non-chilihead. The flavor was great and for a hot sauce the apple was spot on.
Looking forward to putting some on a scoop of vanilla ice cream since it has a nice mild burn with a good apple flavor.
Heat Level: 4
Applications: The site lists the sauce as being good on turkey, but I loved it on pork and enjoyed it on ice cream.
Appearance Score: 4.5
Aroma Score: 4
Taste Score: 4
Mouthfeel Score: 4.5
Heat Accuracy Score: 4
Overall Score: 4.2
Notes: Maybe an AppleTalli Extreme for us chiliheads that don't mind a bit more heat?
Style: Fruit-based
Manufacturer: Knepper's Peppers
Country of Origin: USA
Website: http://www.knepperspeppers.com
Ingredients: Apple, Lemon Juice, Sugar, Apple Cider Vinegar, Fatalii Pepper (misspelled as Fatalli), Cinnamon
Label/Packaging: Good looking label with the top part of an apple fused onto the bottom half of a fatalii pepper.
Appearance/Aroma: A nice fresh sweet apple aroma with a hint of cinnamon and fatalii peppers.
Body of Review:
So the in-laws were coming by for Memorial Day, and of course I was put to work on the grill. I prepared my famous dry rub injected slow smoked pork loin. Of course I had to find a nice hot sauce to go with the pork and what better pairing with pork than apples. So it was no surprise that I went with my bottle of AppleTalli sauce. Brian is a member here (Justaguy) and makes some great fruit-based sauces. I personally prefer fruit-based sauces to other sauces because of the ability to pair them with various foods. Although I purchased the sauce a month or so ago I have been waiting for a good pairing so I can also do a review.
The sauce has a medium-thick texture with a dark roasted apple color. The first smell of the sauce gives you a great concentrated fresh sweet apple aroma followed by faint scents of cinnamon and peppers. It has great texture and pours like thin apple sauce.
The first dab on my finger had a mellow smooth burn and a dominant apple flavor. I was hoping for a bit more pepper flavor, as fatalii is one of my favorite peppers and can really pack a punch, but it was expected. Brian's site did mention that he made it "Public Friendly" as it was initially made for friends and family. So I pour a teaspoon and enjoy. A bit more immediate burn this time around, but it was a quick pinch on your tongue that quickly subsided leaving you with some great apply flavor lingering.
On to the pork. The pork loin was injected with a combination of Yoshida's and apple cider, then a generous rub of various herbs and spices were applied, and it was slow roasted for about 3 hours and then given a half hour to rest. I cut 3-4 slices and poured a good amount of AppleTalli on top. The first bite was great, as the aggressive sweet apple flavor really complemented the pork perfectly, and the dash of cinnamon worked well with the herbs and spices already on the pork. I did, however, find myself looking and hoping for more heat as the burn was a bit over powered by the pork and spices. Although it's a public friendly sauce I think the sauce could have been a lot better with a bit more heat. I did get the opinion of my better half who enjoyed the sauce, but also thought a bit more heat ould have really enhanced the sauce. She added that she thought the heat was a bit too quick and was easily overpowered even for a non-chilihead. The flavor was great and for a hot sauce the apple was spot on.
Looking forward to putting some on a scoop of vanilla ice cream since it has a nice mild burn with a good apple flavor.
Heat Level: 4
Applications: The site lists the sauce as being good on turkey, but I loved it on pork and enjoyed it on ice cream.
Appearance Score: 4.5
Aroma Score: 4
Taste Score: 4
Mouthfeel Score: 4.5
Heat Accuracy Score: 4
Overall Score: 4.2
Notes: Maybe an AppleTalli Extreme for us chiliheads that don't mind a bit more heat?
