chipotle Archives - Page 2 of 3

Benito’s Chipotle Infused Vermont Maple Syrup

by Marilyn Meagher : 01/30/2011

We received a nice surprise in the mail recently; a bottle of Benito’s Chipotle Infused Vermont Maple Syrup.

When we first unwrapped the bottle, we thought, “Hmm, we’re not really crazy about heat with our sweet, but we love maple syrup”, so we decided to give it a try. The first taste was a warm, smokey sweetness, with a nice heat that lingered for just a moment.

The first words out of my mouth were “I see pancakes and sausage in my future!”

This morning, we cooked up sausage patties (we used a mild version so we wouldn’t affect the heat level of the syrup) and pancakes. With just a light drizzle on the pancakes, we were brought back to sitting by the campfire eating pancakes and sausage cooked over the flames. Smokey, sweet, with a nice mellow heat filling my mouth, I wound up dunking the pancakes into a bowl of the syrup. It was so good, I had to sit right down and write this review.

As you can see from the photos, this is a thin syrup, with a lovely amber color. According to the label, Ol’ Benito smoked the peppers himself:

“The pure maple syrup in this product was harvested by old-school Vermont sugarmakers in Jeffersonville, VT. It has been combined with the essence of organic smoked jalapenos grown with love at Foote Brook Farm in Johnson, VT. I smoked the jalapenos myself with a mixture of half hickory, half mesquite wood. It has a unique hearty smokiness, with a subtle heat. it goes well with any kind of bbq, chicken, pork or beef, sweet potatoes, vanilla ice cream, and breakfast sandwiches.”

Final impression:

WINNER! Perfect blend of sweet, smoke and heat.

Ingredients:

VT Maple Syrup, organic chipotle peppers.

You can find this and Benito’s other sauces over at BenitosHotSauce.com
And check out his 1st Place Scovie 2011 award winning Vermont Maple Chipotle Dry Rub

Review Torchbearer Sauces All Natural Chipotle Wing Sauce

by Brian Meagher : 01/25/2011

Week of Wings II – Day 7 – Torchbearer Sauces All Natural Chipotle Wing Sauce

On our final day of Week of Wings II we bring you a very unique looking and tasting sauce from Torchbearer Sauces – their All Natural Chipotle Wing Sauce.

Taste straight up:

Marilyn: The first flavor I got was the smokiness of the chipotles, which I loved. It’s a very unique flavor – not what you would expect in a wing sauce. This is a warm smokey sauce with lots of levels of flavor. I really didn’t taste the Mandarin orange at all.

Brian: I expected a mustard type profile because of how much it looked like Dijon, so my eyes deceived me. It tasted to me like a habanero wanna-be. There was the color, and the sweetness of the orange and carrots (which I found a little off-putting) but it did not deliver on the big hit of heat normally associated with orange / habanero sauces. There was little to no Chipotle smoke or flavor for me.

Texture & Appearance:

Marilyn: Tons of texture going on, probably from the carrots. Despite the pale orange color, and despite the fact that its the color of Dijon mustard, this is NOT a mustard sauce – much to Brian’s dismay. The sauce does separate a bit on the plate – probably from all the Canola oil in it.

Brian: I loved the chunkiness and texture of this sauce. Big bites of bits and flavors.

Taste on wings:

Marilyn: The sauce coated the wings nicely, but I don’t really taste the orange – my first flavor is still the smoke. The wings had a warm and smokey dark flavor. But the heat was just a medium.

Brian: There was an odd flavor from the orange and carrots that coated my mouth. While there was some heat, there was no discernable smokey chipotle flavor. The chipotle is weak and needs more heat – isappointing as I love chipotle peppers above all others.

Heat Level:

Marilyn: Just a nice medium heat level for me.

Brian: Not enough Chipotle heat, not nearly hot. Just a light – medium level.

Label/Graphics:

– Our bottle had the pre-production label on it. Here’s a shot of their current label, much more colorful and humorous – and informative! All of the graphics of their products are of the same, cartoony and colorful graphics. Nice job guys!

Overall Rating:

– Mainly because we thought it could have a more pronounced Chipotle flavor. As different as it was as a sauce, it’s very unique and you have to decide for yourself.

Ingredients:

Mandarin Orange, Tomato, Vinegar, Carrot, Onion, Canola Oil, Habanero Pepper, Garlic, Sugar and All Natural Spices

You can find Torchbearer sauces here at InsaneChicken.com

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our Week of Wings II – be sure to check out our Week of Wings from last year too.

Refrigerate After Opening:
Three Words I Hate

by Brian Meagher : 03/26/2010

Refrigerate After Opening – three words I hate to see on bottles of sauces. Really? Have you seen my ‘fridge photos?
I just don’t have the room in there with all the pickles, mustards, and BBQ concoctions.

And that photo is AFTER cleaning out the ‘fridge door! Relating to door, be guided by the different types of exterior french doors at aluminiumwindowsanddoors.net.au. It’s beneficial most especially for the architect and designers.
I much prefer the sauces that live happily on counters, tables, and any other flat, open surface areas around our house. Those guys are Troopers. “We don’t need no stinkin’ refrigerators“!
[Read more…]

Must Have Hot Sauces:
Three I Keep on Hand At All Times

by Brian Meagher : 02/15/2010

These are my top 3 favorite hot sauces that I always have in the house.

There’s nothing exotic or fancy here – just simple, good for everyday use hot sauces that I always keep on hand.

1. Tabasco – The Granddaddy of hot sauces

Tabasco has been around since 1868. Pages have been written about this trail-blazer sauce, the McIlhenny Family and their company. I may take some heat from readers for even mentioning Tabasco, but it’s hard to argue it’s popularity. And dammit, I like it. I love it on pizza, it keeps well needing no refrigeration, so I can carry it with me all the time.

For all you Tabasco fans out there, be sure to check out Tabasco’s History Tent and their Info Booth (FAQ’s).

By the way, the correct pronunciation of the family name “McIlhenny” is “mac-ull-henny”

Ingredients: distilled vinegar, red pepper, salt

2. Pickapeppa – Hot Red Pepper Sauce from Shooters Hill, Jamaica

My favorite imported hot sauce comes from the Pickapeppa Company Limited. Again, another old company that has been making it’s legendary Pickapeppa Sauce since 1921. This bright red sauce begins with a very unique sweetness due to the cane vinegar and sugar, but it also packs quite a bit of searing heat. I think it’s a very tasty hot sauce.

So much so, that it was the subject of the 2nd post here on HotSauceDaily way back in 2007.

If you can’t find it locally, (remarkably, I’m able to buy it at SuperFresh), you can purchase it online here from the Warbac Sales, the folks who import Pickapeppa products into the US via the Port of New Orleans.

Ingredients: hot peppers, cane vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices

3. Pyro-Mania – A chunky hot sauce from Garden Row Foods in St. Charles, Illinois

Even though its one of my top favorites, I do tend to reserve it’s use strictly for tacos, burritos and similar Mexican dishes. This is a very chunky sauce. Loaded with bits of peppers, onions and chives, it hits you with the vinegar and heat from the habaneros first, then some sweetness from the tomato paste and sugar. There’s the smokiness of the chipotle in there too.

I could eat this stuff with a spoon! Obviously, Pyro-Mania has the most complex recipe of this trio. It earns the third spot as my must have on hand sauces based on flavor and texture.

To purchase, Google “pyro-mania sauce” and you’ll get about 8,000 hits, but the best price I found was on EatHot.com, home of the manufacturer Garden Row.

Ingredients: distilled vinegar, habanero pepper, tomato paste, water, chipotle pepper, onion, salt, chives, sugar, garlic powder, black pepper

Bonus: If you’ve read this far, and you plan to buy the Pyro-Mania from EatHot.com, they are also home to the famous Sport Pepper that is a must have ingredient for Chicago Dogs. Drop a jar of these babies into your shopping cart while you are there!

In case you’re wondering, off the chart at Number 4 would have to be Sriracha sauce! Gotta keep that around too!

What would your top 3 must have on hand hot sauces be?

Click here to leave a Comment and tell us.

Hot Sauce Review – Blues BBQ Chipotle Mustard Pepper Sauce

by Brian Meagher : 02/11/2010

Steve Burnham of BluesBBQ.net has done it again with yet another great tasting sauce.

From his stable of sauces that include his flagship products, Carolina Pepper Sauce, both Mild and Warm and Blue’s Habanero Reserve Hot Sauce – Steve has recently introduced his newest sauce, Blues BBQ Chipotle Mustard Pepper Sauce.

Wow! Chipotle (shoot me now, because I love Chipotle peppers) and mustard (again, I’m in Heaven) – you now have my full attention.
But wait… it’s not truly a “mustard” based sauce. I’m OK with that, now that I know.
There’s a hint of mustard from the tumeric in the ingredients, hence the “mustard” in the name.

But be aware, this is a “hot sauce” by all intents and purposes. And boy is it flavorful.

Here’s what Steve wrote on TheHotZoneOnline to clear things up about this new sauce:

There is going to be a lot of confusion with this one. It isn’t a mustard at all but is a hot sauce with a mustard taste. Truly unique. Pours like a hot sauce and tastes like a smokey, mustardy cayenne hot sauce. I probably should of named it “Blue’s Unique Majic Hot Sauce that somehow tastes like Mustard”. Once ya’ll try it, you’ll know what I mean. You’re gonna like this one!

You’re right, Steve! I do like this one.

I first tried Blues BBQ Chipotle Mustard Peppers Sauce on wings. Straight up. Folks, in my opinion, this is not a wing sauce.
This is a hot sauce, with a very unique flavor.

We poured some on chips, to get a feel for the flavors, and here’s what we thought:

Marilyn: This has all the earmarks of a great Carolina style Hot Sauce with plenty of vinegar and lots of heat. One of the predominant flavors I’m getting is black pepper and I don’t think there’s enough of the smokey Chipotle in the recipe. This sauce definitely has a depth of flavor not found in traditional Cayenne based hot sauces.

Brian: This sauce has some serious heat. On a scale of 1 – 10, I’d give it a 7. It’s both hot and vinegary. I do get a hint of mustard from the tumeric, but it’s not overwhelming. And while I’d like to have more mustard flavor in the sauce, it still works. I do agree with Marilyn that there’s not enough Chipotle in the mix because I love Chipotle.

Ingredients: water, vinegar, cayenne pepper, chipotle pepper, tumeric, paprika, sugar, salt, onion, garlic, spices and xanthan gum

Do yourself a favor and go to BluesBBQ.net to order a few bottles of their Chipotle Mustard Hot Sauce and try it for yourself, or as a Valentines Day Gift for the Chilehead Lover in your life. And while you’re there, please get yourself a bottle or 2 of their great Carolina Pepper Sauce… it’s an awesome table sauce (no refrigeration) and rocks in pulled pork.

Chipotle Glazed Tex Mex Meatloaf with Cheddar Chives Mashed Potatoes

by Brian Meagher : 11/04/2009

Another use for canned Chipotle peppers in adobo is this spicy meatloaf recipe.

Marilyn whipped up this easy meatloaf recipe for us today. Using chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, green chiles, and hot pepper jelly, this meatloaf is our new favorite recipe.

Here’s a pic of the finished meatloaves:

She combined aspects of both Emeril Lagasse’s Tex-Mex Meatloaf, and Rachel Ray’s Texas Hold-Em Mini Chipotle Burgers. We’ve made both recipes separately, and can tell you they are both delicious!

If you make anything from this recipe, do the sauce to drizzle on the meatloaf. It rocks!

She used canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, canned chopped green chiles, and Heine Hurtin’ Hot Sauce for the pepper jelly, but you could use any Jalapeno or other pepper jelly (Four Monks is good).

Because either one of these great dishes are made indoors, they give you the spicy, smoky, burger-esque flavors you crave from your grill when it’s just too cold outside to do it.

[Read more…]

Ep 06 – Crazy Uncle Jester’s

by Brian Meagher : 11/04/2009

Jeffrey Stevenson, better known as Crazy Uncle Jester

Jeffrey Stevenson, Crazy Uncle Jester

In this episode we interview Jeff Stevenson of CrazyUncleJester.com, Scott Roberts reviews Danny Cash Mean Streak Habanero Mango Hot Sauce, and we introduce the “recipe of the week” segment.
This week, Chipotle Glazed Tex Mex Meatloaf with Cheddar Chives Mashed Potatoes!

Intro – Huck, Jr of In The Hut podcast, and HucksHut.com

The Favorite Hot Sauce Flavor is What? Who knew!

by Brian Meagher : 03/13/2009

Habanero flavored hot sauce took the top spot in my poll. Who knew?

Personally, it’s not my favorite. But the poll doesn’t lie, and after my visit to the Fiery-Foods Show last week, where Habanero was everywhere, I’m just as surprised as the next Chipotle Chilehead.

Just when you thought your favorite hot sauce base was the best, here comes everyone saying they love “XYZ”… in this case, Habanero.

My personal favorite is Chipotle, but after seeing the dozens and dozens of Habby based sauces at the show, I am floored, no, surprised at the results! If I had to pick a habanero based sauce, at this point in time, I’m going with Crazy Jerry’s Orange Rush! I really like this Habby sauce.

But there’s no denying, there are legions of fans of the Habby sauce, and I’ll be sure to feature quite a few in the coming months.

Nice to see Chipotle was 2nd in popularity, followed by Cayenne, Thai, Other, Extract and finally Jalapeno (yawn). I’ve personally never found a decent Jalapeno based “hot” sauce. They all taste the same.

What do YOU like? Got a favorite sauce? I’d love to know what you think is the BOMB in sauces! Maybe I’ll ask you to review it for us here at HotSauceDaily.com!