Breaking news! Today, it’s been announced that the dates for the 2015 New York City Hot Sauce Expo will be April 25 & 26, 2015. Save the date, and stay tuned for more details!
Review – Buffalo Wild Wings Ghost Pepper Sauce and Salted Caramel BBQ Sauce
As promised a few days ago, below is my review for Buffalo Wild Wings Ghost Pepper Sauce and Salted Caramel BBQ Sauce wings. These two wings sauces, along with their Classic Margarita Sauce is a brand new trio that’s part of B-Dub’s “Sauce Lab” – which is a slick marketing term for “limited time only” flavors for their namesake chicken pieces.
I’m all about great taste, but what is especially notable is that after asking the former head of research and development, Sylvia Matzke-Hill, about the possible introduction of a ghost pepper sauce, the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based restaurant chain has finally released one.
In a display purely for show, the wait staff is instructed to bring out any Ghost Pepper Sauce Wing order wearing protective eye goggles. And yes, that is a flashing light on the tray with the wings…
World Hot Sauce Awards Winners List
Via Ken Alexander, of FieryWorld.com and one of the Head Judges of the World Hot Sauce Awards:
“Below is a list of the winners of the inaugural World Hot Sauce Awards. The awards ceremony was held at the Lafayette, La Acadian Center, and the site of the Louisiana Hot Sauce Expo.
“The winners were selected by approximately 30 judges from across the country, including executive chefs, restaurant owners, elected officials, beauty queens, hot sauce industry experts, and enthusiasts! The judges tasted 582 separate samples and each category had multiple judges. Everyone had a “hot” time and sweating foreheads, red faces, and sniffly noses were prevalent in the judge’s ranks! The awards are listed by division and category.
“My apologies if there are misspellings along the way, but there was limited time to proofread the list in an effort to get it out to everyone in a timely manner!!! Congratulations are in order for everyone who submitted an entry and especially to the winners across very crowded fields of excellent spicy sauces, spices, confections, etc etc etc!!! So without further ado, here are the lucky winners…”
Buffalo Wild Wings New Sauces – Ghost Pepper, Salted Caramel and Classic Margarita Sauces
It’s time for another batch of new sauces from Buffalo Wild Wings. This time out, the chicken wing chain has a trio of new flavors: the super-hot Ghost Pepper Sauce; whch by some accounts, is hotter than their previously-hottest Blazin’; Salted Caramel BBQ Sauce, a sweet and salty blend; and Classic Margarita Sauce, a fruity alcoholic beverage-style spin put into buffalo wing form.
I will be trying these (with a formal review to follow) this coming weekend, so stay tuned! If you’re interested in these BWW wing flavor options yourself, let if be known that these are only available for a limited time only at participating Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants.
Review – El Diablo Hot and Spicy Mustards
Me and mustards have a sometimes peculiar relationship. Don’t get me wrong; I’m a lover of a fine, flavorful mustard. Yet I’m picky, fussy, and hard to please in a number of ways when it comes to the pungent condiment. I’m a fan of the straight, bright yellow table mustard, but only in a certain limited range of applications. I go crazy for a sweet and spicy honey mustard with incredible depth, a good deal of sweetness and an overall smoothness to taste the extremely sharp edge off.
But an ultra-bitter, nasal-y, sharp, horseradish, or a whole-grain mustard? My view on them can vary from unsavory to that of “I can’t wipe off my tongue enough after sampling it!”. So if you want me to like a mustard, it had better delivery on several different fronts or else it’s not going to please my finicky tongue.
El Diablo Hot and Spicy Mustards is a fairly new company that aims to change the game when it comes to fiery mustards. And make no mistake, El Diablo is not ashamed of the “spicy” moniker, as their marketing mentions, “flavors so powerful, so hot, so intense…not even the devil could resist”. But can their flavors – namely Mango, Smokey Chipotle, Steakhouse, Texas Chili, Jalapeno, and Habanero Hot & Spicy Mustards – fit in squarely with my particular palette? Well read on to find out if I liked these…
The Firecast Podcast Episode #58 – Derrick Riches on Buying, Maintaining and Cleaning Your BBQ Grill
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The Firecast with Scott Roberts: Firecast Podcast Episode #58 – Derrick Riches on Buying, Maintaining and Cleaning Your BBQ Grill
BBQ and grilling expert Derrick Riches of bbq.about.com joins Scott for a Summer Grilling Special and talks about buying, maintaining, and cleaning BBQ grills and smokers. Regular show contributor Ken Alexander chats with Scott about cooking disasters, and Scott reviews Fiesty Parrot’s Demented Canary Ghost and Scorpion Pepper Hot Sauce.
Links mentioned in the episode:
- BBQ.About.com
- Making a Master Hot Sauce on BonAppetit.com
- Jennifer Trainer Thomas’ book Hot Sauce!: Techniques for Making Signature Hot Sauces
Other Links:
- Ken Alexander’s FieryWorld.com Blog
- Scott Roberts’ Blog
- Scott Roberts Facebook Page
- Scott Roberts Twitter Page
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The Chile Pepper Award Joining the Houston Hot Sauce Festival Weekend
Recipe – Cheesy Potato Bake Casserole
Need something to “wow” all your guests the next time company is over? Wanna blow everyone away at your next family or potluck function? Try this fantastic Cheesy Chicken Potato Bake. It’s one of my all-time favorite recipes. There’s nothing spicy or peppery in it, but once you take one bite of it, you won’t care. It’s creamy, cheesy, crunchy, heavenly and melt-in-your-mouth delicious…
Your Summer Grilling & BBQ Guide Infographic
Here is a handy infographic on summer grilling with lots of basic tips. While it’s not perfect (it interchanges the term “grilling” for “BBQ”, and a few myths are propagated) it’s still very much wort a look.
Infographic courtesy of http://www.donaldrussell.com/
Louisiana Hot Sauce Festival TV Spots
Currently airing on local Louisiana television are a few commercials for the Louisiana Hot Sauce Festival, which is being held at Acadian Village, Lafayette, LA on July 19th and 20th! For those of us not residing on southern Louisiana, you can watch these Cajun-flavored videos below:
Fresh Guacamole Video by PES
Here’s an extremely clever short on making guacamole. Well, sort of. I don’t want to spoil anything, so just watch:
BBQ Central Radio Show Review Products – June 2014
Here are my ratings for the product reviews on tonight’s BBQ Central Radio Show (which aired 6/17/14):
Jeaux’s Boys Cajun Tailgate BBQ Sauce
16 oz. – $7.50
http://www.jeauxsboys.com
Rating – 2/5
Chile Spot Competition BBQ Mop Sauce
13.5 oz.
http://www.chilespot.com
Rating – 4/5
Todd’s Dirt Crabby Dirt
3.25 oz – $5.00
http://www.toddsdirt.com
Rating – 3/5
The Firecast Podcast Episode #57 – Meathead Goldwyn of AmazingRibs.com on the Science of Grilling and Barbecuing
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The Firecast with Scott Roberts: Firecast Podcast Episode #57 – Meathead Goldwyn of AmazingRibs.com on the Science of Grilling and Barbecuing
Meathead Goldwyn, creator of the world’s most popular barbecue website, AmazingRibs.com, joins Scott for an extended conversation about the science of BBQ and grilling. From busting myths and the perfect way to grill a steak, to the difference between direct and indirect heat and whether or not marinading and brining actually work, Meathead gives us a one-of-a-kind lesson in outdoor cooking you won’t want to miss.
Links mentioned in the episode:
Chile pepper coverage:
- Episode #45 – Dave DeWitt on the Chile Pepper Harvest, Plus Jungle Jim’s Weekend of Fire
- Episode #32 – Chile Pepper Gardening and Growing with Dave DeWitt
- Episode #26 – Dave DeWitt on the 25th Anniversary Fiery Foods Show
- Episode #48 – Interview with Chile Pepper Growers Ed Currie and Jim Duffy
- Episode #2 – Interview with Jim Duffy of Refining Fire Chiles
Other Links:
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Louisiana Hot Sauce Festival 2014 is Coming!
Woooo-WEEEE! The 2014 Louisiana Hot Sauce Festival is a celebration of Hot Sauce and Spicy foods. A regional event for the 2015 International Hot Sauce Festival, the 2014 Festival is scheduled to held at Acadian Village, Lafayette, LA on July 19th and 20th!
The Louisiana Hot Sauce Festival’s objective is to…
Review – Scovilla’s Hot Gourmet Wild Habanero Hot Sauce
Scovilla Hot Treats is a German company who have put their metaphorical hat in the ring of fire by producing numerous spicy sauces and products. Their contact at this past March’s Fiery Foods Show, Managing Director Heiko Weigelt, claimed to be making inroads with getting Scovilla’s wares available to the American public at Peppers, so perhaps very soon all you in the U.S. can purchase their sauces.
Scovilla has two major hot sauce lines. The first one is the widely varying Hot Gourmet, which contains condiments ranging from the mild jalapeno-based to ones dominated by naga jolokias. The other is marketed towards capsaicin thrill-seekers and is called Dragonfire, and all are super-hot selections.
In the coming months, I’ll be reviewing several from each product line. The first, in this review, will be Scovilla’s Hot Gourmet Wild Habanero Rough Red Habanero Hot Sauce (which is how it’s billed on the bottle)…