I was recently interviewed by Foody Direct as part of their Expert Interview program. Click here to read the interview and let me know what you think!
These types of conversations are often fun to do, and this was no exception. I talk about my introduction into fiery foods, chile pepper myths, and where I think spicy foods in general are headed. Check it out!
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Episode #80 – Dr. BBQ Ray Lampe Returns to Chat Barbecue
Ray Lampe, AKA Dr. BBQ, returns once again to The Firecast to chat about his new book, Flavorize: Great Marinades, Injections, Brines, Rubs, and Glazes, to talk about the BBQ Hall of Fame, if Guy Fieri is a true barbecue influence, and his barbecue video courses. Ken and Scott discuss how to add chile pepper spice to dessert items, and Scott explains why he won’t add recipes to the audio podcast.
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As the weather warms up and grills begin to fire up, New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute wants to make sure backyard chefs are equipped to bring the heat. That’s why they are partnering with CaJohns Fiery Foods to unveil the newest in the Holy Jolokia collection, a spice rub specially designed for barbecue.
“The Holy Jolokia rub goes great with ribs,” said Adan Delval, a program specialist with the Chile Pepper Institute. “It is spicy but also sweet, giving meat a sweet and hot flavor. The best part is it is sodium free.”
Since 2009, the Chile Pepper Institute has worked with…
A ginormous THANK YOU to everyone who has downloaded, listened to and subscribed to The Firecast Hot Sauce & BBQ Podcast! It’s a pure blast putting together the episodes and chatting with the coolest people in fiery foods and outdoor cooking; it is always fun, educational and inspirational. Because your support, The Firecast is now averaging over 10,000 downloads per episode, making it by far the top show of its kind on the internet covering our chile pepper-fueled passion! I am honored and humbled to have you all as…
As I have probably written many times, it’s probably useless to mention something along the lines of “spicy stuff” is invading every facet of the food industry. Duh. You already knew that.
What may be notable and relevant right now are the boundaries to which companies are crossing to bring in the heat freaks with their products. To give a fast food item a label of “ghost pepper” would have seemed incomprehensible as little as five years ago. Now in 2015, the number of major chains offering ghost pepper-titled options now require multiple hands to count them.
Wendy’s has had fiery sandwiches since the George W. Bush administration, but they have recently debuted their Jalapeño Fresco Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Ghost Pepper Fries.
Is there anything to be excited about here for chileheads? Well, read on…
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Episode #79 – BBQ Chat with Big Moe Cason
Big Moe Cason steps into the interviewee chair and talks about what he likes and doesn’t like in barbecue, and also discusses his TV career with shows like BBQ Pitmasters. Ken and Scott list their heroes and mentors in the chilehead world, and Scott reviews Scott O’Hotty’s The Ghost Sauce.
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The NYC Hot Sauce Expo is proud to announce the 2015 Screaming Mi Mi Award winners. With hundreds of entries the winners were selected by blind taste test by New Yorks finest and brightest in the culinary industry. The panel consisted of chefs from FOX, CBS and Food Networks, Food Critics from NYC Newspapers, Bloggers, Magazines, Hot Sauce Retailers, Wholesalers and some of NYC’s Top Chefs. The Screaming Mi Mi Awards have been creating a large industry buzz within the Hot Sauce Community. Past winners have received features on TV, magazines, newspapers creating a profile that has lead for their product distributed by wholesalers and national retail outlets.
The Screaming Mi Mi Awards were presented in front of the media and live audience on Saturday April 24th at the 3rd Annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo. This was a year to remember with some amazing highlights. CaJohn’s took the Three-Peat in the Louisiana Style Hot Sauce with their Firehouse Hot Sauce, Defcon Sauces took the first ever sweep in Screaming Mi Mi history collecting 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the Chicken Wing category and Brooklyn newcomer Queen Majesty took 2 Screaming Mi Mi’s in the Jalapeno and All Natural categories. It was a tightly scored competition and the winners are very much deserved…
First year Hall of Fame inductees, clockwise from left to right: Edmund McIlhenny, John “CaJohn” Hard, Dave DeWitt, Dave Hirschkop, Chip Hearn
The fiery foods industry is rife with talented and influential individuals, so selecting ten original nominees was no easy feat, let alone choose five folks to be inducted in the first year. The votes has been tabulated, and the announcement will be made today at the 3rd Annual New York City Hot Sauce Festival… here are the first five inductees to the Hot Sauce Hall of Fame Class of 2015!
During the induction ceremony (today, Saturday April 25th), the first class will be awarded fiery red jackets and some super sweet Hall of Fame rings!
Here are the winners…
Welcome back for another Rudy Review! Today I’m taking a look at a hot sauce made in my home state of Michigan from a company named Papa Turts. Papa Turts is run by a couple named Matt and Mandy and they named their company after Matt’s nickname. His nickname was originally “Turtle”, but after they had their child, one of Matt’s friend started calling him “Papa Turts” and the name stuck. After asking their friends what the name of the company should be, someone suggested “Papa Turts, so hot it hurts!” and they thought it was a perfect name….
High River Sauces and the NYC Hot Sauce Expo are beyond excited to be teaming up with our friends The Chili Alchemist from the UK. The Chile Alchemist will sit side stage to bring you the birds eye view of their live stream from the Expos Main Stage. This 2 day live stream from YouTube will give the viewer exclusive footage of one of America’s biggest hot sauce shows in the world. They will be taking you behind the scenes as they…
It is very easy to make a good, homemade hot sauce.
Even though virtually all chile pepper sauces have a base combination of peppers and vinegar, you can add all kinds of ingredients to a hot sauce. The possibilities are endless! Just a smattering of comparable components to add to the aforementioned two ingredients…
Wendy’s is soon debuting two spicy limited-time menu items next week that is great for the Chilehead on the go – the Jalapeño Fresco Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Ghost Pepper Fries.
The sandwich features Wendy’s signature spicy blend and 100% all white meat chicken breast, topped with fresh, diced jalapeños and specially made ghost pepper sauce, and capped with a bakery-inspired, freshly toasted red jalapeño bun. The heat is complemented with savory flavors from warm, melty cheese sauce, delicious Colby Pepper Jack cheese and a crunchy red onion. Recommended Price: $4.99.
The Ghost Pepper Fries are smothered in cheese sauce and then topped with diced, fresh jalapeños, shredded cheddar cheese and a ghost pepper sauce. Recommended Price: $1.99.
Although “spicy” or jalapeño-laden sandwiches are typical for fast food chains nowadays, ghost pepper-flavored items are still our of the norm. I plan to test out these fries and see if they would appeal to both chileheads as well as the mild-mouthed general public.
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Episode #78 – Upcoming Hot Sauce and Chilehead Events and Festivals For 2015
Scott covers all of the major trade shows, expos, festivals and events remaining in 2015 that are of interest to hot sauce fans, chile pepper lovers, and general spicy food fans and chileheads in general, from Scott’s calendar on his website.
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Here is a video of WBTV-CBS Charlotte, North Carolina TV reporter, Kristen Hampton, eat a decent-sized chink of pepper that looks to the successor to Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper, which is currently the world’s hottest chile pepper. The producer of both the Carolina Reaper and this new hotter strain, the HP-56, Ed Currie of Puckerbutt Pepper Company, look to debut this new contender soon with an unofficial SHU level of around 3 million. More details to come…
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Episode #77 – Hot Sauce Industry History Chat with Chip Hearn of Peppers and CaJohn Hard of CaJohn’s Fiery Foods
In the second part of his coverage of the NYC Hot Sauce Expo, Scott chat with Hot Sauce Hall of Fame Nominees Chip Hearn of Peppers and John “CaJohn” Hard of CaJohn’s Fiery Foods, as they talk about the history of the fiery foods industry. Ken Alexander also discusses whether or not to refrigerate hot sauces, and Scott has sage advice on his to get rid of mosquitoes around camp sites.
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