Loads of flavor and aroma are what Jake’s Mesa Breeze Basil Lime Marinade brings to the table. One taste or whiff of this and even the most jaded mouths and noses will receive a stinging kick. It is very worthy of the 3rd Place win that it achived in the 2009 Fiery Food Challenge for “Best Marinade”.
Ingredients:
Water, Apple Cider Vinegar, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Pineapple Concentrate, Granulated Garlic, Mustard Flour, Lime Juice Concentrate, Salt, Spices
Aroma:
4.5 out of 5. This is powerful stuff. A fresh basil and rosemary smell mixes wonderfully with the tartness of lime and pineapple so that it’s both savory and sour with a touch of sweet.
Appearance and Texture:
4 out of 5. Jake’s Mesa Breeze Basil Lime Marinade possesses a guacamole-like green hue and contains a lot, I repeat A LOT of chopped-up basil and spice flakes mixed in. So much, in fact, that when you go to dispose of this after usage you’ll have to use your trash can if you don’t have a garbage disposal, or else you could have a clogged sink from the build-up of basil. It’s a medium-density sauce can function as both a marinade and a pour-on condiment.
Taste Straight Up:
4.5 out of 5. A finger-full of this is enough to get a good idea of it’s taste. Strong basil flavor fights for dominance with the fruit flavor. Underneath it all, there’s a great deal of chile-like spiciness breaking through. Not scorching, but undoubtedly “spicy”.
Taste on Food:
4.5 out of 5. I let some chicken soak up Jake’s Mesa Breeze for a few hours and baked them. A served it with some baked potatoes and baked beans. At the risk of sounding corny, it was POW! in my mouth. The blend of strong flavor permeated the chicken beautifully but that was not enough. I dipped and coated each forkful until it was dripping with the marinade. I couldn’t get enough of this.
Suggested Uses:
It’s hard to limit this as just a marinade. I think you would do it a great disservice to do so. This would be fantastic on steak with onions, salmon, shrimp, cooked vegetables, and perhaps even a salad dressing (in small amounts) or as a dip for raw veggies.
Label:
The olive green label with white printing made me think of “vegetable” or “natural”. Features the regular Jake’s tomato/chile pepper graphics in the middle.
Overall:
The folks at Jake’s Barbecue certainly know their stuff. A 12 oz. bottle of this sells for $8.99 at their website. My advice is that if you are expecting company with advanced warning and no one is in the mood for BBQ, have some meat marinading in Mesa Breeze. It will be the highlight of a dinner you’ll be talking about the rest of the night.