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Weekly Firecast Podcast Episode #3 - Double Feature Interview with Ed Currie and Pepper Joe
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The Audio Weekly Firecast with Scott Roberts:
Episode 003 - Double Feature Interview with Ed Currie and Pepper Joe, and Brian & Marilyn Meagher of Hot Sauce Daily
Your favorite fiery foods and BBQ video show has now switched to an audio podcast format! Click here to subscribe via iTunes for playback on your iPod, iPhone or iPad, or subscribe via RSS Feed to download the episode(s) in your favorite podcast catcher.
First, I speak with Brian & Marilyn Meagher of HotSauceDaily.com and HotSauceWeekly.com, and discuss briefly the history of their site and podcast, what they think of hot sauce reviewing in general, and attending fiery foods events. Then I chat with Ed Currie of PuckerButtPepperCompany.com and Pepper Joe of PepperJoe.com about the release of the HP22B Chile Pepper AKA the Carolina Reaper Pepper, which is a contender for the Hottest Chile Pepper in the World. Plus, I review Captain Thom's Thai Monkey Sauce.
Links mentioned in the episode:
• Hot Sauce Daily
• Hot Sauce Weekly Podcast
• Pucker Butt Pepper Company
• Pepper Joe
• Rippin Red Wing Sauce
• Big Fat's Hot Sauce
• Volcanic Peppers
• Captain Thoms Chili Pepper Company
• Chilli Pepper Pete
• Blue Marble Radio
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Angus the Mascot of Dat'l Do-It Pepper Sauce Speaks!
This is not really much more than a commercial for Dat'l Do-It products, but it's still refreshing to see something from this worthy brand (I reviewed their Dat'l Do-It Datil Pepper Hot Sauce years ago), which sells their datil chile pepper-infused wares at their crudmonkey.com website.
Rest in Peace, Peter Seymour
There is very sad news in the fiery foods world. The man very instrumental in helping spread the word about chilli peppers in the UK, Peter Seymour AKA "ChilliPepperPete", passed away on Tuesday, August 28th at age 56. Peter was diagnosed with cancer three weeks before passing, although he had felt ill for longer.
Sometimes known as the "Godfather of the UK chilli industry", Peter founded the Fiery Foods UK (FFUK) Chilli Festival, the latest of which actually takes place the weekend after next, September 14 - 16, 2012, in Brighton.
Although I had never met Peter personally, he and I have exchanged e-mails numerous times. His excitement and enthusiasm that he exuded about chillies and his products was contagious. When his daughter, Rose Seymour, had visited the U.S. a few years back, Pete had her hand deliver some sauces to me, along with a bag pull of naga jolokia chillies, when I attended the Fiery Food & BBQ Show in Albuquerque, NM.
Peter is survived by his wife, Miranda, and his four children. Chileheads worldwide are flying the flags in their hearts at half-mast this week. He will be missed.
Review - Howler Monkey Panama Style Hot Sauces
I first encountered the makers of Howler Monkey Panama Style Hot Sauce at this year's ZestFest in January. Like at any spicy foods show I attend throughout the year, I'll get sauces solicited to me, often numbering well over ten outside of the "official" vendors over the course of the weekend. During dinner one of the nights, I was handed three bottles of Howler Monkey (which would end up being the subject of this review), and apparently they did not make a great first impression as a week later I could not even recall what they tasted like.
Fast forward a few months later, and I had a fresh set of three bottles - Howler Monkey Original, Howler Monkey Hot and Howler Monkey Amarillo Panama Style Hot Sauces delivered to my house. I was eager to get re-acquainted with these to fill in the gaps in my (sometimes) Swiss-cheesed memory and see if a few gems lay somewhere in these bottles.
I'm always hopping to sample pepper sauces that are slightly off the beaten path. This often entails trying various styles and genres from around the United States and around the World. I've always dug the Panamanian style of hot sauces (called Aji Chombo in that geographic area) with their slightly exotic blend of garlic and turmeric complimenting habanero or scotch bonnet chiles. I then re-tried the this trio this past Spring, and unfortunately I was unimpressed for the most part. Howler Monkey creators Conan Herring and Tom Ellis implored me to expedite the review, and I delayed doing a write-up. There was a protracted time until I did finally come around to testing these three Howler Monkey sauces with additional dishes, and I finally came to final conclusions, which I give below.
Time Lapse of a Trinidad Scorpion Butch T Chile Pepper
This cool little video clip comes courtesy of the "Real" Vince Samios, a gardener and member of the Chileheads group on Facebook. It shows a Trinidad Scorpion Butch T chile pepper pod over a period of 4 days becoming ripe on the plant. Short but sweet.
Weekly Firecast Podcast Episode #2 - Interview with Jim Duffy
The Audio Weekly Firecast with Scott Roberts:
Episode 002 - Interview with Jim Duffy of Refining Fire Chiles
Your favorite fiery foods and BBQ video show has now switched to an audio podcast format! Click here to subscribe via iTunes for playback on your iPod, iPhone or iPad, or subscribe via RSS Feed to download the episode(s) in your favorite podcast catcher.
An in-depth discussion with chile pepper grower and seller Jim Duffy of Refining Fire Chiles. He talks about how novices can grow their own super-hot chile peppers in their own home garden, the super-hot chile race to claim the world's hottest pepper title, why super-hots are like NFL quarterbacks, what his favorite flavors and types of chiles are, and the state of chile pepper-eating videos on YouTube.
Links mentioned in the episode:
• Jim Duffy's Website
• Youth Venture
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Photo Caption Contest Winner!
I'm finally ready to announce the winner for what I thought was the Best Caption for our July Photo!
Congratulations to...Ernie Rupp of Drapers BBQ! His line was..."Alas, Grandma was banished from the family photo. She was unable to cross her legs for the picture because Saturday is 'Commando' day."
Thanks to everyone who took part in this!
Review - Da Secret Sauce Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water
Ah, Hawaii. I'm ashamed to admit that I've never visited the beautiful island paradise of our 50th state. I've been to my fair share of luaus, but native Hawaiians probably know that the dancing, the tiki torches and roasted pig only showcase a miniscule fraction of Hawaiian culture and (no pun intended) flavor.
A lot of us have long known about the pepper-flavored vinegar, especially the variety that appears in bottles on some U.S. diner tables with the smaller sport peppers that float in the liquid. I've never been a fan of those, as I like more of a chile pepper flavor and presence instead of a splash-on condiment tasting like 98% vinegar. "Chili pepper water" is a variant that appears in Hawaii and is typically a bit more flavorful than the aforementioned diner version, as chili water often includes garlic, salt, ginger or mirin (a sugary Japanese condiment), in addition to the Hawaiian chile peppers (varieties of capsicum frutescens) plus vinegar and water.
Da Secret Sauce is a Hawaiian company that contacted me some months back and requested that I review their own spin on the chili pepper water, and below are my thoughts. They had also given me ...
Review of the HP22B Chile Pepper AKA Carolina Reaper, a Contender for the Hottest Chile Pepper in the World
Another chile pepper test on camera. This time out I eat and cook with the HP22B Chile Pepper AKA the Carolina Reaper. This comes courtesy of Ed Currie of the Pucker Butt Pepper Company. THis is being touted as the world's hottest chile pepper with averages (not top heat numbers, but average/mean numbers) of over 1.4 million SHU.
It will be announced via press releases on Labor Day 2012 concerning its heat record claims, and that the Pucker Butt Pepper Company and Pepper Joe's will be the exclusive seed vendors.
While whether or not the Scoville numbers will trump the Moruga Scorpions or if the HP22Bs will become Guinness-certified is open for debate, these are indeed some of the fiercest peppers I've ever eaten.
New Audio Weekly Firecast Podcast - Interview with CaJohn Hard
The Audio Weekly Firecast with Scott Roberts:
Episode 001 - Interview with John "CaJohn" Hard of CaJohn's Fiery Foods
Your favorite fiery foods and BBQ video show has now switched to an audio podcast format! Click here to subscribe via iTunes for playback on your iPod, iPhone or iPad, or subscribe via RSS Feed to download the episode(s) in your favorite podcast catcher.
Scott speaks with none other than "The Godfather" of hot sauces, John "CaJohn" Hard! CaJohn chats extensively about his history, his fiery products, what it takes to create new flavors, and the chile pepper heat race. Scott also reviews Hellfire Hot Sauce's Blueberry Hell Hot Sauce.
Links mentioned in the episode:
• CaJohn's Official Website
• Map Link to CaJohn's facilities in Westerville, Ohio
• Bowers, PA Chile Pepper Festival
• Houston Hot Sauce Festival
• Jungle Jim's Weekend of Fire
• Hellfire Hot Sauce
• HotSauceDaily.com and HotSauceWeekly.com
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Pepperfest 2012 - Southern Illinois Festival of Chiles
Union County, Illinois' annual Pepperfest AKA Festival de Chiles is quickly become an up-and-coming favorite gathering for chileheads and hot pepper fans throughout the Midwest, with some folks coming from as far as Washington, D.C. and Seattle, Washington. The event for 2012 will be held on September 1st from 11am - 5pm at Rancho Bella Vista, 825 Vines Rd, Cobden, IL.
The festival will have all the Jiménez clan working from sun up until sundown, picking chile peppers, making fresh salsa and homemade jams, jellies and processed chile pepper products, stringing up ristras, giving cooking classes, walking tours of the pepper fields to show folks the many varieties of hot pepper pods in bloom...
Review - Stadium Salsa Holy Toledo XX Hot Salsa
I remember the first time I met Greg Shepherd, owner of Stadium Salsa, vividly. We were booth in the foyer of Jungle Jim's Oscar Event Center several years ago, where the Weekend of Fire was about to go down. I was waiting for my bloggers booth pass while he was trying to obtain his pass for being a vendor that year. Long story short, we talked for a minute, exchanged business cards, and later met each other up in the main ballroom where the show was held.
That day I learned that Greg's food offerings weren't the most flame-o-riffic thing ever to hit a spicy food show, but they were pretty damn tasty nonetheless, including Stadium Salsa's Mexicali Cheese Dip (which interestingly enough, was interesting enough to Jonathon Passow's palette to review three years ago on The Hot Zone Online.) The few jars of Stadium Salsa's products I took home that year were the last of that Bowling Green, Ohio-based company I've had.
Until now, that is. Greg recently shipped a jar of his Stadium Salsa Holy Toldeo XX Hot Salsa for me to review. This extract-fueled is SS's entry into the super-chilehead race in the salsa category. Does it measure up to his previous tasty efforts, or does it get weighed down by the typical chemical-like flavor of capsicum extract? Read on to see what I think...
Announcement About the Weekly Firecast
Coming Soon! Please view the video for more info...
Feed Your Crowd Contest From Outta the Park BBQ Sauce
Outta The Park BBQ Sauce presents the Feed Your Crowd Contest, where YOU have the chance to win a $500 Whole Foods gift card plus daily gift cards from igourmet.com and of course, barbeque sauce from Outta The Park!
What do you feed your crowd? Submit up to five of your favorite food and feast pictures from family gatherings, parties and other events to our contest board on Pinterest.com. Just upload your image through the form above and ask your friends to go vote for your entry by hitting the "like" button on your photo on Pinterest!
Keep checking Outta the Park's leaderboard to see what rank you are in, and don't forget to go to Outta The Park's board on Pinterest to vote on your favorite entries! At the end of each day, whoever has the most likes receives the daily prize. Whoever earns the most likes August 15, 2012 through August 24, 2012 will win the grand prize of a $500 Whole Foods gift card. That's more than enough to feed a crowd!
Click to enter!
Tapatio Hot Sauce Infographic
Courtesy of OC Weekly (a website chronicling the happenings in Orange County, California), here are some facts and figures for Tapatio Hot Sauce in handy-dandy infographic form:
