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Review - Royito's Hot Sauce
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I know what you first thought; maybe Scott did a typo and accidentally called this jarred salsa a "hot sauce" instead. I assure you, this was no typo. Yep, this is one of those rare instances of a product billed as a hot sauce is sold in a jar. Kind of fitting, and perhaps a little confusing, as Royito's Hot Sauce could possibly be considered either a salsa or a hot sauce because of it's ingredients, texture and taste. That's certainly not a fault, because I often like it when cooks and chefs do fusion dances in their kitchens when creating new food enhancers.
The person responsible for this product is Roy Spence, one of the founders of the large Austin, Texas ad agency called GSD & M. Roy took his 60-year-old family recipe of all-natural ingredients, and applied his childhood nickname of Royito that his father gave him as the company moniker to his spicy condiment. John Blackington, Royito's employee and Self-described "friend of Roy", submitted a jar of which I will review right now...
Jim Campbell Reports on the Indiana Hotluck and Fiery Foods Expo
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In the historic and scenic river town of Madison, Indiana, lies a gem of chile pepper culture - the Indiana Hotluck & Fiery Foods Expo. It will be celebrating it's 17th year of existence next year, and this post concerns a description and re-cap of this year's, the 16th.
For those of you that have never heard the term before, a "hotluck" is like a potluck but featuring spicy dishes. Hotlucks have a long history on the email group [CH] Chileheads, and have been held all over the country. Most are simple affairs, hosted by chileheads in their own home. The "cost" of admission is to simply bring a chile related dish, a recipe (if you can't cook), or to just bring a plain love of spicy things and the willingness to chat about all things chile with anyone & everyone.
The Indiana Hotluck was built on that tradition with a few differences...
Firetalkers - Interview with Steve 'The Machine' Smallwood - The Peppers Preview
During the Peppers At The Beach Weekend this coming May 18 - 20 in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, the well-known chilehead known as Steve "The Machine" Smallwood will attempt to set or break a couple of Guinness World Records when it comes to speed eating super-hot chile peppers.
But who exactly is the man known as "The Machine"? Well, he was given the nickname by "Firehead" Thomas Gately of I Love It Spicy! because of two things. One, Smallwood's superhuman tolerance for capsaicin-included heat in challenges that would leave a vast number of experienced chileheads go running for a carton of milk to soothe the burn. For example, just look at how The Machine handles 11 million Scoville Heat Unit extract - the guy is so calm, cool and collected he makes The Fonz look like a panicking little wuss. Two, Smallwood possesses incredible speed and stamina in spicy eating contests. Go against him in a burn battle and chances are that this no-nonsense Kentucky boy will trounce you.
To help ramp up for the Peppers At The Beach Weekend, I recently talked to The Machine to get to know the man behind the myth and the legend. Many of us in the online chilehead circles already know him as a humble guy, a friend, and as a reviewer for the aforementioned I Love It Spicy!. But what exactly fuels this chile-chomping Machine and how does he keep it running so efficiently? Read on to find out...
Pyro Pete's Sauces Grill It Up On Fox 2 News
My fellow St. Louisan Peter McNees of Pyro Pete Sauces & Rubs has once again made an appearance on the Local Fox affiliate KTVI Channel 2. Last December he made his TV debut on the morning show. This time out he went on to do a little summertime grillin' with the morning show crew:
If you haven't tried his Ultimate Salsa, you're missing out on an all-around great dip and condiment. I gave it a 4 1/2 star review for its shear yumminess a while back. I would also like to point out to the metro St. Louis folks that Pyro Pete has picked up a new local retail store from which you can purchase his goods and save on shipping costs:
Nutrition Stop Inc
4101 Mexico Rd # K
St. Peters, MO
(636) 928-7550
nutritionstop.com
Or if you live elsewhere in the country, you can jump over to his website at pyropetesauces.com
Eight-Year-Old Starting His Own Hot Sauce Company
I recently reviewed sauces made by 13-year-old Nolan Bebber. Now, there is an 8-year-old trying his hand at creating spicy condiments. His name is Jordan Brenner, and he calls his products Jordan Brenner's Hot-Cha WAA-Cha Sauces.
Of course, young Jordan has had his father, Kendell Brenner, aide him tremendously in starting up his fledgling business. And like many folks looking for aletnative ways to fund and promote their goods and services, they're looking towards Kickstarter.
Jordan Brenner's Hot-cha WAA-cha sauces are looking to raise a minimum of $3,500 dollars to offset the huge expenses that are involved in starting a line of hot sauces. The money raised will help them expedite the processing of their business venture. Some of the expenses this will cover are FDA schedule process, labels, upfront fees of bottles and first run production for one, if not all of the designed recipes insurance, advertizing and promotions.
Kendell and Jordan have already put in a lot of time and money with artwork design, tasting groups and research and development of sauces - not to mention milk and bread to ease the pain of getting hot sauce in your eyes!
The three flavors they have developed are Mango Maple Habanero, Strawberry Habanero and and their Original Garlic-Lime Habanero.
Their Kickstarter link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1052293711/jordan-brenners-hot-cha-waa-cha-sauce
Weekly Firecast Episode 18 - Texas Creek Products Pure Evil 16 Million SHU Capsaicin Drops
You think you've tackled ultra-hot products before? Very few things have likely remotely close to Texas Creek Products Pure Evil SHU Capsaicin Drops. This stuff comes in a 1/2 ounce dropper bottle and contains pure 15-16 million SHU crystalline capsaicin, along with water, alcohol, ascorbic acid (aka Vitamin C) and xanthan. Although it should ONLY be used as a food additive (and even so it would be extreme), I tried about 6 drops straight on my tongue.
You would not believe the amount of heat from this. You know, I love a good chile pain and a burn, but this product crosses the line into "bad pain" territory. It stopped being pleasant. It's unreal. It's an absolutely unrelenting burn that, unlike super-hot peppers or extracts, doesn't go away until well after 30 minutes. At around 60-90 minutes after taking some of this, a lot of the discomfort went away yet I still felt the heat on my tongue where the drops fell and my lips were numb.
I would advise all of you, even seasoned chileheads, NOT to try this product like this. It's convinced me to never do another heat challenge or contest again. Where else would you go from here? there's nothing more to prove. I'm going to stick to nice, clean burns that come naturally from chile peppers. NO more extracts or capsaicin.
By the way, pure capsaicin does NOT thankfully have the nasty flavor of chile pepper extract. It's a good, clean taste. As I point out in the video, the only disagreeable taste is that of the alcohol used in the Pure Evil Drops. I don't think this would effect the overall flavor of whatever food to which you're adding this, such as a bowl of chile or a saucepan of taco seasoned beef.
The dropper bottle comes on a collector's tin and costs $19.99 plus shipping on the Texas Creek Products website.
World Record Weekend at Peppers At The Beach
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2nd, 2012
Steve "The Machine" Smallwood Attempts Chile Pepper World Record At Peppers At The Beach
If you are a hot pepper addict and can't resist the call of Fiery Foods then you are in luck. Peppers, one of the biggest Hot Sauce Stores in America is proud to announce their Peppers at the Beach Tailgate Party at Rehoboth Beach on May 18th through May 20th. In their 3rd year, Peppers at the Beach is once again showing the Chile Pepper community why this is turning into one of the biggest shows in the country. Promising over 100 chefs and vendors in attendance showing off their line of products, free food tastings, chicken wing contests with jumbo wings provided by Mountaire Farms and topped off with the much anticipated attempt of breaking the world record for eating the hottest peppers in the world.
This year exclusively at Peppers at the Beach with the additional honor of Peppers Hot Sauce Store, Eat More Heat, High River Sauces, Chile Pepper Magazine, Scott Roberts and Endorphin Farms of sponsoring the living legend Steve "The Machine" Smallwood for attempting to break the Guinness Book of World Records. Steve will attempt to...
Review - Blue Ox Jerky Co. Peppercorn Smoked Beef and BLAZIN' HOT Smoked Beef Jerky
With a slogan that reads, "our jerky punches gas station jerky in the face", you know that The Blue Ox Jerky Co. means business, or at least attempt to give the impression that they do. In a world of hyped-up marketing and a more irreverent style used by newer companies, can Blue Ox's claims be backed up by their product? I tested out a couple of their beef jerkies to find out. Blue Ox Jerky Co. sent me their Peppercorn Smoked Beef Jerky and BLAZIN' HOT Smoked Beef Jerky for review, and below are my humble li'l opinions...
Spring Super Spicy and BBQ Sale For Memorial Day Weekend
Since the major chile blogs had such a great sale prior to the Super Bowl, Al "Buddah" Goldenberg of I Love It Spicy! thought why not do one for the Spring. Traditionally Memorial Day Weekend is the start for the opening of beaches, picnic gatherings, and at home, the unofficial start of the grilling season (although we BBQ and griller fanatics do it year 'round).
With this sale, we let any company selling their products to join in on the promotion even if they were not spicy. We are here to help them succeed and giving them a platform like this can only assist them get their products to places where they would not normally be found. Please take a hard look at what is being offered. Think about enhancing your grilling experience or something you can add to a gathering of friends and/or family. Perhaps something to share with your co-workers or neighbors. Help support these small companies, and at the same time taste some great products while doing so.
Click the link to see the list of participating companies and specials. Happy Shopping, and be sure to stock up...
Deano's Jalapenos AND Habaneros? Take Advantage of This Limited Run Mix Offer Through May 5
Deano's Jalapenos are one of the most amazing spicy snacks you'd ever want to come across. They're so scrumptious and additive that I named them my product of the year for 2010; and if you would try them you might very well agree with me.
Last year head honcho Doehne "Deano" Duckworth had whipped up a small batch of his incredible cheddar snacks not with jalapenos, but with the hotter habaneros. I have them my thumbs up. While they did not have the "grab a handful and pop 'em in your mouth" quality as their lower-heat jalapeno counterparts did, as you may know that if you eat enough habaneros the burn will quickly accumulate to anything from a nice, eye-watering, happy fire in your mouth to an all-out hellish inferno - depending on your heat acclimation level, of course. With the cheddar sprinkling, they were nearly as good as the fried, thinly-sliced jalapeno rings; so I know if and when Doehne was going to find a cheap-enough habanero supplier, these would stop being cost-prohibitive enough for him to start selling these.
Well, instead of straight habaneros, Deanos has opted for a mix of jalapenos and habaneros for a limited time. And that's fine by me; as there should be a good mix of outstanding flavor and a bit more heat that chileheads were clamoring for. And to coincide with this blend, Deano's is offering the following for Cinco De Mayo: buy any 6-pack of Deano's Cheddar, Ranch or Sea Salt Jalapenos, and get 1 bag of the limited run of Cheddar Jalapeno/Habanero Blend for free! Or purchase 12 bags and get 2 bags of the Jalapeno/Habanero mix free.
To take advantage of this deal, click on over to http://www.deanosjalapenos.com and order by May 5th. Enter the word "CINCO" in the special instructions field when checking out in PayPal (click the "Add" link to access this), and you'll get the special deal!
Weekly Firecast Episode 17 - Cajun Heat C'est Bon Cajun Q BBQ Sauce
Officially "debuting" on April 27, 2012, C'est Bon Cajun Q BBQ Sauce from Cajun Heat is owner Clement Bourg's painstakingly-crafted version of a barbecue topper that contains the unique blend of Louisiana-inspired spices. After I swallow a spoonful of the sauce, I test it out on food for the first time on camera. Can I declare about this sauce "it's good!" (which is what "C'est Bon" means in French)? Watch the video to catch my unique reaction.
If you're interested in purchasing this sauce (it comes in a 16 oz bottle) or any other of Cajun Heat's top notch products, you can get a 35% discount on your entire order all day long on Friday, April 27, 2012 if you use the coupon code CAJUN-Q at CajunHeat.com!
By the way, Happy Birthday, Clement!
Hot Licks - Sriracha Lollipops (Yep, They Exist!)
Lollyphile's Sriracha Lollipop...If you are someone who douses just about any food item with fiery red Sriracha sauce, you may be interested in this confection: Sriracha lollipops.
Yep, such a thing exists! They're made by a candy company that began in San Francisco called Lollyphile. The fiery hot pops will put any cinnamon candy to shame, and the product was clearly born out of a love for the spicier side of things. From the product page...
Review Bites - Spicy Snack Mini Reviews - Planters Five Alarm Chili Peanuts and Doritos Jacked Chips
Let's face it. The larger, faceless corporations that have been churning out spicy snacks have a pretty mediocre track record. For every bulls-eye like Red Hot Riplets (mostly distributed in the St. Louis, Missouri area), there are a hundred failed attempts at creating snack chips, crackers and nuts that appeal to both bold flavor lovers and chileheads alike. One egregious example of a facepalmed crash-and-burn is the Xtreme line from Pringles; not only are they laughably tame in terms of having even the slightest modicum of spiciness, but most barely contain only a skimpy flavor coating on the surface of the chips (I still love their Cheez 'Ums version, now known as simply Cheddar Cheese).
Thank the Maker, or the makers, that I've found three instances where a snack item contains a substatntial amount powerful taste, even when they may not necessarily be the hardcore chilehead's wet dreams. For this review, I'll cover a pair of worthy flavors from Doritos' new Jacked lineup, Smoky Chipotle BBQ and Enchilada Supreme, plus a surprising entry from Planters, Five Alarm Chili Peanuts. Read on to find out more...
Hear My Appearance on the Gettin' Sauced with Draper's BBQ Show
Last Wednesday I was asked to be a guest on the Gettin' Sauced with Draper's BBQ Show, hosted by Shane Draper of Drapers BBQ. We talk about the friendly nature of the hot sauce and barbecue communities, the art and science of product reviewing, and more. I'm on for roughly a half-hour, and my segment starts in at around the 8:00 mark. If you do have a few hours to play this recording in the background, I would recommend listening to the entire episode.
Race City Sauce Works Named Finalist for SOFI Award
2012 sofi™ Silver Finalists
For Immediate Release
Race City Sauce Works Named Finalist for sofi™ Award
Winners to be announced at Summer Fancy Food Show
Charlotte, North Carolina (April 16, 2012) – Race City Sauce Works has been named a Silver Finalist for Outstanding Salad Dressing in the 2012 sofi™ Awards from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Inc.
A sofi Award is the top honor in the $75 billion specialty food industry. "sofi" stands for Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation and is considered the Oscars™ of the Specialty Food industry.
The El Verde Sucio "Dirty Green" Roasted Poblano & Green Olive Vinaigrette was one of 110 Silver Finalists selected by a national panel of specialty food experts. The judges evaluated 1,935 entries across 30 Awards categories from Outstanding Appetizer, Antipasto, Salsa and Dip to Outstanding Vinegar. Gold Winners will be announced by noted chef José Andrés at a red-carpet ceremony June 18, 2012, at the Summer Fancy Food Show in Washington, D.C...
