Review - Ole Ray's Apple/Cinnamon and Peach-A-Licious Barbeque Sauces

Scott Roberts August 11, 2009 at 12:29 pm food Digg this Article

Here are a couple of items obtained from my recent excursion to the Weekend of Fire - Ole Ray's Apple/Cinnamon and Peach-A-Licious Barbeque Sauces. Both have been heavily-infused with fruit jelly and promise something different from commonplace BBQ sauces.

Apple/Cinnamon Barbeque Sauce

Ingredients:
Tomatoes, Apple Jelly, Lemon Juice, Apple Cider Vinegar, Corn Syrup, Molasses, Yellow Mustard, Brown Sugar, Liquid Smoke, Cayenne Pepper, Caramel, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder and Spices.

Aroma:
3 out of 5. Smells like light, sweet, mild BBQ sauce mixed with a splash of applesauce.

Appearance and Texture:
2 out of 5. A general, brown liquid with some spices and specks present. It's highly runny, and a bit too thin for my liking.

Taste Straight Up:
3 out of 5. If you like your BBQ sauces sugary and easy-going, then this may be your thing. I tasted the savoriness of apples, tomatoes, and brown sugar, with only the fainest hints of cinnamon. My first impression was that since this was so light and quasi-watery, perhaps this would work better as a marinade instead of something you would spread on grilled meat during cooking.

Peach-A-Licious Barbeque Sauce

Ingredients:
Tomatoes, Peach Jelly, Lemon Juice, Apple Cider Vinegar, Corn Syrup, Molasses, Yellow Mustard, Brown Sugar, Liquid Smoke, Cayenne Pepper, Caramel, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder and Spices.

Aroma:
Somewhat different than the Apple/Cinnamon sauce. It's still pleasant and sweet smelling, but this possesses an odd tartness.

Appearance and Texture:
3.5 out of 5. Peach-A-Licious is the smallest shade of brown lighter in color than the Apple/Cinnamon but has larger and more noticeable flakes of dark spices (the majority of which is probably black pepper) floating in the sauce. Thankfully, this is also thicker and more viscid, proving that it has better clingability. Still, I prefer super-dense and ultra-sticky barbecue sauces to something of this consistency.

Taste Straight Up:
4 out of 5. A more pronounced sweetness and tartness. It bordered on being a tomato-esqe sweet and sour sauce as opposed to a straight-forward BBQ sauce. As off the beaten path as this sauce was, I rather enjoyed the peachiness.

Taste on Food - Both Sauces

I tested both of these first on breaded chicken wings. The Apple/Cinnamon sauce fared much better on these than it did by itself, and the Peach-A-Licious maintained its uniquely special flavor. The chicken pieces had been given a liberal coating, and despite the fact that these sauces were drippy (especially the Apple/Cinnamon) they adhered to the surface of the breading nicely.

Ole Ray's Apple/Cinnamon and Peach-A-Licious Barbeque Sauces

Since BBQ chicken wings aren't everyone's bag, I also put the pair of sauces through the paces with cheese hot dogs and a piece of beef steak. The hot dogs were so-so, but the steak took on another life with the fruity tastes of Apple/Cinnamon and Peach-A-Licious. Both were very good, but I'd have to say that the Peach-A-Licious wins out as the superior of the two. Very different, but good.

Heat - Both Sauces

0 out of 5. The ingredients list on both contain cayenne pepper and black pepper, but I sensed no heat whatsoever. Perhaps I've just been acclimated to intense amounts of pepper fire and I can't detect any spiciness, so maybe those with chile-sensitive mouths could detect the faintest traces if heat.

In Conclusion

I prefer more of a basic barbecue sauce with flavors enhanced by molasses, hickory, or chile peppers, but both of products from Ole Ray would receive a thumbs up from me.

Ole Ray's website at http://www.olerayssauces.com points to http://www.bbqsource-store.com/oscommerce/index.php?manufacturers_id=81 for online purchasing, where you can pick up 16 oz. bottle for around $6.00 - 6.50 a piece.

Comments

Sandi
2009-08-11 19:57:39

We are regular users off Ole Rays sauces in this house. The bottles that I have aren't really that thin but not really thick either. Both of those sauces cook in nice on ribs. The apple cinnamon works really well on a baked or grilled chicken..it thickens up and sticks.
I don't know if you got to try the jerky we brought to WOF..but some was made with Ray's Kentucky Gold..awesome jerky sauce!

Linda
2011-10-14 16:38:15

I tried to order this Ole Ray's Apple Cinnamon sauce on line and the web site won't open. I was on:

olerayssauces.com

Do I have something wrong?

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