Review - Peppahead Brand Big Red Chile Rub and BBQ Sauce
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Contrary to the name, Peppahead's Big Red Southwestern Roasted Chile Rub and Big Red Succulent & Smokey BBQ Sauce are not red per se. Nonetheless, these fairly new offerings from chile pepper grower, photographer and sauce & seasoning meister Larry Noggle were devised to give meats and chili a Southwestern accent and I couldn't wait to crack them open.
Big Red Southwestern Roasted Chile Rub
Ingredients:
A unique blend of Mexican and New Mexican chiles, and 5 spices.
Aroma:
3.5 out of 5. Smoky and almost sweet, the overall scent is light and pleasant.
Appearance and Texture:
3 out of 5. This maroon-tinted brown spice mix resembles the Big Red moniker closer than the darker-colored sauce. The consistency is very fine and evenly granulated.
Taste Straight Up:
3 out of 5. Big Red Southwestern Roasted Chile Rub is darkly smoky and dances on the bitter sides of things, despite its aroma which hinted at sweetness. Although difficult to pin down the supporting tones, this salt-free chile pepper blend may contain traces of garlic and black pepper.
Heat:
A few seconds after taking a lick, a measurable amount of heat warmed my tongue. Big Red Chile Rub never rises about chipotle level flamage, but it does dominate the taste several seconds in as it coats the tongue and the roof of mouth.
Big Red Succulent & Smokey BBQ Sauce
Ingredients:
Tomato, molasses, vinegar, Big Red Rub, onion, garlic, mesquite salt and maltodextrin (gluten free)
Aroma:
2.5 out of 5. The smell of Big Red BBQ Sauce is sweet and agreeable, yet it's ruled over by a very generic molasses and tomatoes scent. Nothing special in this regard.
Appearance and Texture:
3 out of 5. This could have been thicker in my opinion, but that's only a minor gripe. Overall it's a lovely brown liquid with terrific clingability and pourability.
Taste Straight Up:
3.5 out of 5. Tangy, sweet, smoky and moderately vinegary, Big Red BBQ sauce tenderly keeps these attributes juggling in the air with expert aplomb. Okay, this stuff certainly isn't crazily original by any stretch of the imagination yet it should appeal to a large segment of the barbecue eating audience. This may not have been my favorite but as an all-purpose elixir I see it almost as a "go-to" sauce.
Heat:
This contains just a smidgen of chile pepper-infused burn, probably enough to classify this as "spicy" by the general population. Hardcore chileheads will find this relatively mild and instead see the pepperiness as another aspect of Big Red's flavor.
Taste on Food
I've used both the sauce and the rub in various applications, from chicken and pulled pork to being an additive to chili. For testing purposes for this review, I bought a healthy-sized pork tenderloin and gave it a liberal coating of the rub. The spice blend's bottle recommends using this as a marinade by adding lime juice, pressed garlic and salt, or a meat coating for a hot and fast grill by adding a layer of olive oil, I opted for putting this straight on the meat. In typical Scott Roberts style, I gave all sides of the tenderloin a thick layer of the rub approximately one hour before putting this baby in the smoker.
After 4 or 5 hours of being smoked by apple wood and slow-cooked by charcoal, it was time to dive in and consume some of this succulent meat.
There was an ultra-thin bark and a nice smoke ring on the pork. I applied the sauce only after slicing off and plating a few chunks. Ah, this was great! Any deficiencies as either the sauce or the spice rub were diminished greatly. The chile warmth and smokiness from Big Red Rub provided a magnificent backdrop while the BBQ sauce aimed and mostly hit the bull's eye with a very accessible flavor.
I've also since used the Big Red Rub in many other instances. I've found that I've had to add a salty, savory or sweet elements to its hot and bitter taste; once I do that, it really "pops".
Alright, some of you may be thinking that what I mentioned is a huge drawback. It honestly depends on how you look at it. It also heavily depends on what you would put the rub on. Some things like chili-cheese fried potatoes is fantastic with a sprinkling of Big Red Rub on the potatoes, with no additional seasoning other than what was already present in the chili.
In Conclusion
Peppahead Brand has some big flavors that a lot of food fans would dig, despite them not being wholly original or earth-shattering.
Big Red BBQ Sauce and Rub can be purchased separately or together in a special "duo" offer at the Peppahead website.
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2010-10-11 06:48:57
2010-10-12 07:27:51
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