Hot Sauce: Frank's RedHot Sweet Heat BBQ Wings Sauce

 

I eat a lot of Frank's RedHot sauce...I really do put that sh*t on everything...so it's surprising that TCB hasn't reviewed it yet.

While Frank's Original is my all-purpose, vinegar-based hot sauce, their Sweet Heat BBQ Wings Sauce caught my eye in the grocery store and turned out to be pretty freakin' good.

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FLAVOR - Smoky mix of vinegar and pepper, with a smooth medium heat finish; subtle hint of buttery sweetness.
CONSISTENCY - Slightly thicker than the average hot sauce, but still on the thin side; holds food coating well
APPEARANCE -  Carnelian red with tiny black and white flecks

SMELL - Strong vinegar scent with noticeable pepper undertones

AVAILABILITY - Readily available

INGREDIENTS -Distilled vinegar, HFCS, water, aged cayenne red peppers, tomato paste, salt, modified food starch, honey, molasses, sugar, canola oil, paprika, mustard bran, natural flavors, garlic powder, sodium benzoate (as a preservative), xanthan gum, spices, caramel color, corn syrup

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This sauce is similar to some of the homemade concoctions I've made mixing Frank's Original with various BBQ sauces.  I really enjoy the flavor of Frank's Original and the Sweet Heat stays true to that flavor, but with a BBQ sauce spin.  It's obviously great on wings, but I also apply liberally to turkey burgers and roasted chicken.

And, We're Back...

After a two-month hiatus, The Condiment Bible is back in action!!!

After October's McRib madness, TCB hit peak daily traffic, so we did what every responsible condiment blog should do: quit posting and alienate as many potential readers as possible.  TCB: 1, interwebs: 0.

Over the past two months, we've dedicated ourselves to intense condiment research, comprehensive design overhaul and writing style improvement eating McRibs.

Seriously though, TCB is back.  And we've got things to look forward to:

• Our simple new blog design (and a pending switch to Tumblr).
• Continuation of our Sweet Baby Ray's Monday spotlight.
• More great condiment reviews. 

Image: mustard and hot dog love, by zen

Rooster Sauce Makes Moves

Huy Fong Foods, which makes the famous Rooster-labeled sriracha (reviewed by TCB), is expanding their facilities in LA County.

Inspirational quote:  "Demand for the product has increased every year for the last 30 years, said David Tran, a Vietnamese immigrant who said he founded the company when he couldn't find hot sauce he liked. 

Via The LA Times

Image by Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times

The Golden Age of Condiments

We've entered The Golden Age of Condiments.  Economically speaking, of course.   

Apparently condiment sales "grew 9.4 percent from 2007 to 2009, becoming the second largest category in the specialty foods market behind the perennial stalwart, cheese."

Look out, cheese.  We're coming. 

Via: Business Week

Image: Condiments for the best hot dog ever, by katehartman

McRib Madness

The McRib is back in the national spotlight, which probably has everything to do with The Condiment Bible's recent homemade McRib recipe.

The McRib is being re-re-released on a nation-wide scale on November 2nd.  Mark your calendars.

EDIT:  Confirmed by McDonald's Twitter feed.

Also, yours truly made the front page of the Wall Street Journal yesterday (last 2 paragraphs).  Was I really dejected after leaving a McD's sans McRib?  Yes.  Was I even more dejected that I made the front page of the WSJ and they DIDN'T FREAKING PLUG THE CONDIMENT BIBLE?  YES!

A People's History of Condiments, Part II

Historic gastronome Tom Nealon has continues his comprehensive account of condiment history, focusing his attention on the chimerical fifth flavor.  The Condiment Bible reviewed Part I a few weeks back.

Note:  This is the second post of a series, so stay tuned. 

Image:  YIP Day 317, Not Quite a Squircle, by Auntie P

Marinade / Finishing Sauce: Bittersweet Herb Farms Smoked Maple Chipotle

This entry to The Condiment Bible is another hold-out from my summer working in a pool supply store.  We used to keep the Bittersweet Herb Farm sauces up near the register (where it was easier to sneak delicious nips of smoked maple chipotle goodness).  The sauces came in long, skinny Bellisma bottles (they still do, just a little shorter).

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FLAVOR - Sweet and salty, with a smoky pepper middle and a nutty spice finish
CONSISTENCY - Fairly thin, with large pieces of what must be smoked jalapeño (chipotle)

APPEARANCE - Steak sauce brown, with visible black specks and lighter chunks

SMELL - Nutty, earthy scent with a tinge of vinegar

AVAILABILITY - Available

INGREDIENTS - Tomato puree (water, tomato paste, citric acid), molasses, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce (water, wheat, soybeans, salt), water, pure maple syrup, nutritional yeast, natural hickory smoke flavor, chipotle powder, herbs & spices

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This finishing sauce is FANTASTIC.  It has a full complexity of flavors that really satisfies the palate.  Before I read the nutrition facts, I was certain there were peanuts mixed in there (there is a distinctly pleasant nutty taste).  I also can appreciate the all natural ingredient list.

I've enjoyed the Smoked Maple Chipotle Finishing Sauce over a variety of food, but my favorite is over eggs.  I've also used it as a stir-fry sauce and a dipping sauce for grilled chicken kebabs.  The label lists a number of other pairing suggestions, as well as a baby back rib recipe.

Special thanks to Kim from Bittersweet Herb Farms for the free sample.

Recipe: How to Make Homemade McRibs

The McRib is not back [edit: yes it is!], but The Condiment Bible is sick of waiting.  We've heard all the cult stories (there aren't enough pigs in the U.S. to meet McRib demand, the McRib is part of a viral marketing "you want what you can't have" scheme, blah blah blah) and we've waded through the bullshit false alerts on the McRib Locator.  Frankly, we're sick of the hype...and today, we took matters into our own hands.

STEP 1:  Secure ingredients

• Bremer BBQ Sauce and Boneless Rib Shaped Pork Patties
• Nature's Pride Country White Deli rolls
• White onion
• Sliced dill pickle chips
• Bull's-Eye BBQ sauce
• Kraft BBQ sauce
• Light corn syrup
• Tester batch of McD's BBQ sauce

Everyone knows the heart and soul of the McRib is the pork patty, molded to look like a miniature rack of ribs.  This was the hardest ingredient to procure (we got ours at ALDI, the creepy single-brand grocery store you've probably never heard of).  We also heard through the McRib cult grapevine that JTM Food Group makes a suitable Boneless Pork Grillin' Rib.

STEP 2:  Mix BBQ Sauce

• 1/2 cup Kraft BBQ sauce
• 1/3 cup Bull's-Eye BBQ Sauce
• 1 tsp light corn syrup 

BBQ sauce is an essential component of the McRib.  We scored some tester packs of McD's BBQ sauce but determined that the McRib must use some hybrid (the taste was off from our memory).  After some Googling, we found the above recipe, which was as close as we could remember to the real deal.

Disclaimer:  This is about the only time we would ever buy Kraft BBQ sauce.

 

STEP 3:  Pork shower

The Bremer patties come soaked in some awful red goop they refer to "delicious spicy bbq sauce."  We showered this nastiness off after defrosting the whole package.

STEP 4:  Pat dry

Next, we patted the pork patties dry.  Note the molded rib shape and the pre-burned sear marks.

 

STEP 5:  Grill

We grilled the pork patties on medium-high, with a 600° initial sear (those are our grill marks, not the fake ones seen in Step 4).  They took about 3-4 minutes to heat through.

 

STEP 6:  Assembly

We chose the closest bun we could find to match the real thing, but there was still a half-inch overhang on each end of the patty.  Our pickles were a farm fresh dills (sliced thin) and we used the traditional white onion, sliced length-wise. 

We used Google images and the above diagram for assembly reference.

STEP 7:  Enjoy the deliciousness

Our homemade McRibs weren't perfect, but TCB believes they were the closest approximation of the McRib possible.  McDonald's, we thank you for forcing our hand to create this awesome McRib recipe. 

First image:  McRib is back, baby.  McRib is back, by permanently scatterbrained

Have you ever seen a Chinese ketchup?

Mad Money's Jim Cramer is bullish on Heinz and wants to know, "Have you ever seen a Chinese ketchup?"

Come to think of it Mr. Cramer, no we have not. 

Via Seeking Alpha

Image: 01-01-2007, by rhiannonstone

Mustard Fingerprint

Sweet mustard fingerprint, beb. 

Via: Walyou

Image: Left Ring Finger, by Kevin Van Aelst