Sunday, October 4, 2009

Chok' On Dis Blaz'n Glaze

[Standard review disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, I have no affiliation with and received no compensation from restaurants or product manufacturers reviewed and paid full retail price for the item reviewed.]

A little over a week ago my curiosity was piqued by a review Brian did over at Hot Sauce Daily on a sauce called Chok' On Dis Blaz'n Glaze. Enough so, that I ordered a single bottle from the company's website at Bisummo.com.

I laughed at their company mission statement, " 'cause we're tired of being po' ". The shipping was very prompt, well packed and included a hand written note of thanks from the owners.

I won't try to do a hot sauce review, because that's Brian's specialty. But I will give you my thoughts.

First, this is NOT a hot sauce so to speak, like Tabasco, Franks, etc. It is a finishing glaze and dipping sauce. Second, I am not a chile head and don't crave the extreme burn like some people do (i.e. Brian, LOTW, or Adam Richman of Man vs. Food). I like more of a "robust spicy flavor" than worrying about how many scoville units I can handle.

That being said, I like to taste my sauces, glazes, etc straight from a spoon before I try to use them in a meal. My initial impression went from sweet to heat in about 0.5 nanoseconds. The habanero caught the back of my throat off guard and I literally chok'd on dat. Honestly, I was worried I might have gotten something too hot for my tastes.

As a Dipping Sauce
Saturday night I grilled up a couple of ribeyes and tried the Chok' On Dis as a dipping sauce. I was impressed! The obnoxious heat I felt drinking it straight the day before wasn't there. It was a perfect complex layering of flavors. The fruity sweet peach and habanero mash heat complimented the steak very well, instead of taking center stage.

As a Glaze
This is where Blaz'n Glaze hit's it's stride. I seasoned some boneless pork chops with my normal pork chop rub and then grilled them on the Big Green Egg at 500f. I brushed them with the sauce in the last few minutes. The thin sauce (compared to bbq sauces) cooked onto the meat exceptionally well.

I served them up with some franconia style potatoes and green beans.

The result of cooking with Blaz'n Glaze was kind of like riding the elevator at an old-fashioned department store (what us old folks shopped at before Walmart and the internet), with the various floors being smoky, bold, sweet, and a bit of a kick. I loved it.

I'll definitely buy some of this again and I can't wait to try it on some wings. And for what it's worth.....I like their label Brian :)