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Multi-Review: The Boulder Hot Sauce Company- Smokey Serrano
By Buddah | August 28, 2008 |
Reviewer 1: BUDDAH
When I first contacted Harry Robertson, the owner and founder of The Boulder Hot Sauce Company, I needed a carrot based hot sauce to compete in the Battle of the Bottles III. His Harry’s Habanero fit the need quite nicely, and he quickly agreed to do it. With the deal we also got this other hot sauce called Smokey Serrano. He told me it was this sauce that got him in the business, so I was excited to try it. Let us take a look at what makes up this sauce:
Ingredients: Purified Water, Vinegar, Red Ripe Serrano Peppers, Fresh Poblano Peppers, Fresh Onions, Fresh Carrots, Habanero Peppers, Fresh Garlic, and Salt.
I really like the brown paper bag style of label with the slogan on the side, “I Always Sweat Like This!”
So will I be induced to sweat by this hot sauce? Yes. Heatwise, its hot, but not overly so when you have it right out of the bottle. I did find out that if you try warming it up, you will too. My first impressions were that it was a duplicate version of Harry’s Habanero. I had nothing left to compare side by side, but the taste of both were very smokey. The name on this bottle might say this is the real smokey version. All I know is that on my chicken it was a little too much for me. Its a nice flavor, but I think I needed to use it on beef instead. An idea hit me to try it on some steak strips that I had bought. Now here the flavor was real nice with the sauce heated up on the steak pieces. The heat level practically doubled for me. I wasn’t surprised that the slogan was coming true for me because I do always sweat like this.
In between ideas and in a rush for work, I made an impromptu chicken salad using some mayo, the Smokey Serrano and some Sargento’s Sharp Wisconsin and Vermont Cheddar and Real Bacon. This makeshift meal was one of the best chicken salad creations to date. I think I know why this version of chicken worked better than the thigh and drumstick I had eaten before it. The mayo diluted the smokiness a little and the resulting flavor complimented the chicken than overpower it. The smokiness was still present, but in a pleasant way. With the saltiness of the bacon plus the cheese I found myself licking up the bowl like a dog.
I had one last desire/craving to try this on, and that was meat pizza. I like pepperoni by itself, but on pizza I rather have it plain or with sausage. There is a pizza place by me that makes a pizza with sausage, bacon, ham and pepperoni. I asked them to substitute the pepperoni with a personal favorite of mine, gyro meat. Boy is this pizza tasty on its own.
What a yummy combination of flavors when the sauce is added to this heavy meat slice of pizza. I loved each and every bite and give this smokey meal one giant thumbs up. I encourage you to seek out this sauce if you are into smokey-types of hot sauces because this is a winner on the right food. It has no sugar, no carbs and no fat to boot. Harry you did well, now what else do you have up your sleeve?
Reviewer 2: HUDD
This sauce has a mild smokey aroma and a nice habanero bite to it. It has a nice thick consistency with the finely chopped onions and garlic, which are very visible.
When I received this bottle I saw “Smokey” and right away thought of doing something on the grill with it. I mixed some chopped onion and shredded cheese into a pound of ground beef and pattied up three burgers. I fired up the grill, and after a few minutes I poured a nice amount of Smokey Serrano on top of the patties. Then I flipped them over and added some to the other side. Once the burgers were done I added a slice of cheese and a little more of the sauce and put it on a bun and took a bite. The garlic is detectable right away, as is the onion. With a mild burn that gets a little warmer with each bite. Next time I’m adding the sauce right into the ground beef with the shredded cheese. I enjoyed the Smokey Serrano and will use it again in the future.
Reviewer 3: JUSTIN
The first thing I thought when trying this sauce is that it looked, smelled and tasted like Harry’s Habanero, the one that I did a review on for the Battle of the Bottles. I wish now that I had saved some of it to compare them. It’s got the same chunky yet juicy consistency as salsa would, and the smell reminds me of a Tahiti Joe’s sauce. For the short list of ingredients it has a pretty complex flavor to it with a strong hit of that smokey serrano it was named for. It reminds me of a smoked salt that a friend gave me. I expected the sodium level to be high, but was surprised to find that it was actually half that of most other sauces in my fridge. It definitely has potency to the flavor of it that isn’t a bad thing, but could be toned down just a little. It’s not as hot as Harry’s Habanero, but like Harry’s Habanero the heat level surprised me. This one is about as hot as I would of expected from the Harry’s Habanero, and by the time I finished eating my 4 slices of pizza I had broken out in a light sweat.
Looking at the sauce you can see that there are lots of chunks of onion and garlic in there. Even though they are decent sized chunks all the flavors in the sauce are very well blended, and the only one to really stand out is the one on the label which is the Smokey Serrano. I already mentioned it, but in case you missed it I choose pizza to eat and review this sauce on. That turned out to be a good choice, but I used too much sauce, and could barely taste the pizza at all. I’m not really sure what else this sauce would go good on, but I’m thinking a burger done on the grill would be a perfect match. Maybe if I poured a little in the pan with some onions and mushrooms while they sautéed, and then added the mix to my burger with a slice of pepper jack cheese. I’m almost out of sauce but I think ill save the rest to give it a try.
The only other complaint I have about this sauce (and the Harry’s Habanero) is that I picked a lot of stem pieces out of it while eating. Not so many that it ruined the sauce for me. There were so little in Harry’s Habanero I didn’t mention it in the first review, but there were at least a few stem pieces in each bottle. All in all it’s a good sauce. It’s got a flavor that although it isn’t the best I have ever had, it stands out from the crowd and is something that you will remember.
The Boulder Hot Sauce Company
toll free: 866.253.7468
Email us: Harry@boulderhotsauce.com
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Topics: General, Hot Product Reviews, Reviews | 6 Comments »
Nice reviews guys. Justin, you do need to try it on a burger on the grill. I don’t use aluminum and most of fell off while cooking so that’s why I’m mixing right into the ground beef before I patty the burger up. Betty and Danny also enjoyed this one.
That should’ve said aluminum foil.
Nice reviews Hudd & Justin. Thanks for participating.
Nice review everyone and I’m glad to hear how
likes his sausage
Ya know, not enough people come out with Serrano based sauces….tis a great thing when one sees one.
I agree. I think that the Serrano has a really good flavor. they can also pack a good punch with the heat.