I’ve recently been introduced to a new fish monger and with his expertise have come some unbelievable products. He loves to deal with new people, and while looking through his selection of fish, he asked me if I wanted to deal or no deal with him. Intrigued, I said “deal.” He went to his secret back room and brought back a huge box. As all fish mongers do, he was trying to make a sale, but in this case he had the upper hand. He opened the box and with my wide eyes, the sale was already completed.

Aren’t these pretty?

CLAWS!

Now I had a hard time coming up with how to make this a blog-worthy-post. Searching the web for a hot & spicy crab leg recipe produced no results. So I went back and forth with a few people in the comments section (thanks DK) and it seemed my idea was worth the attempt.
I’ll be steaming these for 12 minutes; so I’m using the largest pot I have. I fill the bottom with 3 inches of water; add garlic and a few hefty pinches of sea salt. I’m thinking the salt should bring the boiling point up, thus getting a hotter steam. Then I decided to add a couple drops of Muso’s extract to the water.

I bought this one on Ebay for $1 + shipping.

I next got my other items ready.
Dipping sauce ingredients…

and ‘cooling’ agent.

Now I was ready to add Muso’s extract to the sea salt water and garlic. I followed the advice from Muso’s site and put on rubber gloves. I ran warm water over the bottle, unscrewed the top and put in a couple drops. The fumes tickled my nose oh so well.

If all goes as planned, I’ll also be using gloves to crack open and eat the legs. (Would hate having burned hands! As a side note, Muso just recently started selling PURE CAPSAICIN POWDER.)
I turned on the stove and waited for the water to boil to get the steam going. Garlicly heat fumes filled the house and I had to open windows and doors to keep the air clean. To fit in the steamer, I had to break the leg and claw in three places.

After 10 minutes I decided to take the temperature and got 191 degrees.

I took the crabs out, plated and got ready to eat.

Nice lump of meat!

The crab was delicious. The meat was succulent and sweet. The Nitro dipping butter sauce was delectable. But the overall results were pitiful. The Muso steam did absolutely nothing for the crab. I licked the shells and tasted nothing, so I took off the rubber gloves and finished up a scrumptious meal.

Having felt defeated, I had to try something…so I decided to taste the water.

HOLY hill of beans. I started sling carp. I used the cooling agent more and more and then my hands started to burn.
I have more of these legs and hope that one of you can help me find the best way to make this a hot & spicy dish.

Enjoy Life
-thakswet

I was asked to put a picture up of Blair’s #1 3AM; so it is.

Blair said this bottle was made nine years ago and it was in the possession of an employee at peppers.com ever since it was purchased at a show in Reno. It went up on ebay this past holiday season. After a successful bidding war, I received confirmation that I had the highest bid. From me asking Blair about the legitimacy of the bottle, he must have contacted the peppers.com employee and the discussion of fixing any problems in the wax came up. After shipping back and forth I received my prize.

Packaging: Sweet and something different. Both the #2 and #1 are packaged what I think are small ‘old school’ liquid medicine bottles. The label and logo are ideal for the product. Each lid is covered with one layer of wax, aka. Blair’s Reserve style. The #2 was signed by a silver ink pen by the Creator and numbered in code on the bottom of the bottle. I think that adds an awesome personal touch. Both bottles have the same ingredients list (Peppers, Vinegar, Butter, Salt, Spices), but you’ll notice through tasting that #1 adds extract. (Which IS written on the front #1 label.) The #2 sauce is 8 oz and the # 1 is a mere 4 oz. I do not think any changes should be made to the packaging (well, maybe just more sauce) and thus give these two a close to perfect 9 out of 10. As a collector, it’s a unique addition. I almost hated cutting into the wax to open a bottle…but it’s fun to pretend it’s like how opening an expensive Blair’s Reserve would be.

Coloring/Temperament: Love it. Pours only after shaking the bottle. Orange in color. #1 is darker in color and more difficult to completely blend due to the small bottle. Regardless, these are attractive sauces. Wonderful scent too. Make sure you refrigerate both of these; they contain dairy products. 10 out of 10.

Consistency: Both are faultless; thick enough to get a sufficient amount in every bite. #1 shows some oil around the sauce when left to settle. I assume it’s the oil from the extract. 10 out of 10.

Heat: Wow and WoAhh. #2 is an impeccably created wing (and lamb) sauce. Buttery heat, just enough for ALL, and I mean ALL to enjoy a flavor filled buttery-tasting hot sauce. The #2 is perfect to award everybody to a delicious heat. NO, #2 is NOT chillehead hot. It’s a pleasant heat; and heavenly. I personally love the #2 heat level, mostly due to the buttery taste. #2 heat is not too hot for the average Tabasco user, actually it’s better! BUT, the #1 IS heat filled. Not too overly ‘extracted’; the flavor is still apparent. I’d just say not to give your grandma some DEFCON #1. 24 out of 25

Taste: I had my ex-girlfriend taste some Defcon Condition 2; she LOVED it. Her exact quote was, “This is how hot sauce should taste.” #2 is THE perfect wing sauce. It’s a lovely taste of buttery goodness. It lacks the overly ‘black pepper’ taste of Wing Time, but that’s what makes it so lip-smacking. Condition #1 is HOT. I think it loses that heavenly taste only to add that hot heat heads are looking for.

The DEFCON Creator has done a miraculous job and he really knows his material. You’ll really learn some stuff from his posts on www.thehotpepper.com.

If you haven’t tried these sauces, you would only be doing yourself a flavor in buying some! DEFCON #2 Wing Sauce will be added to my all time favorites (replacing Wing Times Super Hot.)

Packaging 9/10
Coloring / Temperament 10/10
Consistency 15/15
Heat 24/25
Taste 39/40
Overall 97 /100

Enjoy Life
-thakswet

Related Posts
- Review: Defcon Zero
- Defcon Sauces

Anybody know if Blair has a skull buy back??

HAPPY HALLOWWEEN!

-thakswet

First thing I noticed when I opened up my latest hot sauce shipment was a nice 5oz. bottle with the signature gold sticker “Winner 2005 Fiery Food Challenge” on the bottle’s neck. Oh yum yum this is going to be good! But I decided to do some research, and I could only find that Uncle Brutha’s No.10 sauce was the actual 2nd place winner, not this No.9 sauce. Maybe they had some extra stickers and decided to put them on their other products. Or maybe if you win one award you’re allowed to put the stickers on all your products. Regardless, I don’t know how this sauce could have lost any competition; it’s that tasty.

Remembering The Smoking Tongue’s comments (see days 25, 52, 69 and 73) concerning chef faces on hot sauce labels means the sauce is going to be ridiculously terrible; Uncle Brutha’s breaks that mold wide open. You’ve got Brennan G. Proctor’s mug on each and every bottle, smiling like he knows something you don’t. Around the back of the label are some Nutrition Facts (30 servings, com’on’), a few warnings to the heat of the sauce (not quite a XX heat level, maybe just a quarter of a X), and a quaint family folklore about the origins of the sauce. Now, I’m not going to bore you with specifics; but the folklore about the great great uncle “Brutha” finding a wild patch of strange fruit while working on the Underground Railroad is a bit tacky; especially since the props should be going to Chef Proctor.

Upon opening the bottle; I knew from the odor exactly what I was getting into. This puppy is my version of hot sauce heaven. Pourable, finely chucks of green chilies with a scant about of chili seeds and not even a hint of vinegar smell. And the flavor….oh the flavor.

I’ve finished half the bottle just tasting it over and over again. It’s that good. It actually surprises me that Four Gem Enterprises, Inc can manufacture a sauce like this that can stay consistent between production batches. Chef Proctor is a master at blending the flavor with the heat. Heat only creeps up through the flavor, lingers and never over powers the next taste. Heavenly.

I can’t wait to try Uncle Brutha’s No. 10, the actual 2nd place winner.

Packaging 6/10 (would be a 9 without the sticker)
Coloring / Temperament 9/10
Consistency 15/15
Heat 22/25
Taste 38/40

Final Score: 90/100

The label on the Super Fancy #1 Every Day Sauce is freaky. A whole lot of freakiness going on; like the Elvis-looking, half-shaved dude with a house as shoulders, holding a white boot saying Gol darn that’s good. Plus they use graphics to make the label look vintage. Unique; screams old school and raw.

But I don’t like it. It’s spooky. I’d consider redoing the label; especially with all the colors they use to print them. I like the sticker label on the lid, but too many words are spewed around the jar in different types of fonts and looks messy to me.

The sauce comes in an eight ounce jar with is good, cause this sauce is not going to flow out of a bottle. I’d call it a preserve. You’ll need to spoon it out, or use a butter knife. This should be smeared on stuff; and used in recipes. It’s extremely mild, which is what I’d be expecting. They have sauces ranging from this #1 (mildest) up to #42 (67,582 Scoville units!)

Super Fancy #1 comes with a recipe book to help you figure out how to use it. I really didn’t enjoy tasting it from the jar, and I had a very hard time thinking of a way to use it. None of the recipes from the book seemed worth trying either. It was opened two and a half weeks ago and I’ve been banging my head off the refrigerator door trying to come up with something to put this on.

It tastes like carrots mixed with tomato juice and has an aftertaste of onion/garlic. No heat. Reminds me of baby food; except I would eat baby food in a pinch.

I’d try some of the higher #numbered Torchbearers sauces before using this one again. And since I was taught not say anything if I didn’t have something nice to say, I’ll add that the price of $6.95 is not that bad to add Super Fancy #1 to a hot sauce collection (if you have the space.)

Packaging - 2.5 out of 10
Coloring / Temperament - 4 out of 10
Consistency - 6 out of 15
Heat - 2 out of 25
Taste - 10 out of 40

Total 24.5 out of 100

-thakswet

Ingredients: Red Peppers, Peppers, Malt Vinegar, Vinegar, Salt, Natural Spices and seasoning, sugar, and other natural Flavorings.

Uncle Dougie’s manufactures a whole line of products. I found a rub, some jalapeno mustard, a deli spread, some hot sauces, and this MARINADE. And because Uncle Dougie’s makes all these different products, I’m going to use this exactly how Uncle Dougie’s suggests on the label’s bottle:

By experimenting on close friends and having a large supply of cold libations I’ve developed an easy and convenient way to prepare the best spicy chicken wings you will ever eat! Here’s how I do it - wash and cut the chicken wings in half, separating them at the joint (they’re easier to eat this way). Place wings in a bowl and cover with Uncles Dougies Marinade for 10-15 minutes. Mix occasionally so they are well coated. Place wings on a 1″ deep cookie sheet and pour remaining marinade from the bowl over the wings. (On cookie sheet, wings should be half-way submerged in marinade). Bake at 400 - 450 for 60 minutes. Drain the juice and bake to desired crispness. Usually 20-30 minutes more. (We like them well done).

A marinade is a seasoned liquid in which foods are soaked (marinated) in order to absorb flavor and, in some instances, to be tenderized. A marinade usually contains an acid (lemon juice, wine, and in this case, vinegar - lots of vinegar) and herbs or spices. The acid acts as a tenderizer. (Remember, never marinate in aluminum…oh and when fruits are similarly soaked, the term used is MACERATE- but I wouldn’t use THIS marinade to macerate.)

The bottle has a funny looking chicken head with smoke coming from its beak. No where, ANYWHERE on this label does Uncle Dougie’s claim any type of heat level. It’s just Chicago Style; not hot, super hot, mild, medium, extreme, etc What’s Chicago Style? A marinade made 35 miles from Chicago is considered Chicago Style. And this is the ONLY Chicago Style marinade around. Can you make a marinade in Boston and call it Chicago Style? No.

Once again, I decide to follow Uncle’s directions to the tee. I usually make my wings like THIS, but not in this case. Instead of a 9 minute frying time, it looks like I’ll have to bake for 1 1/2 hours.

I still had to do a little butchering of the chicken skin. Look how much skin can come from only 11 wingettes. I even kept some skin on for the “crisp” factor.

I wish they would sell skinned-chicken wings in grocery stores, or at least Whole Foods.

Half the bottle was gone after I poured enough to cover the wingettes.

(((Yes, that’s La Piara Tapa Negara in the background….it has 20% more gratis.. and if you hit that site check out Cola Cao, it’s so much tastier than Hersheys)))!!!

I took Dougie’s advice and grabbed a cold liberation a Yuengling. This Lager, by America’s Oldest Brewery, is my favorite chicken-wing-waiting drink.

This gives me some time to taste Uncle’s marinade straight from the bottle. booyah! It’s tastes like an ever-so-slightly spicier Frank’s Red Hot. Tastes fine, not impressive or unique; just fine. I can definitely taste the malt vinegar, which is vinegar produced from barley cereal grains. (After the grains are soaked they release active enzymes that digest the starch, converting it into sugar and thus malt. It’s then aged in oak barrels for several months.) Malt vinegar is VERY assertive, and is not usually used in delicate sauces. Of course, this is a marinade, not a sauce.

The marinade, while cooking/baking, went from a rather smooth liquid to a harsh mash before draining. I put the wingettes back in the oven for the “well done” stage, but after 8 minutes too much burning (crappy) smell was filling the room. So my nose tells me it’s time to come out.

The wings look really appetizing coming out of the oven and on to the plate.

Well now. I understand the meaning of Chicago Style. First, the chickmeat comes off the bone like an over cooked rib. The texture of the meat is altered into pulled-pork like texture. Second, they’re spicy - a good spicy a malty spicy. I’ve made wings in the oven before, and these are better than that time and I’ve had salty wings before, but never malty. Yes, MALTY.

I still like Buffalo Style better.

After 5 wings, I missed the Natural Chicken Flavor found in these chips. When I eat wings, I don’t expect this texture. And the meat was dry.

I’d say this recipe and marinade screams APPETIZER though. Making this recipe from Uncle Dougie’s Marinade for a party appetizer will get your guests thirty, thus drinking. Some people would say they are different, some people spicy and some will ask for another beer to wash them down, (thus the recommendation for having a large supply of cold libations.)

Packaging 5/10
Coloring / Temperament 7/10
Consistency 9/15
Heat 12/25
Taste 24/40

A Different 57/100.

-thakswet

Ingredients: Select potatoes, sunflower oil and/or high oleic monosaturated sunflower oil and/or corn oil and/or soybean oil, vinegar powder, natural chicken flavor, spices, sugar (dextrose), sugar, maltodextrin, salt, hydrolyzed corn protein, autolyzed yeast, natural flavor (corn syrup solids, autolyzed yeast extract, natural flavors, sugar, onion, salt, carrots, butter, garlic, spice), paprika, natural flavors, garlic powder, malic acid, natural smoke flavor.

I’m a huge fan of Blair’s sauce and rub products and was excited to receive my first bag of his Death Rain chips.

The packaging is attractive and has gone through some revisions. It was probably a good idea to remove the skull from the front of the bag.

Some people may get the wrong idea about eating potato chips with a skull on the bag, so removing it in favor of a larger Blair’s logo was a great idea.

Kind of like these Black Death brand cigarettes compared to a pack of Marlboro. Well, not quite…

I received the smallest produced package, and though the bag looks as small as Lay’s or Doritos snack packs, it contains 2 oz. to their 1 oz. The nutrition facts on the back state the 2 oz. serving has 280 calories with 160 of those from fat. The calories from fat are high; so these shouldn’t be your diet snack.

Doing a little online research, I found these priced between .89 to $1.95 per 2 oz. bag. If you go wholesale and buy three 28 bag cases, the cost is around .68 per bag. They also come in 5 oz. bags.

I appreciated the expiration date on the bag. Mine was dated 6/27/06.

Upon opening the bag and taking my first sniff, I was bombarded with the smell of spicy vinegar. I dumped the chips into a bowl and went to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. When I returned, the chip’s aroma filled the room. It’s appetizing.

These are kettle-cooked chips, and as you know kettle-cooked are much thicker and cruncher than your average chip. These were even thicker and cruncher than every other kettle chip I’ve eaten. Each crisp chip was about the size of a Franklin half dollar coin. Most were curved, but a few were stuck together which provided a mammoth crunch. My favorite chips are the ones that curled over upon themselves when they were cooking because some extra seasoning found their way into the folds. I found myself picking through and finding those curled chips just like I search to the bottom of a bowl of popcorn to find those half popped kernels.

Initially, you don’t get that buffalo wing taste or aroma. It’s only after about 5 or so chips in until you take your next bite and realize there’s a chicken flavor in there. And what happened to that vinegar smell, because it doesn’t come across in the taste gratifying. Not salty either!

I think I’ll go grab a beer.

This is honestly a chicken tasting chip with a pleasurably twang spice. They are medium in heat, just as advertised. The after-taste begs for another bite.

These aren’t your “take a hand full and stuff into your mouth” potato chips. These should be eaten one at a time while savoring the flavor with a cold beverage! It’s great party chip to get the beer flowing and some fiery conversation started.

-thakswet

Unique ingredients:
Turbinado Sugar - A dark brown fine-grained crunchy specialty sugar. It is a completely pure, natural, and chemical free sugar.
Hemp Protein - Contains all 10 essential amino acids, Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, enzymes, natural anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Initial taste straight from the bottle:
CSIGI CAPSAICIN CARNIVALE CHILI SAUCE *sniff sniff * vinegar. First thing that you feel is an intense but comfortable heat. It relaxes and fades. After a tiny bit of dew formed on my forehead, the sensation moved to the lips. This sauce has a wonderful yellow pepper taste. It’s almost a fruity flavor. I can tell the maker put some time in getting the yellow pepper to come across on the initial taste. The more and more you taste the sauce, the more flavor comes across. It’s an uplifting, unique fresh taste. Almost a bit of tart comes across. Very well crafted! I really like this taste…

CSIGI SALUBRIOUS SAVINA CHILI SAUCE - *sniff sniff* tex-mex. Milder heat, fads quicker. Slight tomato and red pepper mix. A tex-mex style vinegar flavor. Again I can taste the high quality ingredients. No cardboard after-taste usually found in most tex-mex flavor sauces. Fresh!

CSIGI BIG BOSS JALAPENO SAUCE- *sniff sniff* distilled vinegar. Not as impressive, but good. Liquidy. I definitely can taste the turbinado sugar more than in the other Csigi sauces. Unique taste again; only vinegar takes away much of the sauces flavor. I can NOT taste the Jalapenos.

Heat Level:
CSIGI CAPSAICIN CARNIVALE CHILI SAUCE - The heat is intense but comfortably tolerable. Once you’ve been hit by the first wave of perspiration, you’ll find it pleasing and relaxing. A third and forth taste brings out the true fresh, high quality ingredients needed to create this wonderful heat. It is appreciated that no extract is used to get to a 7 out of 10 heat level. (one word: UPLIFTING!)

CSIGI SALUBRIOUS SAVINA CHILI SAUCE - A milder heat. I can taste the difference between the liquid and the residual mash left after it quickly separates. Less mash gives it a 4 out of 10 heat level.

CSIGI BIG BOSS JALAPENO SAUCE - Less heat; can’t say better tasting. Too much vinegar flavor. No matter how good the vinegar is, too much of it takes away any heat the jalapenos had and overwhelms the flavor. A sweeter 2 out of 10 heat level.

Flavor on food: Chicken Wings

I make my chicken wings different than most people. I cut the tips then butcher off as much of the skin as I can. Then I split the wingettes. I toss in some salt and a heavy pinch of flour before refrigerating atleast an hour. Heat the fryer…

Fry at 350 in canola oil for nine minutes and booyah!

Eight perfect wings.

I prefer dipping my wings in a sauce rather than the coating them. I can get the perfect amount of sauce for my taste and it eliminates the messy fingers. Plus, if I find a sauce disagreeing to my taste buds; it won’t ruin the entire meal.

CSIGI CAPSAICIN CARNIVALE CHILI SAUCE - A XXX sauce at any wing establishment. Great blend of heat and flavor. A lot of mash sits on a dipped wing. The yellow pepper adds a unique and welcomed complexity.

CSIGI SALUBRIOUS SAVINA CHILI SAUCE - A flavorful tex-mex wing sauce. Heat stumbles across the vinegar just enough. Some refinement could make this the best tex-mex sauce available.

CSIGI BIG BOSS JALAPENO SAUCE - Useless on wings. Too much vinegar. Sweet tasting if you can dismiss the vinegar. On wings; tastes like a lesser, wet General Tso’s Chicken.

Final Impressions:
The maker of these hot sauces could be a premier sauce crafter. All the sauces are made with high quality in mind. Unique, fresh ingredients add a sophisticating and welcoming flavor. My favorite, by far is the CSIGI CAPSAICIN CARNIVALE CHILI SAUCE. The heat compliments the taste of the yellow pepper. It’s a new top fifteen sauce. Very uplifting!

My final score:
CSIGI BIG BOSS JALAPENO SAUCE - 51
Packaging 6/10
Coloring / Temperament 4/10
Consistency 5/15
Heat 8/25
Taste 28/40

CSIGI SALUBRIOUS SAVINA CHILI - 71
Packaging 6/10
Coloring / Temperament 6/10
Consistency 7/15
Heat 20/25
Taste 32/40

CSIGI CAPSAICIN CARNIVALE CHILI SAUCE - 85
Packaging 7/10 (yellow pepper on the label)
Coloring / Temperament 8/10
Consistency 12/15
Heat 22/25
Taste 36/40

-thakswet

((let’s see a yellow pepper, CARROT and habanero sauce soon!))