Hellfire Hot Sauce’s Blueberry Hell

When I first became aware of Hellfire Hot Sauce’s Blueberry Hell, I was immediately intrigued. A blueberry-based hot sauce!? Who in the…hell would be daring enough to attempt something like this? I was intrigued, I was tempted, so I had to have this sauce, because I wanted to experiment and see what this sauce could do, and if its creators were in their right minds. So, I had a bit of a blueberry bonanza, something of a blueberry bender, a sumptuous scoville laden adventure that left me in a haze of endorphins, and I was inspired to give my thoughts on this incredibly flexible, innovative sauce.

I’ll admit, initially I was under the false presumption that a hot sauce heavily laced with blueberry would be more a novelty than a “serious” sauce, and thus rather limited in its uses. And I’m here to say that nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, Blueberry Hell is one of the most adaptable sauces in my kitchen, and I’m continually impressed with how many potential uses this sauce has.

I had heard that Blueberry Hell, or BH, was good on vanilla ice cream, but I was a little skeptical, but I’ll try almost anything once, so I gave it a spin. I chose a premium brand ice cream to go with this premium sauce, and the result was extremely satisfying. The heat and slight acidity from Blueberry Hell provided a nice contrast to the sweet creaminess of the vanilla bean Häagen-Dazs. Normally, I wouldn’t have thought these two would go together, but they blended beautifully. And though it was good on ice cream, I think it would be even better in ice cream. I’d suggest swirling Blueberry Hell through softened vanilla ice cream, or perhaps mixing the two in a blender with some whole milk for a “shake from hell”. And, yes, it’s also great on meat, especially pork and chicken. Yet, when you’ve got a sauce that’s great on something like, say, pork sausage, and is also great on ice cream, you’ve got something special. Yes, BBQ sauce can be truly wonderful on pork, but most of us wouldn’t be caught pouring it over a bowl of ice cream. But Blueberry Hell? Pour to your heart’s content.

Jack from Hellfire seems to think that Blueberry Hell on ice cream is a novelty, and that wings are perhaps a more favorable home for Blueberry Hell. While I think BH on almost anything sweet is a surefire winner, I had to try it on “wings,” actually, tenders. So I made some with a simple recipe and topped it with the illustrious blueberry sauce born of brimstone. And the results? Hmmm, let me see if I can put this in academically precise terms, how about…friggin’ awesome. If it goes this well on wings, then I can only imagine how great it would be slathered on pork ribs or poured over pulled pork. The words “heavenly” and “sublime” immediately come to mind. The recipe I used for the wings themselves contained a few different peppers, and with the addition of Blueberry Hell, brought the total to 6 different chiles providing a full-spectrum heat profile to these blazing wings. After a few moments, the heat from the various peppers hit my mouth and tongue with an intense, yet comfortable heat, followed by a pleasantly long and sustained endorphin rush, with a gradual build and descent. I’ll be making more of these in the near future.

I heard this next suggestion in the Chileheads group on Facebook, and I couldn’t wait to try it: Blueberry Hell on waffles with maple syrup. So, that’s what I did. Simple Eggo waffles (if you make homemade, so much the better) with Land O’ Lakes olive oil butter and organic maple syrup. THESE were made for each other. Thinking of this combination, I envision the bad boy (Blueberry Hell, of course) that mom and dad warned their sweet, yet not-so-innocent daughter to stay away from. Regardless of the blessings of her parents, the forces of nature would have their way, and they were going to find a way to be together. Likewise, no one should keep these apart. And like the forbidden indulgence, the experience was straight up exhilarating, downright euphoric, and if it felt this right, then it couldn’t be wrong. Of everything I’ve tried Blueberry Hell on, this was my favorite. And in case I haven’t been clear: Blueberry Hell is OUTSTANDING on waffles with butter and syrup. Please, in the name of all that’s good and decent in this world, you should try this, you must try this! You won’t regret it.

Before my bottle was empty, I was inspired to try Blueberry Hell on a summertime favorite. I’ve been hesitant to use the oven with the 100+ degree temps that have been ravaging the Midwest of late. The blazing heat of July, an air conditioner barely keeping up, and a hot oven didn’t sound appealing, but I had to test my theory of lemon bars with Blueberry Hell. Lemons and blueberry may not sound like a complimentary pairing to some; but, the vibrant, fruity heat of Blueberry Hell and the luscious, lemony sweetness of the lemon bars actually worked quite well. The only thing that might have made it better would’ve been a hefty sprinkling of powdered sugar.

After this trial run with Blueberry Hell, it’s apparent to me what an exceptional sauce this is, and one that any chilehead or foodie adventurer should have in their culinary repertoire. Blueberry Hell is just one example of the innovative nature of Hellfire Hot Sauce that impresses me so much (another is their Pure Hell). Their outrageously crafted bottling and labeling is matched not only by their audacity, but by the quality and flavor of their sauces. Their brand just screams boldness, and it’s obvious that if they’ve got the guts to create it, and then slap their name on it, then they must really believe in it. This attitude and creativity is on display in all their products including, the one, the only…Blueberry Hell.

(Blueberry Hell and other Hellfire hot sauces can be found at http://www.hellfirehotsauce.com/.)

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