Lizard’s on the Bayou
Lizard Spit ““ Habanero Sauce
First impression: Just looking at the list of ingredients I knew that I was probably going to thoroughly enjoy eating this hot sauce! Lizard’s on the Bayou is yet another hot sauce manufacturer based out of my least favorite state in the Union. It’s not that I have anything against the people or the products that come from Florida! No please don’t misunderstand this! I’ve been there numerous times (hopefully never anytime again soon! LOL) since I was a young boy. My dislike of the state of Florida is really due to a myriad of issues. I’d be happy if a giant saw just came along and sawed it clear off the rest of the continental US. Okay now that I’ve vented about Florida (the wang of the US) let’s move on to what this review is all about! Lizard’s on the Bayou ““ Lizard Spit Habanero Sauce! You can order this sauce straight from their website which is listed at the end of this review for a measly $4.99! Let’s look over the list of oh so tasty ingredients!
Ingredients: water, fresh onions, distilled white vinegar, minced garlic, combination of jalapeno, habanero, cayenne, and serrano peppers, minimal salt.
Appearance/Smell/Taste: AWESOME! What can I say? After going over the ingredients and being so readily pleased at the lack of any bulking agents, preservatives, or anything else that I’d prefer not to consume this appears as a very ‘fresh’ sauce. And what I mean by that is the consistency is kind of chunky, yet kind of loose. But not the kind of loose that has the sauce running all over my meal and the plate. There are NO thickening agents (ie. corn starch, xanthan gum, etc.) used in the making of this sauce. Which to me gives it a totally ‘home made’ appearance. And if you know about my products, you’ll conclude that this is why I’m already giving this sauce a MAJOR thumbs up! Some of the solids do quickly separate from the liquids, but this is to be expected from a sauce without any thickeners. It’s an orangey-brown sort of color with slight hints of yellow and chunks of onions and peppers w/seeds can be clearly seen throughout the sauce. So without further ado I crack open the top and give myself a hearty whiff of this pepper concoction. The first smell that hits my olfactory senses is the sweetness of the fresh onions. Being the first ingredient on the list after water, I’m going to boldly assume that the onions play a large part in the distribution of flavors in this sauce. Of course how can I neglect the mix of 4 different pepper varieties as well! Yummy! I can almost taste this sauce now by just smelling it! There is also a touch of vinegar and garlic in the odor. It’s a very fresh and bright smelling product. Let’s see how it tastes straight up on a spoon! Diving right in I get a sharp immediate heat! It’s an easy 6 on the HSB scale. It’s very well balanced in flavor too. Right after the initial heat blast I get the sweetness of the onions and a slight tartness from the vinegar. The final aftertaste is all garlic, and boy do I like fresh garlic flavor! Mucho grande better than powdered garlic flavor in my honest opinion. I find sauces and rubs that use too much powdered garlic almost have an ‘artificial’ garlic flavor to them. Maybe not artificial really, probably more of a ‘dry’ garlic flavor. Not this sauce, the flavor so far is pretty outstanding to me! The only nit-pick I have thus far is that with the mix of peppers used, I’m having a hard time discerning any distinct pepper flavors. So I don’t think that this should be called a ‘habanero sauce’. I think they should come up with a different sub-title for Lizard Spit. So let’s make up something yummy and Tex-Mexicana to give this sauce the old one-two on some prepared food stuff!
Here is a little twist on a chili-cheese burrito. You may have had them at places like Taco Bell and Del Taco. But this is one Chili-Cheese burrito that neither chain would ever offer. Check this out, not only does it look good, but it tastes even better! For this you’ll need”¦
1 lb ground turkey
3-4 tsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
½ large onion (diced)
6 cloves fresh garlic (minced)
½ medium sized red potato (diced)
½ cup frozen kernel corn (roasted in a skillet)
1 cup uncooked basmati rice
2 ½ cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 red bell pepper (diced)
15 oz. can of black beans (rinsed & drained)
½ cup chili powder
6 oz. of Manchego cheese (shredded)
Start by adding 1 tsp in a hot skillet over med-low heat, add frozen corn. Stir frequently to prevent the kernels from burning. It should only take about 8-10 minutes to get the corn slightly browned around the edges. Remove from skillet and set aside for now. In a small pot you can start the rice by bringing 2 cups of stock and paprika to a boil. Add uncooked rice and simmer covered over very low heat for roughly 20 minutes. This should make perfect rice. The paprika will give the rice a nice added touch of color. Once the rice is finished you can mix in the roasted corn with a fork. Red paprika and yellow corn in white basmati rice looks yummy! On to making the stuffing for the rest of the burrito! Add 1-2 tsp olive oil to pan, sauté the onions over medium heat until they start to turn clear. You can add 2 tsp of chili powder to the cooking onions to add some additional color and flavor to the cooked onions. Then add remaining stock, garlic, potato, beans, and red pepper. Bring to a fast boil and reduce heat to low to simmer for about 5 minutes, stir occasionally. Pour contents in large bowl and set aside. Add the remaining tsp of olive oil to same skillet and brown ground turkey over med-high heat. Add the remaining chili powder to the meat and break apart with a wooden spoon. It should take about 7 minutes to brown the turkey. Add the onion, bean, garlic, and potato mixture to the cooked turkey. Any juices should help deglaze the pan if any of the chili powder has stuck to the bottom. There is a lot of flavor locked away in that ‘stuff’ that’s stuck to the skillet! Add the Manchego cheese and mix well! Heat for an additional 3-5 minutes to make sure the cheese is mixed and melted in there good! Place a 12″ tortilla on a board or large plate. Place a heap of the rice and a nice heap of the meat and vegetable mixture onto the tortilla. Roll into a burrito and enjoy! As you can see I topped my burrito off with a generous helping of Lizard’s on the Bayou ““ Lizard Spit Habanero Sauce. Let’s see how this works over food!
Complement to meal: The flavor of this sauce does not get lost in the food. It adds a really nice delicate sweetness to my turkey chili-cheese burrito! It’s definitely a nice solid 5 on the HSB heat scale over food. The heat didn’t diminish too much like some sauces are guilty of. Like I was saying earlier the only nit pick is that I cannot detect specific pepper flavors due to the mix of peppers used here. I wouldn’t sub-title this sauce as a ‘habanero hot sauce’ like Lizard’s on the Bayou seems to have. I would try and come up with a different subtitle. Is this little nit pick going to deter me from eating this sauce more in the future? Hell NO! This is a really great hot sauce, one that you should try if you’ve never eaten any of their products before. I’m going to say that this isn’t the hottest of their sauces (I have a Lizard’s on the Bayou ““ Gila Venom patiently waiting it’s turn in the cabinet) but it’s a real good solid heat. In fact, after finishing my burrito, my face was dripping with sweat! Damn does that feel good! I can see this sauce used on many different types of food because of the light fresh flavor that won’t overpower what you use it on. I wouldn’t use it on Thai or Indian food, although I could be dead wrong on that too! So with a big hearty thumbs up I’d like to say that this sauce is ranking up there with my personal list of top sauces! Check ’em out on the web and order up some Lizard Spit for your next meal, event, or gathering of chile-heads! -Lars-
Initial impression: 9/10
Ingredient quality/content: 9/10
Flavor/textue/smell: 9/10
Heat: 5/10
Overall: 8/10
Lizard’s on the Bayou
http://store.lizardsonthebayou.com
P.O. Box 1705
Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32549
contact_us@lizardsonthebayou.com