Posted March 26, 2006 by John in Reviews

Review: Memphis Mojo Smokin’ Heat Hot Sauce

Memphis Mojo Smokin Heat Hot Sauce comes in a flask-style bottle, which I like for pourability as well as space efficiency in the fridge. It’s an habanero sauce, which is a new combination for me with Memphis spices.

Ingredients: Vinegar, smoked habanero peppers, tomatoes, garlic, salt, xantham gum and natural spices

On First Taste
The aroma of Memphis Mojo is heavily laden with Memphis-style smokey spice, not unlike what you’ll find at any good Memphis Barbecue joint, and a pretty good whiff of vinegar. The taste stays pretty true to the nose, with lots of smoke and vinegar to top. This isn’t you’re plain boring heavy vinegar sauce, though – the vinegar pairs very nicely with the spices to provide a very good, very unusual taste.

The sauce is on the thin side, pouring quickly. It tastes more like [tag]barbecue sauce[/tag] than a typical [tag]hot sauce[/tag]. With the heavy vinegar flavor, it reminds me most of a good Carolina BBQ sauce. The heavy smoke and spices are pure Memphis BBQ, though, and together it makes for a great blend that’s quite unlike anything I’ve had before.

On Food
I liberally applied Memphis Mojo to a breakfast sandwich. It was a little thin to stick to the eggs well, but it soaked into the roll nicely and got the job done. The flavor is simply fantastic. The heat is sufficient, not a big burner but enough to get a tingle going. The heat’s the only place you find evidence of the habanero, as I couldn’t detect any habanero flavor. That’s fine, though, since there’s more than enough complexity going on as it is.

I can’t wait to give Memphis Mojo Smokin’ Hot Sauce a try on a pulled pork sandwich, and it would excel on any type of BBQ. It’d be a great dipping sauce as well, and substitute ably anywhere you’d use barbecue sauce. This bottle will be getting a lot of play in my rotation.