Top 10 Best-Selling Salsa, Wing Sauce & Condiments for 2013

Salsa, mustard and wing sauce, oh my! Plus ketchup and steak sauce, too! If you enjoy high-quality, great-tasting zesty condiments to liven up your burgers, hot dogs, wings, nachos, steaks, eggs, sausages and more, it's time to try one or more of our best-selling condiments from the Carolina Sauce Company:

1. Gator Hammock Swamp Mustard comes to us from Florida and gets its feisty tang from locally grown hot peppers. Seductively sassy with a mellow tropical sweetness from juicy ripe guavas, this mustard will make your taste buds sing whether you eat it with brats or kielbasa, burgers or hot dogs, ham sandwiches or turkey clubs, salt-sprinkled pretzels or breaded chicken tenders.

2. Bone Suckin' Sweet Hot Mustard is pourable and dippable but still thick enough to spread on sandwich bread. Made in North Carolina using only natural ingredients, it's pleasantly peppery without burning, and gently sweet without cloying. You can also use it for basting ribs and roasts, and add it to recipes like potato salad, egg salad and the like.

3. Pain is Good Honey Habanero Screaming Wing Sauce is a relative newcomer to the Carolina Sauces online store, and yet it was our best-selling hot wing sauce last year. From the makers of the world-famous Pain Is Good Hot Sauces, this fiery-sweet chicken wing sauce delivers big-time in the flavor and heat departments. All-natural and made with olive oil instead of butter or margarine, it will satisfy wing lovers who are ready to move beyond standard Buffalo sauces.

4. Melinda's Black Pepper Ketchup is a far cry from the mass-produced, super-sweet, one-dimensional kid stuff sold in supermarkets. Using only the finest all-natural ingredients and absolutely NO high fructose corn syrup, this superb ketchup boasts true tomato flavor with just the right balance of natural sweetness and savory spice with a pleasantly piquant bite. Take your hamburgers, scrambled eggs, French fries and other old favorites to new heights when you dress them up with this spicy gourmet ketchup.

5. Anchor Bar Original Buffalo Wing Sauce is THE hot wing sauce that began the chicken wing craze some decades ago at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. Medium in heat with that trademark cayenne tang and buttery mouthfeel, this one is the real deal and a favorite of purists when it comes to genuine buffalo wings and buffalo shrimp.

6. Naga Jolokia 10 Hot Wing Sauce raises the stakes when it comes to ultra-hot "suicide wings" made in the Buffalo style. The searing heat comes from the legendary ghost pepper (also called the naga or bhut jolokia chili). But this wing sauce also tastes good, thanks to a rich and zesty blend of tomatoes and specially selected spices. It's made with real butter, too.

7. Walkerswood One Stop Savory Sauce is reminiscent of classic American steak sauces, but with a delightful tropical twist. Bananas and mangoes join the usual tamarind and raisins found in ordinary steak sauces, while nutmeg, allspice and thyme add a touch of Jamaican flair to the basic blend of spices and savory ingredients used in regular steak sauces. The end result is a multidimensional, food-friendly condiment that any steak, burger, roast, chop or other hearty meat would be proud to wear.

8. Dave's Insanity Ghost Pepper Salsa is the latest iteration of Insanity Salsa from Dave's Gourmet, and this time he's taken the heat to new levels of madness with the addition of ridiculously hot ghost peppers. If you are brave enough -- and have a sufficiently strong stomach -- to eat this super-hot salsa, you will be pleasantly surprised to discover that it actually tastes good and is not just about the burn, which builds slowly but steadily with every bite. Other than the heat level, it's a classic tomato salsa that pairs naturally with chips, tacos, nachos, burritos, enchiladas and everything else you like to dress up with hot salsa.

9. Ass Kickin' Habanero Mustard is a southwestern style mustard with a hefty habanero kick. Whole mustard seeds are ground together with horseradish for a powerful sinus-clearing punch, but don't worry, there's a touch of honey to soften the blow and bring everything together into a top-class zesty mustard for everyday use.

10. TIE Peppers Original Blue Crab Salsa and Key West Key Lime Salsa: One of my favorite salsas from a jar is the original Blue Crab Salsa from Peppers. It's a traditional tomato, pepper & onion salsa that's medium in heat and has real Maryland blue crab meat mixed in! Sounds weird? It isn't. It's phenomenally good if you like crab, and is wonderful straight from the jar, with chips, on nachos, in quesadillas or over seafood enchiladas, and even as an alternative to traditional tomato sauce for pasta. Another unusual but delectable salsa is Key West Key Lime Salsa, with a bright citrusy flavor from real Key lime juice. Zesty, sassy and lightly sweet with just the right amount of jalapeno heat, it's refreshing like a warm tropical breeze at the beach -- and it pairs beautifully with salty chips, chicken nachos and more.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Make Buffalo Ghost Wings with this Fiery-Sweet Wing Sauce

Fiery-hot Buffalo wings often are one-dimensional when it comes to their taste, with the powerful peppery heat overpowering any hint of other flavors in the sauce -- or worse yet, the wing sauce consists only of hot peppers and vinegar, occasionally with some sort of oil base (virtually no one uses butter anymore).

For anyone who loves hot wings but longs for a more fulfilling flavor experience than mere heat and tang, the Carolina Sauce Company now has Red Ghost Honey BBQ Ghost Wing Sauce,  the answer to your prayers!

Seriously hot but not to the point of triggering tears or destroying your taste buds, this extra-hot wing sauce gets its burn from a carefully balanced combination of habanero peppers and ghost peppers (also called bhut or naga jolokia chilies), which provide their own distinctive peppery flavor along with a multilayered heat experience. The sauce starts off sweet, thanks to a blend of honey, molasses and corn syrup, while pineapple, tomato and vinegar provide a tangy counterbalance to keep the sauce from being cloyingly sweet. A hint of exotic spice from cloves, cinnamon and allspice adds intriguing depth, while natural smoke and zesty garlic provide savory barbecue flavor notes. The overall effect is a masterful symphony of fantastic flavors and fiery flames harmoniously playing in your mouth.

Buy Red Ghost Honey BBQ Wing Sauce online while it's on sale now at the Carolina Sauces online store, and put an end to boring, one-trick-pony Buffalo wings!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PETA Wing Sauce & BBQ Seasonings... Really??

Recently-arrived at the Carolina Sauces online store are PETA Buffalo Wing Sauce and PETA BBQ Seasoning, the newest additions to the PETA sauces & seasonings product line!

If you're scratching your head and wondering what PETA is doing making chicken wing sauces and BBQ seasonings, let me clear up your confusion:

In this case, "PETA" stands for "People Eating Tasty Animals."

Late last year I introduced you to the original PETA products, including PETA Steak Sauce, Barbecue Sauce, Steak Seasoning and Garlic-Habanero Hot Sauce in a late-year blog post. We're now pleased to be able to bring to you more meat-friendly products from the unabashedly proud carnivores at People Eating Tasty Animals.

PETA Wing Sauce is a traditional tangy-spicy Buffalo wing sauce made with aged cayenne peppers in a vinegar-tomato base. Ironically, PETA Wing Sauce is dairy-free and vegetarian: The rich and creamy mouthfeel and buttery flavor come from vegetable margarine, not butter or cream. This is a crowd-pleasing medium-heat chicken wing sauce that's a good choice for parties, tailgating and cookouts, not just because of the funny label that's guaranteed to spark conversations but also because it's neither too hot nor too mild for most people. In addition to working with chicken wings whether breaded or bare, fried, baked or grilled, it's also a good choice for Buffalo shrimp and any other recipes calling for a Buffalo sauce.

If brisket, pork butt, ribs, smoked chicken or other similar slow-cooked smoker fare is popular at your house, you need PETA Barbecue Seasoning, a robust and savory dry rub and all-purpose seasoning. Made without sugar (so it won't burn on your grill or smoker) and with a pleasant medium heat and zesty garlic flavor, it will please meat-lovers and vegetarians alike. You can even enjoy it as a popcorn seasoning, or sprinkled over French fries.

All PETA sauces and seasonings -- including these two new ones -- are currently on sale at the Carolina Sauces online store. Click here to buy PETA products.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Love Hot Wings? Try Danny Cash's Fallen Angel Wing Sauces

Can't stop eating super-hot buffalo wings?

Do you consider names like "Suicide Wings" and "Nuclear Wings" to be a personal challenge?

Are you addicted to the adrenaline rush from eating seriously HOT wing sauce?

If you answered "YES" to any of the above questions, Danny Cash's Fallen Angel Wing Sauces are for you.

You know a company is serious about fiery heat when their "milder" hot wing sauce is made with a generous quantity of habanero peppers -- so many, in fact, that habaneros are the #1 ingredient in Danny Cash's Fallen Angel Habanero Wing Sauce.

This is a traditional Buffalo style sauce, which means it's made with real butter, vinegar and cayenne peppers plus the requisite savory seasonings... and that's it: No unorthodox flavorings or sissy herbs, just honest and straightforward classic stuff in this sauce.

When habaneros are considered "mild," it can only mean that the notorious ghost pepper, aka bhut or naga jolokia, will star in the "hot" wing sauce (quotation marks around "hot" only because it would more accurately be described as ULTRA hot). 

Such is the case with Danny Cash's Fallen Angel Jolokia Ghost Wing Sauce.

This time the lead ingredient is a copious quantity of naga jolokia ghost peppers, followed by the habaneros and cayenne in his original wing sauce recipe. As you might imagine, the end result is a blazing hot wing sauce that's not for the faint of heart or palate, which delivers the same great classic Buffalo flavor as Danny Cash's habanero original.

Both flavors of Danny Cash's Wing Sauce are now available and on sale at the Carolina Sauces online store, where you'll also find other fiery Danny Cash sauces and seasonings.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS:  If you prefer a Buffalo wing sauce that is tamer in heat, or non-traditional wing sauces like garlic-parmesan or honey-BBQ, you'll want to browse our wide selection of Wing Sauces where you'll find sauces for every taste and heat preference.

Top 10 Best-Selling Wing Sauces, Salsas & Condiments for 2012

Now's the time to start planning your menu for watching the Big Game, and we've got the zesty salsa, spicy wing sauces and full-flavored mustard & other condiments you need. Regardless of whether you and your friends are cheering for different teams in the Superbowl, you'll probably all agree that our best-selling products are crowd-pleasing winners.

Without further ado, here are the ten best-selling salsas, wing sauces and condiments at the Carolina Sauce Company for all of 2012:

1. Peppers Original Blue Crab Salsa: This is one of my favorite salsas on the planet. Made with chunky tomatoes and peppers plus real Maryland blue crabmeat, it's medium-spicy, freshly flavorful like homemade salsa, and will delight anyone who loves crab.

2. Dave's Insanity Ghost Pepper Salsa: This insanely hot tomato salsa is only for hard-core chileheads and serious fiery-foods fanatics. Smooth rather than chunky, a healthy (or unhealthy, depending on your perspective) helping of bhut jolokia aka naga jolokia aka ghost peppers is blended with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, habaneros and a dash of capsaicin extract--as if the fiery peppers didn't provide enough heat.

3. Crazy Jerry's Margarita Butt Burner Hot Salsa: As its name suggests, this hot, tropical tomato salsa was inspired by the Margarita and is spiked with a shot of tequila. Limes and pineapples provide the requisite tangy citrus notes, while green chiles, serranos, jalapenos and habaneros deliver the heat. It's like a fiesta in a jar!

4. Pickapeppa Brown Sauce: Similar to a steak sauce in appearance and flavor, this spicy brown sauce is ubiquitous in the Caribbean where it is enjoyed with red meat as well as bean dishes and chicken. Medium-hot and with a robust, rich and complex flavor with a touch of sweetness and fruit, it's superb on steaks, burgers, chops, roasts and other hearty fare.

5. Key West Key Lime Salsa: This sweet and citrusy tomato salsa gets is medium heat from jalapenos and its sunny island tang from real key lime juice. It's a natural with tortilla chips and other salty dippers, as well as on all your favorite Mexican, Tex-Mex and Southwestern foods. Try it with breaded shrimp instead of your usual cocktail sauce!

6. Bone Suckin' Sweet Hot Mustard: This North Carolina favorite is lusciously sweet with a sassy jalapeno kick. Slather it on sandwiches, hot dogs and burgers, enjoy it as a dip for pretzels or chicken fingers, use it as a glaze on ribs and ham, and blend it into your favorite prepared salads (e.g., tuna, egg, potato, macaroni, etc.).

7. Melinda's Jalapeno Ketchup: If you've been longing for a grown-up, wholesome spicy ketchup that tastes great, isn't too sweet and has a good medium-hot burn, this is the one for you. All-natural and with NO high fructose corn syrup, this mouthwatering ketchup is hot enough to please most fans of fiery foods but not so hot that you can't enjoy the flavor of your food.

8. DEFCON 2 Medium Wing Sauce: This award-winning Buffalo style wing sauce is probably my favorite of all the Buffalo wing sauces I've ever tried. Its classic cayenne tang will please the purist and its silky-smooth, velvety-rich mouthfeel is proof that it really is made with cream and not margarine or oil. Best of all, it won't drip off your wings (or Buffalo shrimp), so you can relish in every last bit of goodness and even lick your fingers if no one is watching.

9. Busha Browne's Planters Steak Sauce: If you're bored with everyday supermarket steak sauces and are ready to replace your tired old condiments, this spicy (but not fiery) steak sauce is for you. Mangoes and Seville oranges add a hint of tropical fruit to the traditional savory steak sauce base, and crushed red peppers provide a peppery kick to keep things interesting.

10. Melinda's Habanero Ketchup: This fiery-hot ketchup is just as flavorful and wholesome as Melinda's other ketchups, but significantly hotter thanks to the generous addition of fresh habanero peppers. Use with care or be prepared to burn (twice). But if you can handle the heat, go ahead and pour it on your burgers, scrambled eggs, French fries and anything else you'd normally eat with ketchup.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Hooters Wing Sauces on Sale Online!

Buy Hooters Wing Sauces online

College basketball is in full swing, the NFL playoffs are heating up with the Superbowl right around the corner, and rumor has it the NHL will be back in action soon...  all of which can only mean one thing: It's Chicken Wing season!

Whether you're tailgating before the game or enjoying the game at home on TV, there's a good chance you're munching on hot wings, and what better way to sauce them up than the famous Hooters Wing Sauces. These are THE finger-lickin' good Buffalo wing sauces served up at the popular chain, and you can now enjoy their classic flavor and zesty tang in the comfort of your home or hanging out with friends outside the stadium before the game.  The Carolina Sauce Company carries all four flavors, including the feisty Hooters Medium Wing Sauce, the original Hooters Hot Wing Sauce, the scorching Hooters 3 Mile Island Wing Sauce, and the tangy-sweet Hooters Bold & Spicy BBQ Wing Sauce, all in 12 oz jars.

And if you're a fan of Hooters Hot Sauces, we have those too, including the original Hooters Hot Sauce (a mild-medium red pepper sauce with a mellow bite), the smoky Hooters Chipotle Hot Sauce and the fiery but flavorful Hooters Habanero Hot Sauce. All are excellent if you prefer to mix up your own homemade buffalo wing sauce, or are looking for a tasty hot sauce to add to chili, nachos, burgers, pizza or other savory gameday (or any day) fare.

All Hooters sauces are currently on sale at the Carolina Sauces website -- be sure to place your order ASAP so that you'll have them in time for the big game!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: Visit our Wing Sauces page to browse our entire selection, including other traditional buffalo style wing sauces ranging from mild to wild, plus other popular flavors like garlic parmesan, extreme wing sauces made with jolokia (ghost) peppers, and even exotic Jamaican jerk wing sauce.

"Pain is Good" Wing Sauces are Now in Stock!

Pain is Good Honey Habanero Wing Sauce

Continuing with our wing sauce theme, the two newest arrivals at the Carolina Sauce Company are delightfully different--and devilishly delicious--takes on the traditional Buffalo wing sauce. Both come from the same creative folks who make the Pain is Good hot sauces, with the famous "screaming face" labels. Consistent with that brand's image, both of the new wing sauces bear the Pain is Good name and a screaming face on the label. But more importantly, consistent with their commitment to making hot sauces and zesty products that actually taste good (instead of being just about the heat), these two new Pain is Good wing sauces are packed with palate-pleasing flavors, along with just the right amount of heat to live up to the Pain is Good name.

The first new sauce is Pain is Good Honey Habanero Screamin' Wing Sauce, a blissful marriage of sweet honey and fiery habanero peppers in a tangy, tomato-enriched base. This HOT wing sauce is firmly rooted in its Buffalo style origins, with solid red pepper hot sauce sass, but the addition of tropical habanero peppers ratchet up the heat considerably and add that subtle citrus brightness that habaneros are famous (and prized) for. The sweetness from honey and brown sugar has a mellow depth that brings everything together and smooths out any sharpness without turning this sauce too sweet, the way that corn syrup or regular white sugar would do. And because this wing sauce includes a bit of olive oil and canola oil among the ingredients, it will seal in the juices and flavor of your wings and cling to them, too--plus you'll be able to enjoy Honey Habanero Wing Sauce as a marinade, basting or grilling sauce as well. It's especially good with pork chops, shrimp, vegetable kabobs, and, of course, chicken on the grill. Feel free to enjoy it at the table to add oomph to stir-fry, Chinese or Mexican dishes, rice & beans, and on Buffalo shrimp or batter-fried veggies.

Sweet Caribbean Jerk Wing Sauce

Our second new arrival is Pain is Good Sweet Caribbean Jerk Screamin' Wing Sauce. Gentler on the heat scale but bursting with even more intriguing flavors, this one-of-a-kind wing sauce is inspired by Jamaica's exotic jerk seasonings and spices. Unlike true Jamaican jerks, however, Sweet Caribbean Jerk Wing Sauce skips the incendiary scotch bonnet peppers and instead turns to tamer cayenne peppers for a mildly spicy heat that will allow you to eat all the wings you want without burning out.  Ketchup and brown sugar add rich but not overpowering sweetness, while the jerk spices and Worcestershire sauce balance things out with plenty of savory flavor notes. And once again, there's a bit of canola and olive oil in this recipe, allowing you to expand your culinary horizons by letting this sauce double as a cooking, marinating, grilling or table sauce on everything from meats and chicken to seafood and vegetables.

Both new flavors of Pain is Good Wing Sauce are made with all-natural ingredients and have no preservatives, and they're currently on sale at the Carolina Sauces online store.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Wing Time Buffalo Wing Sauces are Now Available!

Wing Time Hot (original) Wing Sauce

Since 1994, the good folks at Wing Time have been making award-winning, authentic Buffalo style wing sauces using the finest all-natural ingredients and the traditional recipe born in Buffalo, New York. Full of tangy flavor and with a buttery mouth feel, Wing Time wing sauces are preferred by chicken wing lovers all around the country--and now these superior wing sauces are available at the Carolina Sauces online store!

Wing Time sauces come in five different styles, four of which are classic cayenne-vinegar-butter sauces in varying heat levels, and one which is uniquely different.

The original Wing Time recipe is their Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce, a hot and spicy blend of cayenne pepper hot sauce with fiery red chiles in a tangy, buttery base that's enriched with tomatoes. If you prefer a tamer heat level, there's Wing Time Medium Buffalo Wing Sauce, which delivers all of the same rich flavor but half the heat of the Original (the same cayenne pepper hot sauce is used, but the red chiles are omitted). And if you're a wimp when it comes to peppery heat, or simply prefer wing sauces that aren't hot, you'll be quite pleased with Wing Time Mild Buffalo Wing Sauce, which still has that trademark tangy Buffalo flavor (it's made with cayenne pepper sauce, after all) but with the gentlest touch of spice that's mellowed by the addition of parmesan cheese. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Wing Time Super Hot Wing Sauce, which takes the already-hot Original recipe and ratchets up the heat with a healthy handful (or more) of habanero peppers. This one is for serious fiery-foods fanatics and anyone else who prefers extremely hot or "suicide" wings. But don't worry, the Super Hot version still tastes great because it's made from the same base recipe and it doesn't add pepper extract, so you don't get any "off" flavors or chemical aftertaste as with other ultra-hot sauces.

Wing Time Garlic Parmesan Sauce

In addition to these traditional Buffalo style sauces, there's Wing Time Garlic Parmesan Wing Sauce, an inspired twist on the classic recipe with plenty of pungent fresh garlic to please the garlic-lover, and added richness from real parmesan cheese. The heat level is about a medium, making this a well-balanced sauce with just the right amount of peppery spice and palate-pleasing layers of flavor. Be warned, however: This sauce is addictively good and you'll be licking it off your fingers, dipping veggies or fries in it, and possibly even licking it off the plate. One taste, and you'll instantly understand why it's the most popular variety of the Wing Time wing sauces.

All Wing Time Buffalo Wing Sauces are low-sodium and all-natural, have no preservatives, no MSG, no added sugar, and they're gluten-free, too. In addition to tasting great with chicken wings, they're excellent with other cuts of chicken, plus as a marinade, grilling sauce or dipping sauce for pork, shrimp (especially Buffalo shrimp of course), beef, kabobs and ribs. You can also enjoy them on baked potatoes, with sausage, on vegetarian dishes like stir-fry or baked tofu, and more. All five varieties are on sale at the Carolina Sauce Company.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Two New Wing Sauces: Jolokia Wing Sauce & Jim Beam Bourbon Wing Sauce

Naga Jolokia Wing Sauce

We're in the process of adding some brand-new products to the offerings at the Carolina Sauces online store, and our main focus is wing sauces! If you're not a big fan of Buffalo wings, however, don't despair--we're also looking at adding a few new barbecue sauces as well as some unusually delicious new hot sauces which won't be as silly-hot as the bunch we most recently introduced.

Our first two new wing sauces are both made in the Buffalo style, but are radically different in that one is EXTREMELY hot (it's made using the world's hottest chili, the ghost pepper aka naga jolokia or bhut jolokia pepper), and the other is SUPREMELY flavorful (it's made with a splash of real Kentucky bourbon whiskey).

Jolokia 10 Wing Sauce gets is name from the fearsome jolokia pepper and from its resulting 10-out-of-10 extreme heat level. If you enjoy eating "suicide wings" and other super-hot Buffalo wings, this is the ultra-hot wing sauce for you. What makes this naga jolokia wing sauce different from others is that it comes by its heat naturally, without the artificial enhancement (and accompanying off-flavors) of pepper extracts. Instead, it relies on a blend of super-hot chile peppers including the ghost pepper, Red Savina habaneros, chile caribe, cayenne peppers (a must for a Buffalo style sauce) and a hefty dose of black pepper to boot. The mouthfeel is appropriately rich and the savory flavor is well-balanced due to the tomato-butter base. In short, Jolokia 10 Wing Sauce actually tastes good and makes you want to have more, notwithstanding its extreme heat. In addition to its obvious use on chicken wings, it's an excellent choice for making other Buffalo-style dishes such as Buffalo shrimp, or even as a tangy-fiery-savory dipping sauce for anything from mozzarella sticks to French fries. Just make sure you have a big glass of milk or water--or a side of blue cheese dip or ranch dressing--to quench the flames.

Jim Beam Bourbon Wing Sauce

For folks who are much more interested in palate-pleasing layers of flavor than in tongue-searing levels of painful heat, we now carry Jim Beam Kentucky Bourbon Wing Sauce, a Buffalo wing connoisseur's dream of a sauce. The smooth buttery body of this wing sauce is the perfect delivery vehicle of the deep, rich and mellow flavor produced by the addition of Jim Beam bourbon to the traditional Buffalo wing sauce base. There's enough tang to be true to form, and a respectable medium level of peppery heat, too, making this an elegant and yet manly choice for dressing your chicken wings. But don't limit it just to wings: In addition to complementing Buffalo shrimp, you can enjoy Jim Beam Wing Sauce with grilled chicken or shrimp, too.

Both of these wing sauces and other new products are currently on sale at the Carolina Sauce Company.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: Want to make Buffalo wings on your grill? Cook them perfectly, avoid flare-ups and make cleanup easier when you use the WingRack!

The ORIGINAL Buffalo Chicken Wing Recipe

If you're a chicken wing aficionado and are serious about spicy, tangy Buffalo style chicken wings, there's a good chance that you're familiar with the story of how they were "born" back in 1964 at the Anchor Bar Restaurant up in Buffalo, New York. I'm proud to say that an old family friend was present in the Anchor Bar on the day that Buffalo wings were debuted. At least that's her story, and she's sticking to it.

The creation of the first Buffalo style chicken wing was truly momentous in that it revolutionized American pub fare and gave new status to a previously neglected and often rejected food. As a result, instead of relegating the lowly chicken wing to the stock pot or the trash can, restaurants and home cooks now regularly fry, bake or grill chicken wings, toss them with a wing sauce, and serve them up to eager, hungry diners who gobble them up while watching sports, tailgating or hanging out with friends and family.

Buy the Anchor Bar Wing Sauce Gift Box

While some folks prefer to batter their chicken wings prior to frying or baking, the original Anchor Bar Buffalo wings were never battered, and were always deep-fried rather than baked or grilled.

If you want to experience genuine Buffalo style wings at home, all you need is a bunch of fresh chicken wings (split at the joint if you prefer), oil for frying (vegetable or peanut), and your choice of Anchor Bar Wing Sauce: The Original which is medium in heat, the spicy-hot Anchor Bar Hotter Wing Sauce, and the fiery Suicidal Wing Sauce. Or better yet, get the Anchor Bar Wing Sauce Gift Box, which comes with a full-size bottle of each of the three heat levels, making it the perfect gift or purchase for a party.

Honey BBQ Wing Sauce

(Note: Anchor Bar also makes a sweet and sassy, mildly spicy Honey Barbecue Wing Sauce, but it wasn't one of the original sauces and isn't really a Buffalo style wing sauce, which by definition is made primarily with vinegar, cayenne and butter or margarine.)

You also need a deep fryer or other deep vessel for frying. Make sure the raw wings are as dry as possible (pat them with paper towels) to minimize splattering--trust me, it's not pleasant to be splashed with boiling oil.

Heat the oil to 350°F and fry the wings, a few at a time, until cooked through and crispy--this should take 10 to 12 minutes. Use a slotted ladle or strainer to remove from the hot oil and drain on paper towels, then place the wings in a large bowl, pour in as much sauce as you need to coat all the wings, and toss until thoroughly coated.

If you insist on baking the wings--which, admittedly, is healthier--you'll have to bake them at 425°F (preheat oven first) until fully cooked, which can take a good 45 minutes or so. Then place in a bowl and toss with sauce.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: The Buffalo wings photo at the top is by yurilong on Flicker

How to Make Zesty Chipotle BBQ Hot Wings

These smoky, spicy hot wings are guaranteed crowd-pleasers for your Memorial Day cookout or any other time you fire up the grill and are craving chicken wings.

Using a WingRack chicken wing holder for the grill makes any recipe for BBQ wings a breeze--and it also prevents flare-ups, ensures even cooking and takes all the work out of cleanup, too. Once you try making hot wings on the grill with this nifty barbecue tool, you'll never go back to frying your wings or baking them off the rack (it's oven-safe).

For this recipe, you'll need 18 to 24 chicken wings, or a dozen drumsticks or 8 thighs, if you prefer. If the weather is too nasty to cook outdoors or if you prefer to use your oven instead of your barbecue grill, you can use the grilled chicken wing holder in your oven, too.

Below are the ingredients for the Chipotle marinade, and instructions for the recipe.

Ingredients
1 small can (7 to 8 oz) OR 1 cup chipotles in adobo sauce, undrained
2 or 3 spring onions (with some of the green part), chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Juice of 1 lime, OR 1 Tbs orange juice AND 1 Tbs lemon juice
1 bunch fresh cilantro OR 1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise (NOT reduced-fat or nonfat)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (you can use fat-free)

Strip cilantro or parsley leaves from stems--I freeze the stems in a plastic bag for adding to soups, stews & other recipes. Combine the chipotles and sauce, onions, garlic, citrus juice and herbs in blender and process until smooth. Transfer to a large non-metal bowl (glass is ideal). Stir in salt, then add the mayonnaise and yogurt. Stir well until thoroughly combined. Taste for balance: If it's too hot, add a little more mayo or yogurt until you reach your desired level of heat. If too mild, add a few splashes of a good-quality chipotle hot sauce (I recommend Blair Q Heat Chipotle Slam or El Yucateco Chipotle Hot Sauce) until you reach your desired level of heat.

Add chicken to the marinade and stir until all the chicken pieces are evenly coated with the chipotle BBQ marinade. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, turning chicken occasionally. When ready to grill, place the chicken wings or legs or thighs in the WingRack slots (you may need to cook them in two batches). Baste with a little more marinade before placing on the grill and discard any leftover marinade. Place the chicken wing rack on your grill over indirect medium-hot coals. Cover grill and let cook until internal temperature reaches 180°F, or, if you don't have a meat thermometer, cook until juices run clear and meat is no longer pink. When done, remove the chicken wing griller from your grill and let sit for 5 minutes or so, then remove chicken from the rack and serve.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: If you don't want to make your own sauce or prefer traditional Buffalo wing flavor, you can marinate the chicken in any of our wing sauces and then grill or bake them using the WingRack.

Top 10 Best-Selling Salsa, Wing Sauces & Condiments for 2011

March Madness is here, which means it's time to stock up on zesty salsas, tangy wing sauces, and flavorful condiments for burgers, subs and other sports-watching food.  You'll hear the cheering from family and friends when you serve up their favorite snacks with any of the following items on our list of 2011's best-selling wing sauces, salsas and condiments:

1. Peppers Original Blue Crab Salsa: If you love the sweet flavor of Maryland blue crab and enjoy spicy salsa, this one will blow you away. Real crabmeat is blended into all-natural Mexican style tomato salsa for a fresh and festive coastal flavor with medium heat to tickle your taste buds.

2. Anchor Bar Original Buffalo Wing Sauce: This is THE sauce that put Buffalo wings on the culinary map, along with their birthplace, the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY. Spicy cayenne peppers provide the medium heat and tangy flavor for this buttery sauce that's perfect for chicken wings, Buffalo shrimp, and any other dippable snack when you want to experience authentic Buffalo wing flavor.

3. Bone Suckin' Sweet Hot Mustard: Mellow honey mustard gets a zippy kick from hot peppers in this smooth, sweet mustard that can be used for dipping (pretzels, chicken nuggets, tater tots, fries, veggies, etc.) as well as for slathering on sandwiches, burgers & hot dogs, and for glazing baked ham, ribs, chops and more.

4. Peppers Zesty Blue Crab Salsa: Similar to the Original Blue Crab Salsa in flavor, Zesty Blue Crab Salsa ups the ante by adding potent horseradish for extra zip and additional spicy peppers for a hotter burn. And there's still plenty of crabmeat and tomato goodness to satisfy your craving for a scrumptiously unusual hot salsa.

5. Melinda's Jalapeno Ketchup: Who said ketchup has to be a sissy, little-kids' condiment? This all-natural ketchup delivers a feisty peppery kick with jalapeno peppers in a thick rich tomato base that's not sticky-sweet like grocery store brands.  It'll pick up the flavor when you enjoy it on burgers or hot dogs, and in your favorite recipes calling for ketchup.

6. Melinda's Habanero Ketchup: This fiery-hot ketchup is not for the weak of tongue.  Caribbean habanero peppers provide considerably more heat than jalapenos, making this grown-up ketchup THE choice of chileheads.

7. Pickapeppa Brown Sauce: This classic Caribbean brown sauce from Jamaica is similar to a steak sauce, but with a spicier, more complex flavor with tropical fruit notes. Enjoy on any hearty foods including steaks, pork chops, London broil, roasts, grilled chicken, hamburgers, and even with rice and beans.

8. Anchor Bar Hotter Wing Sauce: With the same tangy flavor as the Original Anchor Bar Wing Sauce, only hotter, this spicy-hot Buffalo wing sauce won't disappoint fans of really hot hot wings. Just make sure you have some ranch dressing or blue cheese dip to help cool your mounth.

9. Walkerwswood One Stop Savory Sauce:  This is another Caribbean brown sauce from Jamaica, but with a slightly different flavor than the Pickapeppa version. One Stop Savory Sauce is a tad bit spicier, and the sweetness seems more mellow, possibly from the addition of bananas to this deliciously robust tropical steak sauce.

10. DEFCON 1 Extreme Heat Wing Sauce: If you can handle "suicide wings," you need this ultra-hot Buffalo-style wing sauce.  The texture is richer and creamier due to the addition of real cream to this tangy cayenne wing sauce, but don't let that fool you: Aged cayenne peppers are the primary ingredient, and the heat gets a considerable boost from the addition of pepper extract for an intense, unrelenting and extreme heat level. Use sparingly, because a little goes a long way!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS:  Don't forget to visit our new Best-Selling Products page to find all our other lists of best-selling products from the Carolina Sauce Company.

Think Outside the Jar for Zesty Sandwich Condiments

Are you guilty of automatically reaching for a jar of bland mayonnaise or ho-hum yellow mustard when slapping some cold cuts on bread for a quick sandwich?  It's time to think outside the jar and add some zest to your sandwich!  Here are three of my favorite ways to bring an ordinary sandwich to new heights of flavor:

1.  Marie Sharp's Exotic Sauce:  Similar to a steak sauce, but with brighter, livelier flavors and a subtle touch of tropical fruit with a feisty peppery finish, this all-natural condiment from Belize is amazingly good with roast beef, burgers, and other hearty sandwiches.  Do you have some leftover rotisserie chicken or roast turkey?  Make a sandwich and splash on some of this sauce for a real treat.

2.  Blues BBQ Chipotle Mustard Pepper Sauce:  Sure, it's a hot sauce, but its rich texture and mustard flavor make it the perfect fiery alternative to everyday mustard.  The chipotle adds a smoky depth that works wonders with chicken, turkey and ham sandwiches.

  3.  DEFCON Wing Sauces:  These award-winning Buffalo style wing sauces are simply too good to be limited to chicken-wing use alone.  Surprisingly thick and creamy, they're great for adding tang and spice to roast chicken or turkey sandwiches as well as any meat sandwich.  Stir some DEFCON sauce into your favorite tuna salad, chicken salad or even egg salad to wake up your taste buds.  I prefer to use the mildest (DEFCON 3) or medium (DEFCON 2) for sandwiches, but if you're a serious chilehead you might prefer the ultra-hot DEFCON 1.

And if you're a purist and insist on using mustard and/or ketchup in your sandwiches, then it's time to think outside the grocery store and try some of these unique, flavor-packed mustard and ketchup brands that you can get from the Carolina Sauce Company.

What's your favorite sandwich condiment that's "outside the jar?"  Please leave a comment to let us know!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

All Tony's Birdland Wing Sauces are Back in Stock!

Love chicken wings? Tired of the same old Buffalo style wing sauce? Looking for a tasty wing sauce that you can enjoy on MORE than just wings? Tony's Birdland Wing Sauces are for you, AND all three flavors are back in stock at the Carolina Sauce Company! From the popular Tony's Birdland chain of chicken restaurants in Rochester, NY, Tony's Birdland sauces are tangy-sweet and finger-lickin' good on chicken wings, whether fried or baked, breaded or naked, boneless or whole.

Unlike tart vinegar-cayenne Buffalo wing sauces, Tony's Birdland wing sauces have a mellower, sweeter tomato and apple cider vinegar base that makes them uniquely versatile and food friendly. You can marinate, baste, grill and even stir-fry with Tony's Birdland sauces, and don't limit them to just chicken: They're excellent with shrimp, veggies and rice dishes, make a great glaze for ribs, or a dipping sauce for fries, onion rings, chicken nuggets and even fish sticks (yes, kids love Tony's Birdland sauces). The Mild wing sauce has just a touch of red pepper for spunky flavor, while the Hot ratchets up the heat level with a heftier dose of crushed red pepper. And for a non-spicy, Asian-inspired flavor sensation, try Tony's Birdland Sweet & Sour Wing Sauce on your chicken wings, or with fried rice, egg rolls, lo mein or your favorite Chinese takeout!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

The Distillery Garlic Cajun Wing Sauce

If you enjoy Buffalo wings and love garlic, you've got to try our newest wing sauce, the rich and zesty Distillery Cajun Garlic Wing Sauce from upstate New York. Previously available only as a menu item at their restaurants, The Distillery has begun bottling their outrageously tasty Cajun Garlic Wing Sauce and it's now available at the Carolina Sauce Company online store. You can see and taste the little bits of real garlic in this Buffalo style wing sauce, and the savory Cajun spices add mouthwatering flavor while smoothing the tangy sharpness typical of ordinary Buffalo wing sauces (no harsh vinegary edge here). The heat is kept to a nice medium level, which means you get a pleasant peppery warmth without scorching your mouth or overpowering your taste buds -- so you can easily go through a pile of wings slathered in this sauce while enjoying every bite.

Of course The Distillery Cajun Garlic Wing Sauce is wonderful on chicken wings, but why stop there? I steamed some thick cod fillets in the microwave and slathered them with this sauce, and they were simply delicious served with plain white rice. Try basting grilled, broiled or baked chicken or fish with this sauce, or use it for dipping finger food like fries, jalapeno poppers, chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks and more. Add it to potato salad, chicken salad and egg salad for a zesty kick. Toss with cooked shrimp and serve over rice for a quick Cajun dinner. If something tastes good with garlic, it'll taste great with The Distillery Cajun Garlic Wing Sauce!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

All Burning Asphalt Sauces Are Back In Stock!

Fans of zesty foods will be thrilled to learn that all Burning Asphalt sauces and condiments are now back in stock at the Carolina Sauce Company online store! Made by a small family business in the tiny town of Forestville in rural upstate New York, Burning Asphalt first caught my attention with their spicy and tasty Buffalo wing sauces, including their innovative Ranch Wing Sauce which adds a touch of creamy ranch dressing to their traditional Buffalo wing sauce recipe. But this company with the racing-inspired name and logo (they're huge NASCAR fans) isn't just about wing sauces. Burning Asphalt also makes a wonderful line of fiery and flavorful hot sauces (currently on sale), ranging from tangy jalapeno to flaming habanero, plus a habanero-garlic and a sweet garlic hot sauce as well.

This affinity for blending food-friendly flavor with peppery fire is perfected in Burning Asphalt's spicy ketchups, including Zesty Jalapeno and Blazin' Habanero. Ideal for chargrilled hamburgers, hot dogs and other hearty fare but also quite good with scrambled eggs and sausage, these sweet tomato ketchups feature just the right amount of heat for folks who like a little kick (jalapeno) as well as for those who enjoy playing with fire (habanero). You'll never go back to ordinary grocery store ketchup once you've tasted Burning Asphalt Ketchups. Don't despair if you prefer mustard over ketchup: Burning Asphalt also makes an elegantly delicious White Wine Dijon Mustard that will please even the most discriminating palate (and it's not spicy, so even kids will enjoy it).

And since Burning Asphalt is located in the vicinity of New York's Amish community, it only makes sense that they should also have a couple of old-fashioned barbecue sauces made with farm-fresh ingredients including juicy apples and sweet honey. Featuring an Amish horse & buggy logo on the label, both the Dutch Honey Smoked BBQ Sauce and the Dutch Apple BBQ Sauce are thick and rich, packed with layers of mouthwatering flavor, and are marvelous on ribs, chicken, and anything else you grill. And if you're a steak lover, you've gotta try both varieties of Burning Asphalt Steak Sauce (which are on sale), including their zippy Homestyle Steak Sauce and their sweet & spicy Sweet Pepper Steak & Dipping Sauce.

All of these wonderful Burning Asphalt products are once again available at the Carolina Sauce Company, and now is the time to order them for your Memorial Day cookout!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: In celebration of National BBQ Month and National Burger Month, you can save 10% off all Burning Asphalt barbeque sauces, ketchups and mustards when you use our special blog coupon!

New Lower Price on Anchor Bar Bleu Cheese Dip!

Rich, creamy and made with real blue cheese, Anchor Bar Bleu Cheese Dip from Frank & Teressa's original Anchor Bar in Buffalo NY is now only $4.85 at the Carolina Sauce Company! A must-have for dipping Buffalo wings, this famous Bleu Cheese Dip now comes in a sleek new bottle and you still get the same amount (12 oz) of delicious sauce, but at a much lower price. More than just a dipping sauce for hot wings, Anchor Bar Bleu Cheese Dip is also fabulous with raw veggies and salad, chicken tenders, jalapeno poppers and other fried foods, and even as a topping for hamburgers. And we're thrilled to be able to offer it at a new lower price, so now you can save money while indulging your tastebuds!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: A regular on our list of top ten best-selling wing sauces, Anchor Bar Bleu Cheese Dip is also one of 5 delectable chicken wing sauces in our bargain-priced Hot Wings Gift Set, the perfect gift for someone who loves chicken wings.

Best-Selling Wing Sauces for 2009

The following is our list of the top ten best-selling wing sauces for 2009 at the Carolina Sauce Company online store:

1. As in the past, our best-selling wing sauce is THE sauce that gave birth to Buffalo style hot wings: Anchor Bar Original Buffalo Wing Sauce, from the world-famous Anchor Bar in Buffalo NY

2. In second place last year was the spicier version of the original Anchor Bar wing sauce, appropriately named Anchor Bar Hotter Buffalo Wing Sauce

3. Not a wing sauce but rather the classic accompaniment for Buffalo wings, Anchor Bar Bleu Cheese Sauce took 3rd place last year, and is currently on sale at the Carolina Sauce Company

4. Continuing the Anchor Bar's dominance of best-selling wing sauces, their sweet & tangy Anchor Bar Honey BBQ Buffalo Wing Sauce finished in 4th place

5. Completing the Anchor Bar's sweep of the top 5 spots on our best-seller list is the fiery hot Anchor Bar Suicidal Buffalo Wing Sauce, a favorite of folks who enjoy "suicide wings"

6. One of our newest wing sauces, The Distillery Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce from Rochester NY, came in a very impressive 6th on our list of best-selling wing sauces.

7. On the milder side is the buttery-rich, herb-seasoned Scorned Woman Wicked Wing Sauce finishing in 7th place, and proving that there are plenty of people who appreciate a milder but flavorful wing sauce

8. The multiple award-winning DEFCON 2 Medium Heat Wing Sauce, featuring fresh and aged cayenne peppers plus a touch of cream for extra richness, came in 8th last year.

9. Another award-winning DEFCON sauce, the insanely hot DEFCON 1 Extreme Heat Wing Sauce that's spiked with capsaicin extract for an unforgiving, long-lasting burn, was the 9th best-seller

10. The super-thick & rich, medium-hot Distillery Original Buffalo Wing Sauce from Rochester NY completes our list of 2009's best-selling wing sauces.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Wahoo Willie's Jamaican Wing Sauce is No More

Today we bid farewell to an award-winning, unique hot wing sauce, Wahoo Willie's Jamaican Wing Sauce. Born in the now-defunct Wahoo Willie's seafood restaurant in Wrightsville Beach, NC, this unusual wing sauce combined traditional buttery-tangy Buffalo wing sauce with fiery, exotically spiced Jamaican jerk sauce for an intensely flavorful and yet smooth and versatile wing sauce. In addition to being a bold and exciting alternative to everyday Buffalo wing sauce, Wahoo Willie's Jamaican Wing Sauce was also quite good as a cooking sauce for chicken, pork, beef and even venison, for oven-roasting, grilling, broiling and in the crock pot. This delicious wing sauce was also featured in our popular Hot Wings Gift Set. When we learned that the manufacturer was closing his restaurant and no longer going to make this sauce, we bought the last of his stock -- and sadly, we are now sold out, which means that Wahoo Willie's Jamaican Wing Sauce is gone for good. We will definitely miss it, as will many fans in NC and around the country.

Although we don't have any other Jamaican-inspired hot wing sauce here at the Carolina Sauce Company, we have updated our Hot Wings Gift Set to replace Wahoo Willie's with another tasty, unique and versatile wing sauce (which also happens to be from a restaurant): Tony's Birdland Hot Wing Sauce. This is a tangy-sweet & spicy-hot wing sauce from the renowned Tony's Birdland restaurant in Rochester, NY, and it's for much more than chicken wings: Use it on Chinese food and stir fry dishes instead of sweet & sour sauce or duck sauce, or as a glaze for grilled chicken, ribs or shrimp, just to suggest a few non-wing uses. Tony's Birdland Wing Sauce is also quite good as a dipping sauce for popcorn shrimp, chicken nuggets, fish sticks and jalapeno poppers. Order a bottle now while it's on sale, or better yet order our Hot Wings Gift Set to try a variety of different wing sauces (including Tony's Birdland) and Bleu Cheese dipping sauce, all at a discounted price.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Melinda's All-Natural Buffalo Wing Sauces

Many mass-produced Buffalo style wing sauces "cut corners" by using artificial ingredients to add flavor and buttery texture to their sauces, thereby sacrificing quality. Unlike such lesser products, Melinda's Buffalo Wing Sauces use only all-natural ingredients including cayenne peppers, natural butter flavor, and the Caribbean habanero peppers that Melinda's product line has become famous for. The result is a pair of traditional Buffalo style hot wing sauces that pack peppery heat, fabulous flavor, and tongue-pleasing texture and richness that will cling to your chicken wings. Melinda's All-Natural Buffalo Wing Sauces come in two flavors: Their original Hot wing sauce is definitely a true hot, not a medium, and is perfect for most folks who enjoy hot wings. If you prefer "suicide" wings or fiery-hot foods at the top of the heat scale (but without the punishing and unrelenting pain of capsaicin extract), then Melinda's Extra Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce is for you, with even more fiery habanero peppers than the original Hot.

Use Melinda's All-Natural Buffalo Wing Sauces just as you would any other wing sauce -- the label includes a simple recipe for making hot wings. You can also enjoy these good-for-you wing sauces with Buffalo style fried shrimp, as a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets or french fries, as a table sauce for fried fish or grilled chicken, and with any other foods that could benefit from a tangy, peppery, buttery hot sauce. Both flavors of Melinda's wing sauce are currently on sale online at the Carolina Sauce Company.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: If you're counting carbs, you'll be happy to know that Melinda's Wing Sauces are low carb, with only 1 gram of carbs per serving!