The Source is Back in Stock!

After a prolonged absence, I'm pleased to report that The Source is finally back in stock again at the Carolina Sauces online store!  The warehouse notified me this morning that they currently have just over 200 bottles of The Source, and they're ready to ship.

The Source is by far the hottest item we sell here at the Carolina Sauce Company, and is widely considered the hottest hot sauce on the market.  Made exclusively from natural chile (Capsaiacin) extracts and rating an astronomical 7.1 million SHU on the Scoville heat scale, The Source is most definitely NOT to be consumed without dilution.  In fact, it's properly categorized as a "food additive" rather than a hot sauce because it must not be used directly on prepared food.  Rather, the safe way to use The Source is by the micro-droplet as an ingredient, and it's wise to wear plastic gloves and eye protection when handling it.  Needless to say, a little goes a long way--and a single bottle is most likely a lifetime's supply, unless of course you're using it to manufacture gallons of your own hot sauce or other fiery concoction in large volumes!

Because of its unmatched potency and its unique, display-quality packaging, The Source is a popular and coveted gift item for serious hot sauce collectors, chileheads and fiery-foods fanatics.  It's also guaranteed to be a conversation starter with guests.  Produced in limited quantities and not always available, don't miss this opportunity to buy The Source while it's currently on sale, because once the warehouse runs out again, there's no telling when more will be available.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS:  If you're interested in ultra-hot hot sauces, make sure to check out our selection of Hottest Hot Sauces and of Pepper Extracts, all currently on sale.

Outta the Park BBQ Sauce Wins 3rd Consecutive Scovie Award!

One of my favorite barbecue sauces, Outta The Park BBQ Sauce, has won a Scovie Award for the third consecutive year!  Their Original sauce took 2nd place in the 2012 All Natural Mild BBQ Sauce category in this prestigious international competition.  The Scovies are judged by a panel of top culinary experts in a blind-tasting format, and this year's contest included almost 800 different products from 38 states and 4 countries.  It's quite an honor to finish among the top three in any Scovie category, but to do so for three years in a row is truly a major accomplishment that's well-deserved by Outta the Park.

Made in North Carolina from mostly organic, all-natural ingredients, Outta the Park BBQ Sauce is a thick, tomato-rich barbeque sauce with an invitingly savory-sweet flavor that finishes with a zippy little kick to keep things interesting without being "hot."  Outta the Park is a natural with ribs (pork or beef), chicken, pork chops, kabobs of any variety, shrimp and even fish or burgers of the meat and veggie variety.  It's also a winner in ground meat recipes including meatloaf, chili, sloppy joes, hamburgers and meatballs, plus you can substitute it for tomato sauce to make an all-star BBQ pizza.  Warm it up and serve it as a dipping sauce for fries, mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, tater tots and other nibbles for cheers from your kids.  And if you like hot and spicy foods, check out Outta The Park Hot & Spicy BBQ Sauce, which adds a special blend of hot chili peppers to the original sauce for flavorful fire that will heat things up without burning you out.

Both varieties of Outta the Park BBQ Sauce are available from the Carolina Sauce Company (through our partner Insane Chicken), and you can find them on our North Carolina Products page. 

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Ole Ray's Classic Gold BBQ Sauce

Golden yellow, mustard based barbecue sauce is popular throughout South Carolina, in the North Carolina low country, in Florida and other parts of the South.  Ole Ray's Classic Gold Barbeque & Cooking Sauce is made in that South Carolina tradition with mustard as its main ingredient, brown sugar and honey added for a touch of sweetness, cider vinegar and lemon juice for tang, and some Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce for savory spice.  Thin enough to use on Carolina style pulled pork barbecue but with enough body for basting and slathering, this mustard BBQ sauce is excellent on any type of pork:  Ribs, chops, roasts, sausages, loin and of course pork butt.  It's also quite good as a marinade and cooking sauce for chicken, shrimp and even fish, plus you can use it with all sorts of kabobs, on hot dogs and on burgers.

Ole Ray's Classic Gold Barbecue Sauce is not only for the grill:  It's a natural as a pretzel dip, and also adds zesty mustard flavor to your favorite ground meat recipes, from hamburgers to sloppy joes to meatloaf, chili and even meatballs.  Add a splash to baked beans and stews to brighten up the flavor, or try your hand at making a robust salad or veggie dressing by whisking in a little olive oil and honey.  Some folks even use it as a ham glaze.  And because it's not spicy-hot but rather full-flavored, the whole family can enjoy this mustard barbecue sauce.  Get a bottle today while it's on sale at the Carolina Sauce Company online store!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Roasted Kabocha Squash with Bacon, Onions & Garlic

Kabocha squash is a winter squash that looks like a cross between a small pumpkin and an acorn squash:  Round and squat, with a ridged dark-green shell and a deep orange interior that's sweeter than acorn squash.  The seeds can also be roasted, like pumpkin seeds.  This recipe can serve two or four people as a side dish, depending on the size of the squash and whether you halve it or quarter it.  Serve as an accompaniment to roast chicken, pork, beef or venison, or other hearty fare.

Roasting enhances the sweet, mellow flavors of many vegetables, and kabocha squash is no exception.  The biggest challenge in this recipe is cutting through the hard skin of the squash:  Make sure you place it on a flat non-skid surface and use a very sharp knife.  Rather than attempting to halve the uncooked squash, I decided to cut out the stem by cutting around it about 1 1/2" from the stem to create a "lid" that I lifted off using the stem as a "handle."  I then used a large spoon to scoop out the seeds from inside the squash including the flesh side of the lid.  The rest of the recipe is below:

Ingredients
1 kabocha squash (3 to 5 lbs)
Olive Oil
Dried herbs of your choice (Italian herb blend or herbs de Provence work well)
Salt & pepper to taste
3-5 slices bacon (depending on size of squash)
1 onion (choose size based on size of the squash)
2-4 cloves garlic

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Cut out the stem of the squash as described above, reserving the "lid" and removing any seeds attached to it.  Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds from inside the squash (reserve for roasting if you wish).  Use your fingers or a kitchen brush to lightly coat the interior of the squash and lid with olive oil.  Sprinkle the inside of the squash with herbs, salt and pepper to taste, then replace the squash "lid."  Lightly grease the bottom of a baking pan or casserole dish with olive oil (I used a square glass baking dish just large enough to hold the squash).  Place the squash in the dish and bake at 375°F for 45 minutes or until the interior of the squash is fork-tender (the outside will yield slightly to pressure).

While the squash is roasting, fry the bacon in a skillet until done.  While the bacon is cooking, peel and slice the onion.  When the bacon is done, place the cooked bacon on a plate with paper towels to absorb excess grease.  Reserve 1 to 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the skillet, add onions and cook until soft and translucent.  While the onions are cooking, mince the garlic cloves and add to the skillet.  Continue cooking the onions and garlic, stirring regularly, until the onions are lightly golden.  Coarsely chop or crumble the cooked bacon, then stir into the onions and garlic.  If at this point the squash is not yet fully cooked, reduce heat for the skillet to keep warm.


Once the squash is done, remove from oven, lift off the "lid" and scrape off the cooked flesh from the "lid" into the skillet, stirring it into the onions, garlic and bacon.  Spoon this filling into the squash and replace the "lid."  Let the stuffed squash sit for a couple of minutes to allow the flavors of the filling to infuse the flesh of the squash.

When ready to serve, remove and discard the squash "lid" and carefully cut the squash into halves or quarters to serve (spoon any spilled filling over the served squash).

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

We Now Have Old Ray's Apple Cinnamon BBQ Sauce!

A few months ago we asked our Facebook fans what types of products they'd like to see more of at the Carolina Sauce Company, and the top two requests were more barbecue sauces and more hot sauces.  We've taken that feedback to heart, and are in the process of adding many new BBQ sauces and hot sauces to our website, along with other products as well.  The first new arrival for 2012 is the award-winning Ole Ray's Apple Cinnamon Barbeque Sauce. 

Apples and cinnamon are a natural pairing, and in a stroke of genius Old Ray's mixed some of both into a traditional tomato barbecue sauce base, together with molasses, apple cider vinegar, mustard, spices and just a dash of cayenne pepper.  The end result is a thick, rich and savory barbecue sauce with an enticingly sweet apple flavor and hints of smoke and spice.  This sauce is not peppery-hot, and it's definitely on the sweet side, so it's perfect for kids and folks with more sensitive palates.  The apple and spice notes pair beautifully with all sorts of pork and chicken, including ribs, chops, roasts, and even hams.  Old Ray's Apple Cinnamon BBQ Sauce also makes a lovely basting, slathering and dipping sauce for kabobs of any sort, plus shrimp and grilled veggies.  It's great with beef and venison, too, and mixed into ground meat recipes.

Stay tuned to this blog for more product announcements.  You can also see all the newest products here. 

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Braised Cabbage with Peppers & Onions

Cabbage is one of Greg's favorite vegetables, and I enjoy it as well, sometimes even adding a little bit of julienned cabbage to my salads for extra crunch.  While we'll often use cabbage to make cole slaw, deer slaw (a cooked slaw made with cabbage, carrots and Caesar dressing), various German dishes, and as an ingredient in soups and other recipes, I had never tried braising it until two days ago.

I bought a beautiful head of locally-grown organic green cabbage at Whole Foods, stripped off a few bruised outer leaves, quartered the head and then halved each quarter, and.....

Keep reading for the rest of the recipe! 

Ingredients
1 green cabbage (about 2 or 2 1/2 lbs)
1 onion, preferably a sweet onion
1 bell pepper (green, red or orange)
1/3 cup poultry stock or vegetable stock, preferably homemade
1/4 cup olive oil or melted bacon fat
Seasonings of your choice (one or more of the following):  Dried herbs, Kosher salt, coarsely ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, mace or nutmeg
Optional topping:  Crumbled bacon or diced country ham

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Remove any bruised outer leaves from the cabbage and cut into quarters, then halve each quarter to make 8 wedges.  Grease a large baking dish (e.g., 13x9x2) with olive oil or bacon grease.  Place the cabbage wedges in a single layer in the dish.  Peel the onion and cut into wedges (I quarter and halve, just like the cabbage).  Cut open the bell pepper, remove seeds, and cut into large chunks.  Add the onion wedges and pepper chunks to the cabbage.  Drizzle evenly with stock and oil/ fat, then sprinkle lightly with desired seasonings.  Cover with foil and bake for one hour.  Uncover and use tongs to carefully turn over the cabbage wedges, trying to keep them from falling apart.  Sprinkle lightly with desired seasonings, re-cover and continue to bake for another hour.  Uncover, increase oven temperature to 400°F, use tongs to carefully turn over the cabbage wedges, then return to oven (uncovered) and cook at 400°F until just lightly browned (about 15 minutes).  Remove from oven and serve - top with crumbled bacon or diced country ham if desired.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS:  Don't be put off by the long cooking time:  While it does take at least a couple of hours to cook, braised cabbage requires very little actual work on your part so you can do other things while it cooks.  And the deep, mellow flavors and buttery, melt-in-your-mouth results are well worth the wait!

December's Best-Selling Products at Carolina Sauce

As usual, December was a super-busy month for us, for which we're deeply grateful to our customers AND to our partners who were busy fulfilling customer orders.  Because we now offer a greater diversity of specialty foods and gifts through our partners, and because we had a wider variety of orders last month (along with the typical spike in volume), I'm changing things up a little.  Instead of the usual list of Top Ten best-selling products, here's the list of the Top Twenty best-selling sauces, seasonings & gifts for December 2011.  Enjoy!

1.  For the second consecutive month, Jamaica Hellfire 2 in 1 Hot Sauce was the top-selling product across all categories at the Carolina Sauces online store.  Made in Jamaica from sun-ripened peppers and Blue Mountain pimento (allspice), this quintessentially Jamaican hot sauce adds tropical fire to any savory dish.

2.  Wells Hog Heaven BBQ Sauce was our best-selling barbecue sauce as well as the second-best seller overall.  This classic Carolina vinegar sauce is tangy & savory, perfect for pulled pork BBQ and also for marinating chicken.

3.  Walkerswood Traditional Jerk Seasoning moved up to third place last month, and is a favorite in Jamaica and in the US for its authentic combination of Jamaican herbs, spices and peppers for an unbeatable jerk flavor that works wonders with poultry, meat and seafood.

4.  Busha Browne's Pukka Sauce also hails from Jamaica, but it's not a jerk sauce.  Rather, it's a piquant and peppy all-purpose hot sauce that's perfect for adding scotch bonnet fire to any savory dish, from breakfast to lunch to dinner.

5.  Georgia Peach & Vidalia Onion Hot Sauce is one of the most popular products we offer.  Gently spicy by hot sauce standards and irresistibly delicious with its blend of luscious ripe peaches and zesty sweet onions, this hot sauce pairs nicely with chicken, fish, grilled meats, veggie burgers and more.

6.  Susie's Original Hot Sauce continues its recent surge in popularity, as more folks discover and fall in love with its savory pepper-mustard flavor.  This hard-to-find hot sauce adds authentic West Indian flair and fire to your favorite dishes.

7.  Three-Month Cured Country Ham (half, uncooked, sliced):  This traditional country ham hails from North Carolina and is the perfect size for a small gathering of a few folks, which probably explains its popularity around Christmas.  Slightly less salty than a 6-month cured ham, it boasts a buttery texture and full flavor the whole family will enjoy.

8.  Another popular choice for the holidays is Boneless Buffet-Style Cooked Country Ham.  Its 3-lb. average size is ideal for smaller families, and its traditional bold flavor is just as big as that of larger hams.  Whether served heated as a main dinner course, or for breakfast in piping-hot buttermilk biscuits, or cold in lunch sandwiches, or chopped and added to salads, omelets or other recipes, this mouthwatering ham is versatile and delicious!

9.  Wells All-Purpose Rib & Chicken Sauce is the thicker, mellower and tomato-rich sibling of the better-known Wells Hog Heaven Barbecue Sauce.  As the name suggests, this BBQ sauce is excellent for basting, slathering, dipping and finishing ribs (pork or beef) and chicken.  It's also a tasty sauce for veggie kabobs, burgers and grilled shrimp, too.

10.  The Hot & Spicy Gift Set from our partner OliveNation comes with wasabi peas & peanuts, hot Cajun snack mix, red chili pepper infused oil, crushed Aleppo pepper flakes and several spicy seasonings--and it proved to be a big hit as a holiday gift for chileheads.

11.  Another new item that's a popular gift for bacon lovers is a Bacon Gift Certificate from our partner BaconFreak.   Available in amounts from $20 to $100, they're redeemable for gourmet bacon, nitrite-free bacon, flavored bacon, bacon-flavored foods, bacon-themed novelties & clothing, bacon cookbooks, and virtually anything else you can think of having to do with BACON!

12.  Walkerswood Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce captures the true flavor of Jamaica's most famous chile pepper and complements it with scallions, onions, garlic & thyme for a burst of savory, fiery flavor that will enhance, not overpower, your food.

13.  J.T. Pappy's Flamin' Gator BBQ Sauce recently made a triumphant return to our online store, and quickly returned to the ranks of  top-selling barbecue sauces.  Its medium heat level and tangy mustard-tomato flavor goes well with anything you grill or broil, and also in ground beef recipes.

14.  Matouk's Calypso Sauce features aged pickled scotch bonnet peppers in a mustard-vinegar base with just a touch of sweetness for a classic West Indian hot sauce that's thick, rich, and fiery like the tropical sun.

15.  This Gourmet BBQ Gift Basket comes with a bottle each of Olivier Rum-Molasses Texas Style Barbecue Sauce, Broadbent's Original Barbecue Sauce, and Olivier Honey-Apple Cider Kansas City Style Barbecue Sauce--extraordinarily delicious BBQ sauces that will be appreciated and enjoyed by grill chefs and barbecue connoisseurs.

16.  Walkerswood Jerk Marinade always sells well in the summer months when folks are marinating and grilling more (it's wonderful with chicken, beef, pork, seafood and vegetables), but it's also excellent as a marinade for broiled and baked meats & poultry, making it a popular cook's choice for the holidays and a welcome gift for anyone who relishes authentic Jamaican jerk flavor.

17.  Bone Suckin' Barbecue Sauce is probably the best-known BBQ sauce from North Carolina.  Made in the traditional Piedmont (western) style, this tangy-sweet sauce blends tomatoes with vinegar and a touch of zesty spices.  Slather it on ribs or chicken, splash it on pulled pork BBQ, mix it into your burger or meatloaf recipes, and watch your family and friends joyfully devour the results!

18.  The Tapas Gift Basket from our partner Spanish Feast comes with everything you need to serve authentic Spanish style tapas (except the wine), including chorizo, piquillo peppers, anchovy-stuffed olives, pear marmalade, gourmet tuna & sardines in olive oil, fig bonbons soaked in brandy, and more.

19.  The aptly named Bacon Wonderland Bundle will make any bacon lover swoon.  Featuring Honey BBQ Bacon and Apple Cinnamon Bacon, maple-bacon coffee, chocolate-bacon strips and other bacon-y treats, it makes a great bacon gift for any occasion.

20.  A number of Bacon Novelty Items of the edible and inedible variety were tied for the final spot on our best-seller list, and they're just a snapshot of the many delightfully amusing and occasionally bizarre bacon-themed products we have available through our partner Bacon Freak.  Have fun browsing through their vast selection, and pick something out for yourself or your favorite bacon freak.

If you want to know what the most popular and best-selling products were for all of 2011, make sure to keep checking this blog.  I'm in the process of compiling the results and will post them here once all the lists are tallied.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Avocado-Chipotle Dressing

This feisty salad dressing sports a Mexican-inspired flavor and is for more than just salads:  Toss with cooked shrimp, spoon over broiled fish or grilled chicken, combine with steamed broccoli and other veggies, etc.  The chipotle adds an earthy smokiness and peppery heat, providing a palate-pleasing contrast to the cool, creamy avocado.  If you want a less-spicy dressing, use only 2 tablespoons of minced chipotles.  And if you prefer a smooth, creamy dressing, simply puree everything in your blender.  Chipotles in adobo are available in cans or jars in the Mexican/Latino section of most major grocery stores and supermarkets, at tiendas or ethnic stores in Latino neighborhoods, and at specialty-foods or gourmet shops.

Ingredients
1 small ripe avocado, diced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbs chipotles in adobo, minced
3 Tbs mayonnaise (you can use Light mayo)
Juice of 1 lime
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro (omit if you hate cilantro!)
Salt & pepper to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients EXCEPT the avocado, salt & pepper until thoroughly combined.  Fold in the avocado with a spoon or spatula until well mixed.  Taste for balance and season with salt/pepper as desired.  Refrigerate any leftover dressing.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS:  If you or someone you know loves the smoky heat of chipotles, check out our exclusive Chipotle Lover's Gift Set with 5 different chipotle hot sauces, at a bargain price!

Happy New Year!

The Carolina Sauce Company wishes a zesty and happy New Year to all of our friends, customers and partners!  May the coming year bring you and yours good health, prosperity and happiness. 

Thank you for your support during the past year, and we look forward to making 2012 an even better year!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria