GUANCIALE

Un-smoked pig jowl or cheek that is cured and air dried is called Guanciale. This is Italian bacon that is very rich and flavorful.” And now for the rest of the story.” It was time to pay a visit to my good friend Angelo Ibieto. Angelo is the proud and colorful owner, proprietor of ‘Angelo’s Meats’ in Petaluma, California. It is always an adventure in good eats and friendship with our visits. This was a surprise visit so fresh baked focaccia or risotto was not waiting for me. Angelo was in good spirits. He scolded me for not bringing Ms. Goofy on this adventure. Angelo showed me some pork bellies that he had just procured for future bacon. He explained that he bought imported bellies because they were meatier than local bellies.  Domestic bellies do not have the meat to fat ratio that his customers want. Normally the bellies come from Denmark and today he had a shipment from Poland shown by the inspectors stamp.

We were talking about pigs and what to does with the head came up. I told him about my experience baking a whole pigs head. Angelo told me that he was curing the cheeks to make some Guanciale. He showed me the cheeks in a curing bucket that were covered in salt and spices. Angelo asked me if I wanted one. I hesitated and before I could reply he grabbed one and wrapped it up. He even threw in a hanging fork. I received some simple instructions and I was set. I loaded up my ice chest and said my goodbyes.

Rinsing the cured cheek of all the spices is the first task at hand. I patted it dry and applied freshly cracked black pepper. I then inserted the hanging fork. Now it just needs to be hung and air dried for at least three weeks. We have a spare room and closet that will be a good place to hide this drying bacon from Oscar, Lucy, and Ms. Goofy. Oh by the way, I did not mention to Ms. Goofy that there is meat hanging in her spare closet. Hopefully she will not read this post for at least three weeks. Stay tuned.

DIMPLES

Gentleman, start your grills. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of the barbeque season. Here at Mad Meat Genius our grill glows year round. Barbecue sauce is an important component of a tasty grilled meal. We were privileged to sample and critique Dimples Barbecue sauce. Would you like to find out what we thought? Please click the link below to find out. Happy Q.

Dimples Barbecue Sauce

FISH PEPPER

The pepper patch is looking nice and healthy with many exotic varieties of chile plants. One pepper that is kind of fun and a little unusual is the fish pepper. This pepper comes from the "Triple T Ranch'. They grow these peppers plants and transform the fruits into hot sauce. The description says these peppers are the best variety for when cooking with fish. Some of the leaves have white stripes throughout. This pepper will have a good home in the Chilebrown pepper patch.

MAD DOG FUSION GHOST OIL

Mad Dog Fusion Ghost Oil is a very hot oil that will leave smiles on the face of hard core Chileheads. This oil has Ghost in the title for a reason. Check out the latest review on Peppers & More.

Read Mad Dog Fusion Oil Review Here

SAUCED BBQ & SPIRITS

The Racing Honda’s destination was Livermore California. We had a smoky tip that ‘burnt ends’ were being served at ‘Sauced BBQ & Spirits’. Say no more. It is our duty as certified ‘Master Judge’ bbq freaks to investigate this meat candy allegation. Sauced is located in downtown Livermore. Livermore is no longer a dusty cowtown but a trendy wine producing destination. Sauced is located right smack in the middle of this smart, modern, new urban area. A large building surrounded by an outdoor patio has two wood pile stacks that offer a tease of possible barbeque greatness inside. We have arrived at Sauced BBQ & Spirits.

Upon entering Sauced we are immediately seated by the hostess. We have seating choices of the large sports bar area or equally huge dinning area. The place is pretty full for the noon hour. Sauced has a fun vibration. We learn that live bands play in the evening. There are numerous televisions for sporting events. We are seated and I immediately survey the four large squeeze bottle containers of bbq sauce housed in a beer six pack container. I have not even looked at the menu and I am sampling sauces.

Pig Candy, Tin Roof, Hot Tin Roof, and a fourth called Georgia?  All of these sauces were cloyingly sweet. The Tin Roof was tomato based with a pronounced honey flavors. The hot version was fueled by habaneros and had a bite to prove it.  Pig Candy was another sweet sauce. The name escapes me so we will call it Georgia, had a mustard tang. All of these sauces were sweet and I am glad we have the choice to use them or not.

The three -way combo allows you to sample several meats and my choices were: burnt ends, ribs, and sliced brisket. The plate was brought from the kitchen promptly. It was a beautiful plate. The sliced brisket had a fabulous smoke ring. The burnt ends made me drool with its shiny carmelization. The ribs were dark and looked inviting. If only I could eat with just my eyes. The sliced brisket was tender and the pull test offered partial proof. In spite of a spectacular smoke ring, smoke flavor was absent. The beefy flavor that I crave was also missing. The burnt ends were on the mushy side. I so wanted that beautiful bite of flavorful meat candy. The ribs had a chewy crust that encased pockets of unrendored fat. Each bite I took was full of grease from  fat. Most noticeable of all three meats was the lack of seasoning. They had to use some rub demonstrated by the nice coloring of the finished product. These rubs must have lacked salt which resulted in lackluster flavor that just did not have any pizzazz  The sides were no different on the seasoning issue. A pinch of salt could have saved  this pedestrian Apple Cole slaw. The cornbread was a sticky sweet dry disappointment.

Ms. Goofy ordered pulled pork, one of her all-time favorite barbeque items. The cooks slathered her pulled pork with a vinegar sauce. Vinegar sauce with pulled pork is a traditional sauce and done correctly can be a work of brilliance. This offering was inedible  The only thing you could taste was vinegar. Ms. Goofy claimed the Mac & cheese was gloppy and gritty. Ms. Goofy left a full plate of food which is a very rare occurrence. The server even noticed the full plate of food. She said another customer had the same complaint. The server offered to give us a plate of food to go of some un-sauced pulled pork. This un-sauced pulled pork was very good. It was a nice offering by our friendly server but a little late.

I would like to mention a feature of the bar. Whiskey on tap is offered. Where have I been? I do not think you can order it by the pitcher but they do have a great selection of local micro-beers that you can. Sauced BBQ & Spirits is a fun lively place with a great wait staff. The barbequed meats need some work, a lot of work. The kitchen turned out some great looking food but neglected to properly season these offerings. We may return because of the fun factor and whiskey on tap. There are other menu items that sound tempting like the pimento cheese sandwich or the pulled pork stuffed jalapenos. See you soon!

Sauced BBQ & Spirits

CHILEBROWN MEETS THE GOAT SUCKER

Be forewarned, you will now experience a typical day in the life of Chilebrown. I have met and conquered El Chupacabra (The Goat Sucker). When I am not judging BBQ competitions, managing farmers markets, searching for the ultimate Chile-Verde and local butcher shops, hot sauces are my passion. Yes, I admit that one of my favorite hangouts is ‘Heat Hot Sauce Shop’ of Berkeley California. Let’s start from the beginning. CaJohn’s is a manufacture of high quality hot sauces. I was a recipient of a free hot sauce from a giveaway on Facebook. This particular sauce is considered a super ultra-hot, non extract elixir. This sauce is not for the hot sauce challenged. I was a little apprehensive and possibly a little afraid of this heat bomb. In the next several moments we are going to meet the sauce, the tasters and tell you how it tasted. Please, continue reading at your own risk.

The Sauce

A journey into the unknown and unexplained tells us of a beast that devours and mutilates livestock. This is the legendary El Chupacabra. El Chupacabra hot sauce like the beast, may cause harm to us after ingesting this potent line up of super hot Caribbean chile’s.  An all-star exotic line up of Bhut Jolokia, Scotch Bonnet, Trinidad Scorpion, 7-Pot, Trinidad Scorpion Moruga peppers is putting fear into me now. There are also carrots, onion, mustard, vinegar and spices to tame this bevy of peppers. This may be one of the hottest sauces (non extract) on the market today

The Tasters

Dylan & Becky are owners of the newly opened hot sauce shop “Heat”. They have a great shop that has an extensive inventory of wonderful hot sauces. They even bottle and sell three sauces of their own. Dylan & Becky are more than willing to open a hot sauce bottle to sample and taste. These two have knowledge and fortitude to share this bottle of El Chupacabra. I trust that they can handle the heat of this formidable hot sauce. Ms. Goofy did not want any part of this experiment. I was having a few reservations myself. This would be a serious tasting. A bottle of milk was purchased just in case. Drinking dairy can sooth and calm the burning sensation. Dylan, Becky and I were ready to try El Chupacabra.

Taste

The sauce is an inviting red/orange thick smooth puree. No seeds are present. The top was ceremoniously removed. Pure hot exotic pepper aroma filled the shop and instilled fear into my mind. It is time to meet El Chupacabra. We pour cautiously into our tasting spoons. We glanced at each other. I made sure the milk was handy and ready. I taste fruity hot peppers, Dylan tastes mustard, and Becky is feeling a little dizzy. These are our initial thoughts and feelings. The second wave and experience is the heat building in your mouth. Did I just swallow a live hot coal? That is an exaggeration but it is a heat that puts your endorphins into overdrive. Dylan and I both had sinus reactions that put the Kleenex to use. Becky was fine with a couple of sips of coffee.

 When the fire subsided, we all agreed that this sauce did have great appeal. The peppers did have a Caribbean flair with its mustard, carrots and onions singing backup. You cannot ignore the heat. It is there and needs to be respected. We are professionals. (Did I really just say that?) CaJohn’s has a unique and very special sauce with El Chupacabra. This sauce will make any serious Chilehead happy. I am glad I was able to share it with Dylan, Becky and You the readers. We have conquered El Chuacabra!!!!!!!!

LOUD ORANGE SUNSHINE

'Loud Orange Sunshine Mango Habenero Sauce' made our Cinco de Mayo shout with flavor. We made some fantastic guacamole with this mustard based sauce. Recipes and a review can be viewed by clicking the link below.

Recipes & Review Here