The Hog Blog

A while (a very long, while) back, I got an email from a gentleman promoting a new sauce, Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce. 

Based on a family recipe, they’d started bottling this stuff and were turning to the blogosphere to try to get in a little economical marketing.  He wanted to send me a couple of bottles to try out, and maybe I could do a little review on my blog. 

I’m not real big on bottled bbq or steak sauces (I love my hot sauces though).  My late grandfather, a meat-cutter, instilled in me the opinion that if a piece of meat needs sauce that isn’t included in the recipe, then it’s a sign that either the meat or the cook has fallen short.  There’s no better way to insult such a cook than to dump A-1 or Heinz (or, god forbid, ketchup!) on a steak off of his grill. 

Anyway, I figured it was worth a try, and asked if he had a spicy version.  He sent me a bottle of “spicy” sauce and a bottle of the original.   I have to admit that the samples ended up in the back of the cupboard, and pretty much sat there for a while.

I pulled the “spicy” out a while back.  I had some leftover pheasant breast, which can get a little dry, and thought I’d chop it up and mix in a little sauce to make a sandwich.  It actually worked pretty well.  The flavor wasn’t far removed from some other bottled steak sauces I’ve tasted in the past, but it was original enough to hold its own.  It didn’t completely overwhelm the flavor of the roasted pheasant, although of course the sauce was the main thing I tasted.  The only thing lacking was spiciness.  It just wasn’t all that piquant.

In the interest of disclosure, I enjoy stuff like habanero and scotch bonnet pepper sauces, so I understand that hot is a relative thing.  Spicy means something different to me than it does to some other people.  But even so, this sauce was pretty mild.  Even Kat didn’t really feel much burn.

I kept the bottle around and used it over time to make some barbecue sauces and marinades.  I can’t say it would ever be a staple in my kitchen, but it wasn’t bad for a bottled sauce.   When it was gone, I had every intention of doing my review on it, but life intervened and I moved on.

Until last night…

I had a little piece of backstrap laying around from the pig I shot the other day.  I didn’t have the energy to do much with it, so I wrapped it in foil with a couple of onion slices and stuck it in the oven until it started to smell good.  When it was done, I sliced it up and made a couple of sandwiches.  I was poking around in the cabinet looking for something to put on it when I saw the bottle of Country Bob’s Original back in the corner.  Why not?

As much as I was disappointed with the lack of heat in the spicy version, I was really pleased with the flavors of the Original.  Again, like most bottled sauces, it was stronger than the flavors of the meat.  However, I could still taste the pork.  I’d even go so far as to say that the super-simple preparation (just onion and pork) was accented by the sauce.  With a couple slices of cheese and a little Grey Poupon, it was a fine sandwich.  The only thing missing was a cold beer.

To wrap all this up, the bottom line is that despite my generally low opinion of bottled sauces, I have to admit that I kind of liked the Country Bob’s Original All-Purpose Sauce.  It’s a tasty blend of spices, not too sweet or heavy on the vinegar.  For folks who like to pour something on a steak or chicken breast, I think it would be a good choice.

I made a little trip over to Country Bob’s website a little while ago, and it looks like they’ve expanded the line significantly.  You can order sauces online, and you’ll also find recipes.  There’s even a blog!

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