Saturday, February 13, 2016

Uncle T's Mean Green Sauce brings the flavor of jalapeno to any dish.

I was excited when my package arrived from Uncle T's, I was getting board with the usual hot sauces at the supermarket and didn't want to take the time to make my own. Uncle T posted his wares on Facebook, I'm friends with him, and I immediately ordered everything. I'm happy I did.

I had an idea of the flavors I'd find in each sauce given he grows his own peppers, makes his own vinegar, and probably grows any herbs and spices in this sauce. OK, he probably doesn't mine his own salt but you never know with Uncle T. I met Uncle T when we were attached to the same unit in the Army so many years ago. He stayed in and retired after 20 years.

Today I am trying the mild offering in the Uncle T's line, Mean Green Sauce. It's jalapeno based and to me a nice mild to medium heat. Straight out of the bottle you can tell it's made from fresh jalapenos and really that is exactly the flavor you get. He's balanced the other flavors so well that all you taste is that fresh jalapeno flavor. It's not quite as hot as biting into a fresh jalapeno since it's in vinegar and I ate it cold out of the refrigerator so that may have turned down the heat a bit too.

This sauce screams to be eaten with other foods. A cracker, a tortilla chip, in my case some taquitos. When I tasted a spoonful of Mean Green on it's own I didn't get it but when I started putting it on a chip or plate of taquitos that's when the flavors just came alive. It adds such a nice extra depth to a dish, that is the real strength of this sauce. It made those frozen in a box taquitos into a nice meal. I went from bored to happy and impressed with something I keep in the frig to eat when I don't want to cook or go out. I've used other mass marketed sauces but they didn't elevate the dish like the Mean Green sauce. It adds a certain fresh flavor that gives the impression the whole dish was made from scratch. 

I will certainly recommend Uncle T's Mean Green Sauce to anyone that loves to cook TexMex and those that enjoy sitting on the porch with a bag of tortilla chips and some hot sauce. You won't find these flavors in the bottles you find at the supermarket.

Next time, Uncle T's Habanero Sauce.

You can find and follow Uncle T's blog here: http://uncletskitchen.blogspot.com/