Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Results - Product Testing 101 - Basting



The masses have spoken!

Well, a couple of you have expressed interest in hearing the results of my first official Product Test of: The Original Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce.

According to the company brochure, Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce got its start in 1968 when Country Bob himself "perfected the sauce of his dreams."

"After years of giving the sauce to friends and family Country Bob began to sell it 1977." There's more, but you get the idea.

Anyway, that's what the company brochure says, but what does The Good Cook say?

The first test I conducted using the sauce was basting various foods. I wanted to see how this vinegar based sauce stacked up to other BBQ sauces.

The taste testers consisted of me, The Best Husband In The World, the 19 year old college student, the 17 year old girl, the 15 year old video game addict, and a collection of teenagers who seem to always knock on the door around dinner time.

Shrimp, Lamb and Rotisserie Chicken:



Shrimp:

The Good Cook: Because it is a vinegar based sauce there was were no flame ups or charring of the shrimp. I used Jumbo Shrimp, threaded on skewers, and began basting the shrimp as soon as it hit the grill. The flavor was smoky and sweet with a hint of spice. Very nice.

Taste Testers: Yum. Really liked this sauce on the shrimp compared with other sauces. Not too sweet and really delivered a nice punch of heat at the end.

Lamb:

The Good Cook: I love lamb - cooked the traditional way with garlic, lemon, rosemary and a hint of mint. But this was a nice change. I chose lamb chops, cut thick, for this particular challenge. I would make this again. Again, no flare ups, coated the chops nicely, without being too thick or cloying.

Taste Testers: "Oh, this is good.. can I have some sauce for dipping?" " Can you make it this way again?" "Uh, is this steak?" (this from a visiting teen)

Rotisserie Chicken:




The Good Cook: I basted the chicken throughout the cooking process - every 15 minutes for 1 1/2 hours. The skin crisped nicely without burning or charring (again, because it is vinegar based). The chicken LOOKED beautiful when done. However, if you didn't get a piece of meat with skin on it, you could not taste the sauce. Next time I would use chicken pieces, not a whole chicken.

Taste Testers: Okay, but didn't get a lot of flavor through the meat. The tasters asked for sauce on the side and said the chicken was great dipped in the sauce.

In basting conclusion, I would stick to smaller cuts of meat or fish. Country Bob's is a bit thinner than other bottled sauces I have used and I like that as it makes it easy to brush on evenly.

Tomorrow - marinating (pork tenderloin) and using Country Bob's as an ingredient (hamburgers and home made baked beans).









12 comments:

  1. I have never seen this in the stores. Of course I live in the middle of nowhere. Hubby loves vinegar based BBQ and I usually just make my own and it is never the same any given time. I will have to find this....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kathy,

    Hang on until the end of the week - and I will have a complete post of where to find it - plus I'm planning a contest giveaway.. maybe you'll win!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You've got me sold... my mouth is watering.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yummm! Those pictures are making me hungry and really upset at my limited cooking conditions over here! :s

    ReplyDelete
  5. My mouth- ALSO WATERING. Hmm... I wonder how it is on tofu. I think I would rather have it on SHRIMP!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hmmm, I've been looking at his line of sauces for some time - I think I'll pick up a bottle. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Not to sound too much like ninny but what are other BBQ sauces based in? I like the vinegar idea. Does this mean this sauce is not sweet? I do not like sweet sauces, so most BBQ sauces are a fail for me. I like them savory and spicy.

    Now I feel like skewering something~!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Badass - good! that was my intent.

    Crazy Chris - all you need is a flame!

    Jen - Tofu will take on the flavor of the sauce, but shrimp will be better.

    Nancy, you're lucky. I've looked for it in three different stores and haven't found it yet. (I will tell you how to order it online though!)

    Happy Hour - some sauce bases are tomato. And some have really high sugar contents in the form of high fructose corn syrup. This sauce is slightly sweet, but mostly savory and a nice kick at the end. Only 6 grams of sugar compared with 13 and 16 grams of others.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have(and do!) participate in various cooking contests, and make 90% of my own slathers, sauces, rubs, blends, and marinades... But that other 10% comes right out of somebody else's concoction that just seems impossible to improve on! Those, I keep secret- to make everyone think I do it all!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Buffalo,

    Oh... that 10% is culinary plagiarism... I may have to rethink our relationship... OR report you to the food police. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Noooo, your site makes my mouth water, these look pretty fantastic to me!

    CJ xx

    ReplyDelete
  12. I wish I had a flame... the only thing here are a couple of electric stove-tops and 1/2 the things don't work! :s
    I miss my gas kitchen...

    ReplyDelete

Wow. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I love feedback... what with being a cook and all. I will respond to your comments via email (if you do not have a "noreply" address or here, below your comment) As always, Bon Appetite!

Related Posts with Thumbnails