Mad Dog BBQ Sauce

Below is a press release. I don't usually post press releases, but this is about the company that makes my absolutely favorite barbecue sauce, Mad Dog. Now I love the original, and I love the spicy. The judges at competition - well they sure as hell don't. Enjoy.

BBQ Spells Success for MA Entrepreneur

Twenty years in business and 28 sauces later, Ashley Food Company, Inc. continues to beat the odds. The secret to success for entrepreneur David “Mad Dog” Ashley lies in giving customers a reason to come back for more. The original Mad Dog all natural bbq sauce kicked the company into high gear 20 year ago. Its popularity spawned the expansion into a whole family of Mad Dog sauces over the next 5, 10 and 15 year milestones. Now the #1 rated BBQ sauce by America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Magazine comes in three varieties, Original, Chipotle and Ultra Hot. Dun & Bradstreet reports, "Businesses with fewer than 20 employees have only a 9% chance of surviving 10 years." Ashley Food Company, Inc. is an exception to the rule.

Sudbury, MA (Vocus/PRWEB) December 20, 2010

In honor of the 20th anniversary of Ashley Food Company, Inc., founder David “Mad Dog” Ashley just introduced a family of three barbecue sauces featuring the ever popular, Mad Dog Original all natural bbq sauce. The original has the same, rich flavor that ranked it #1 by America's test Kitchen and Cook's Magazine. The new Chipotle Mad Dog barbecue sauce has the same heat as the original, award-winning recipe and has a distinctive, new smoky flavor. The Ultra Hot Mad Dog barbecue sauce has been enhanced with added Ghost Peppers making it one of hottest BBQ sauces ever made.

What gives Chipotle Mad Dog bbq sauce its smooth, smoky flavor are large, red ripe, dried jalapeños that are called chipotle peppers. These peppers are the last ones to be harvested so they are brown in color. They are smoked slowly over an open fire for an unmistakable taste. There are many different grades of chipotle peppers. Ashley Food Company, Inc. uses only high-grade chipotle, the finest money can buy.

When customers asked for an even hotter BBQ sauce, Ashley Food Company, Inc. delivered one of the hottest bbq sauces ever sold. To intensify the heat of Ultra Hot Mad Dog bbq sauce, the company added Bhut Jolokia otherwise known as ghost pepper. This pepper comes from India and is 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. Ghost peppers are certified by Guinness World RecordsTM as the world's hottest peppers.

All three varieties of Mad Dog bbq are dedicated to Ashley's good friend, Bear, the chocolate lab who appears on the new label of this family of barbecue sauces. To lock in freshness, Mad Dog bbq comes in a new, 12-ounce bottle with an unmistakable new logo.

Texas musician Lyle Lovett once compared barbecue sauce to a beautiful woman. He said “If it's too sweet, it's bound to be hiding something.” (The Texas Monthly, June 2008) David Ashley explains why Mad Dog barbecue sauces have nothing to hide. “For 20 years, our hallmark has been to provide all-natural products. We use premium, fresh ingredients and no fillers, no additives and no preservatives. We guarantee this. ”

To order Mad Dog bbq sauces, visit Ashley Food Company, Inc., call 1-800-61-SAUCE or email maddog(at)ashleyfood(dot)com.

For more information about the complete line of Mad Dog bbq and Hot Sauces created by Ashley Food Company, also visit Ashley Food Retail Store and Ashley Food Wholesale Store.

About Ashley Food Company, Inc.

As President and founder of Ashley Food Company, Inc. in Sudbury, Massachusetts, David has been creating all-natural, mouth watering, and award-winning products for two decades come January 2011. All Mad Dog creations are made in hand-measured batches and cooked to perfection. To this day, David ensures that every blend has a fresh-from-the-kettle-taste.

Ashley Food Company produces 28 sauces, from sweet with heat to lethal, including “The world's hottest hot sauce” – 357 EXTREME hot sauce; Mad Dog BBQ sauces, Mad Cat, Teriyaki Hot sauce; industrial extracts, and has recently added Envy, 357 EXTREME Wing sauce and 357 EXTREME Mustard to the line-up. Find the complete line of Mad Dog Hot Sauces and barbeque sauces created by David Ashley at Ashley Food Company, Inc.

Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/press-releases/10/12/p714676/bbq-spells-success-for-ma-entrepreneur#ixzz18iMNFLFI

The Nine Classic American Barbecue Sauces

There's a great article about the nine classic American barbecue sauces over at The Huffington Post. Take a look here.

Blue Collar Bar-B-Q Sauce wins The American Royal

I just wanted to take a moment and congratulate my friends Jay and Steve Curry from Spice Wine Iron Works on thier sauce, Blue Collar Bar-B-Q winning "Best In The World at this year's American Royal"

Now that is a really big deal. The American Royal is the Super Bowl and World Series of barbecue competitions all rolled up into one. Thousands, probably tens of thousands of people compete at this event every year. For Jay and Steve to take top honors, this is an accomplishment to be very very proud of.

The Curry boys describe Blue Collar Bar-B-Q as "Thick and bold, this sauce is a great everything sauce. It works well as a great finishing sauce for any BBQ." And now they can claim it's award winning.

So if you're looking for a new "great finishing sauce for any BBQ," go out and get bottle of Blue Collar Bar-B-Q. Trust me. It's good.

Contests: BBQsaucereview.com Giveaway

Sorry for the late post as this contest ends tomorrow, but check out BBQ Sauce Reviews. I love Mad Dog BBQ Sauce, even if the judges didn't when I used it in New Paltz last year, so I'm excited about this contest.

Here's the info copied right from their website...

I really love sauces that mix the mild with the mysterious, provide the sweet and a special treat, and add thrill to my grill. Sorry, I was just watching Captain Curt’s video again, and was caught up in a world of BBQ rhyme.

And if Captain Curt’s sauce represents the Don King of the BBQ sauce industry, then David Ashley’s Mad Dog sauces might be it’s James Taylor, with a fine story to tell and a clean, natural appearance. If you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out on a critical component of the BBQ sauce world - Mad Dog Sauces.

I reviewed Mad Dog Original back in April (here), and followed that up with Mad Dog Ultra Hot (here) a month later. All natural, high-quality ingredients, excellent stuff … It seems like every time I turn the page (on the web that is) I see that Mad Dog is winning another award.

Now is your chance to get two bottles for nothin!

Two lucky winners will each receive a two bottle sampler pack of (1) Mad Dog Original and (1) Mad Dog Ultra Hot.

Simple Contest Guidelines

• Comment on this post (on their website - not here at WhiteTrash BBQ) about anything - maybe say something nice about the sauce or this blog. Give me some new business ideas or something! Whatever! Just a comment will enter you.
• Enter a comment below by Sunday August 23rd.
• Winners will be chosen randomly via the Piper method and announced on Monday August 24th.
• If you are new to this site, please enter your name in the contests mailing list to be notified of contests in the future.

Thanks,

Brian

BBQ Sauce

Let's get this out of the way, barbecue is not sauce. Barbecue is a method of slow cooking meat over low heat and smoke. You can't put "barbecue" sauce on a carrot and call it Barbecue. The sauce is just a condiment on hopefully good meat.

That being said, let's talk a little about barbecue sauce. Most Americans prefer their barbecue to be accented with some sort of barbecue sauce. According to The Praxi Group: Beef Flavor Preference Study, October 2005; funded by The Beef Checkoff, 45% of Americans want barbecue sauce on their beef.

So what's the flavor break down of the barbecue sauces?

• 31% of us want it to be smoky/hickory flavored
  
• 32% want it to be sweet (Preferred by Caucasians, women and those in North, Central and the South)
• 22% want a hot/spicy sauce (Preferred by consumers 18 to 34, Asians, Hispanics, African Americans and men)
  
• 13% want a tangy or vinegary sauce (Preferred by Caucasians, and consumers 55 and up)
  

Home Cooking Star

This just in, another cooking contest.

This one seems pretty simple and is purely a popularity contest. They're looking for the best barbecue sauce in America. Do you think you have it? All you need to do is to submit the recipe and get your family, friends, cousins, brethren, workers, associates and neighbors to vote for it and hey, you're a Home Cooking Star! Go for it.

Home Cooking Star

Home Cooking Star is a reality contest that actively invites home-based cooks to enter a unique recipe to win having it bottled and sold across America - we manufacture it and the winner gets royalties.

This season is barbecue sauce.

Recipe entry starts now and runs through midnight May 25, 2009!

Enter your recipe this week and your name goes in the drawing for a FREE Gift Pack from Carlton Farms (visit their online store).

CLICK HERE TO ENTER YOUR RECIPE!

BBQ Sauce Reviews

It's been awhile since I recommend another website, but I have a good one for you today. It's called BBQ Sauce Reviews. The site's been up about 6 months now and I've enjoyed reading their reviews. I don't always agree with them, but it's always a good read.

I was surprised when I first started to read the reviews that the authors took into consideration the taste of the sauce after it had been cooked on the meat. That's something I've always thought was the absolute ONLY way to review a barbecue sauce. Unfortunately, that's not how it's done at the competitions. Usually, barbecue sauce is reviewed only straight out of the jar. And that's a pity. The magic of the heat and the smoke can transform a sauce. Sometimes they shine after the fire, other times they fall apart. I really applaud the reviewers for taking this into account.

From the site .. "Presently the test we conduct consists of applying the sauce to chicken and pork ribs as recommended by the BBQ sauce vendor. When no directions are provided, we rely on traditional methods of applying the sauce towards the end of the cooking cycle so that the flavor of the sauce is activated, yet remains intact."

The only complaints I have about the site is that I don't know what type of fire (wood, charcoal, lump, gas?) was used in each review. I assume that the food is cooked over a gas cooker due to a sly reference to covering the cost of propane. For shame. I know that most people use gas, but that's not real que.

The only other clarification about the reviews is I'd like to know if food is grilled or barbecued? It makes a huge difference in how the sauce reacts to the meat.

I do love that the guys over there come up with all sorts of boutique sauces and they still review the mass market sauces. When you get a chance, stop by BBQ Sauce Reviews. You'll be glad you did.

Barbecue Sauce By Region

Photo of the various barbeque regions of the United States courtesy of Kraft Food Service.

There's a great book out called Mastering Barbecue by Michael H. Stines. In this very informative book he discusses how different parts of the United States have signature sauces. Funny, he ignores the middle Atlantic states, the west coast and New England completely but he does include Florida and Oriental. Very interesting, but here goes:

• Alabama: Thin, vinegar-based with sugar, salt, pepper and mayonnaise
• Georgia: Thin mustard-based, tomato and vinegar
• Kansas City: Thick tomato and sugar base, sweet, smoky and spicy
• Kentucky: Black sauce with Worcestershire sauce, molasses and vinegar
• Florida: Tomato -based with lemon, lime, vinegar and butter
• Hawaiian: Sweet and sour with fruits and fruit juices
• Oriental: Soy sauce, peanuts and some heat. (Oriental? Isn't that phrase obsolete now-a-days and considered offensive by many? Also with peanuts I'd peg it more as Thai or Vietnamese rather than Oriental. But hey, I didn't write the book)
• North Carolina (Eastern): Thin, vinegar-based with crushed red peppers, salt and pepper
• North Carolina (Western): Thin, similar to Eastern North Carolina, but with tomato and sugar added
• South Carolina: Thin mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper
• Tennessee: Depends on the region. Thin, vinegar-tomato sauce or sweet, somewhat spicy tomato-based with peppers and molasses (Memphis)
• Texas: Very thick, tomato-based, spicy with molasses and Worcestershire sauce, also a thing, hot-pepper-based sauce.
  

Hershey’s Chocolate Barbecue Sauce

Looking for something new? How about Chocolate Barbeque Sauce? I love chocolate in cooking. From sweet desserts to savory moles to chili it just seems to enrich everything it touches.

Hershey’s Chocolate Barbecue Sauce

In a 5 quart sauce pot:

• ¼ cup chopped garlic
• 2 cups diced onion
• ½ cup Olive oil

Cook over medium heat until onions are tender.

• 4 whole lemons, squeeze in juice only
• Zest of one lemon
  
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 tablespoons black pepper
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce

Add items, stir in and simmer for 10 minutes.

• 8 cups ketchup
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 4 cups Hershey’s chocolate syrup

Add items, stir in and simmer for 15 minutes. If you don't like chuncky sauce, run it through a blender before serving.

Hold on low heat. Chill in refrigerator for service at a later time. Reheat on low heat.

This was originally created by Charlie Gipe, CEC; who is Hershey's Executive Chef, but I've modifed it just a bit. I hope you enjoy!

Chinese New Year Plum BBQ Chicken

Since Sunday is the Chinese New Year - The Year of the Pig, I thought we'd get started off right with an interesting recipe for some grilled Chinese Plum BBQ Chicken. I found this recipe on the Oregon Chickens website, but what really caught my eye is that this was written by Daniel Blankenship. I have a distant cousin Daniel Blankenship, whom I've never met. I wonder if it's the same guy.

Chinese New Year Plum BBQ Chicken
Submitted by: Daniel Blankenship Corvallis, Or
Serves 4

• 1 fryer chicken, cut into pieces

Pre-Grilling Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon wasabi powder
• 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
  

Barbecue Sauce:

• 1 cup Chinese plum sauce
• 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  

Garnish:

• 1/4 cup mandarin oranges

Combine the pre-grilling sauce ingredients and brush on chicken pieces. Grill on medium hot fire until almost done. Combine all the barbeque sauce ingredients. During the last few minutes of grilling, baste chicken liberally with barbecue sauce on both sides. Garnish with mandarin oranges and serve.

Barbecue How to's and Two BBQ Recipes

(Bloggers note: I'm feeling very snarky today. Here's a recipe that came into my in-box the other day. When I first glanced at it, it seemed OK. Now I just want to rip it apart. I'm tired of reading recipes on how to barbeque, when the person writing it has absolutely no idea what he's talking about.)

David Slone -- January 31, 2007

Barbecuing is a widespread and honored tradition. Three out of four American families own a barbecue grill and use it, on average, four to five times per month. What better way is there to have fun with friends and family than to have a barbecue? (But do they barbecue or grill four to five times a month? There is a difference you know.)

Before putting the meat on the barbecue it is a good idea to set it out of the refrigerator for about an hour to let it warm up. This will make the meat cook quicker and it will be juicier.

Food safety is an important issue so always be sure that you cook the meat thoroughly. Cut (CUT? WTF? DON'T DO IT - you'll loose all the meat's juices!) the meat in the thickest part to be sure that the juices are clear to be sure that it is completely cooked. (Use a thermometer dude!) Always be sure to keep utensils used to handle the raw meat separate from those you use to handle the cooked meat. Cross contamination of bacteria can be as dangerous as eating raw meat. You want your barbecue to be both fun and safe for everyone so always be careful.

Barbecued Spare Ribs are a classic American barbecue meal, made from pork. (Umm, spare ribs are only found on a pig. What else would they be made from?) This version is cooked in the oven, not on a barbecue, and uses a barbecue sauce with a distinct Asian flavor, featuring soy sauce, rice vinegar, and garlic. (Whoa Nelly, both your recipes call for using a grill - not an oven. Did your recipes get mixed up in some strange editing brew-hah-hah?)

Remember to give your barbecue a good cleaning after each use. If you have a gas grill, you can turn the grill on for ten or fifteen minutes to allow it self clean. Charcoal grills need to be cleaned with soap and water using a stiff wire brush. (Thanks for the tip on cleaning my grill - but since this recipe calls using an oven, what does this have to do with anything? Got any tips on how to clean my toilet?)

Here are a couple really good barbecue recipes you can try at your next barbecue. (Can you tell me why you're giving us a recipe for grilled pork chops first when you just setup an article to talk about barbecued spare ribs?)

Grilled Stuffed Pork Chops

Ingredients:

• 4 thick rib pork chops, (1" to 1 1/4" thick is best)
• 3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• Large pinch dried and crumbled rosemary
• Large pinch dried and crumbled marjoram
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter
• 1/2 cup minced sweet onion
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• salt and/or pepper to taste

Directions:

• Make several shallow cuts in each pork chop with a knife.
• In a large bowl mix the breadcrumbs, herbs, butter, onion, garlic, and salt.
• Stuff the mixture into the cuts you made. (I've never heard of stuffed pork chops where the stuffing is put into several shallow cuts. Usually one large pocket is cut into each pork chop, and that pocket is filled with stuffing. Why do I have the feeling that the stuffing would fall out of these "shallow cuts.")
  
• Grill the pork chops at medium to high heat for ten minutes on each side side. To make sure the chops are evenly cooked they should be turned several times.
  
• Grill them for five minutes or so then turn them over and let that side cook for 5 minutes.
• Repeat this process two or three times or until the chops are grilled to your satisfaction.

Barbecued Spare Ribs

Here is a classic American barbecue with a twist. This version uses a barbecue sauce that has a distinct Asian flavor, featuring soy sauce, rice vinegar, and garlic.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds pork spare ribs
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons hoisen sauce
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoons sake
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground white pepper (I have to buy another pepper grinder just for the white pepper? Use the pre-ground stuff.)
  
• 2 tablespoons chicken stock
• freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste (I guess that the pork chops don't rate, they didn't get freshly ground black pepper!)

Directions:

• Put the spare ribs in a large casserole dish in one layer.
• Using a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients.
  
• Pour this mixture over the spare ribs being sure to completely coat the meat.
• Let this marinate overnight, (Where? Should I do this on a table? In the refrigerator? Should the dish be covered? What about food safety?) baste occasionally unless the meat is completely covered.

Throw (As in fling?) the ribs on the grill and let them cook to your satisfaction. Turn them several times during the process and baste them with the marinade sauce a few times. (With all that sugar in the honey and hoisen sauce you better be prepared to turn and FLIP your ribs. A lot! Sugar burns very quickly over direct flame of a grill. Following David's directions will give you burnt and inedible meat. It would be best to cook these ribs over an indirect fire and only char them slightly at the end.)

Be sure to check out the Barbecue Recipe Collection for delicious barbecue recipes. (Remember the quality recipe you found here. I wonder if the rest of them are this bad.)

BBQ Gifts

Are you done Christmas shopping yet? Or are you like me and haven't even begun? Yup. It's getting late but I have a few recommendations for the person who loves to cook outside.

First up is one of the best cookbooks out there for getting started in the world of barbecue and grilling: Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue . This is a great book to get you started. It explains cookers, fires and meats. This is my go to book whenever a beginner is looking to get started.

For the more seasoned pitmaster or the person who likes to mess around with creating sauces and seasonings, take a look at Paul Kirk's Championship Barbecue Sauces: 175 Make-Your-Own Sauces, Marinades, Dry Rubs, Wet Rubs, Mops, and Salsas. Out of all my cookbooks, I find myself returning to this one the most. It isn't just a follow the recipe book, it teaches you how to create your own recipes.

Looking for a great line of hot sauces? Try out Manny and Lisa's Pitbull Hot Sauce. I love this stuff and use it all the time. Be sure to buy a bottle of their Jalapeno Peach BBQ Sauce while you're there. You won't regret it.

How about some rub? Try out John Henry's Wild Cherry Chipolte. It's one of my favorites, but a bit pricey. Or take a look at the folks over at Home BBQ or Spice Wine Iron Works. Both companies make a great line of products. Another great line of rubs which I've mentioned in the past is Dizzy Pig. All right, enough rub recommendations. You'll do great with anyone of these.

Or, do you want to just forget the whole cooking process and buy your barbeque already done? Shame on you. But if you just don't have time to cook, believe me I understand. One of my favorite on-line BBQ stores is Cooper's BBQ in Llano, Texas. You can't go wrong with any of their meat packages.

But no matter how good the barbecue is, it looses something in shipping, so if you're in NYC stop by RUB - Righteous Urban Barbecue or Daisy May's BBQ for some great eating or take out. If you're out on Long Island, stop in at Willie B's in Bay Shore. And finally if you're across the Hudson in New Jersey, be sure to visit the Front Street Smoke House in Elizabeth.

Man, I just got very very hungry!