I really need to thank Gloria Cabada-Leman over at The Carolina Sauce Company. Gloria was kind enough to take a rookie under her wing and not only did she agree to a future interview, but volunteered her husband as well! Gloria is the business-woman at the helm of the Carolina Sauce Company. Her husband Greg is not only the creator of Greg’s Happy Sauce and Greg’s Hot n Bottled Sauce, but he is a master griller and smoker as well – with a special knack for wild game. I can’t wait to post their interviews. To top it all off, Gloria generously sent to me a bottle of Apple Butter BBQ Sauce – which was destined to become my very first product review!
Well, the bottle arrived safely and frankly, I couldn’t wait. I committed an unspeakable horror. Sacrilege, some might say. My smoker/grill was not yet in service, but a whiff and taste of that sauce and I was doomed. I took some chicken breasts out of the freezer, thawed, wrapped in foil with some onion, salt and pepper and cooked for awhile, with just a small dollop of sauce. The chicken baked/steamed until I could pull it apart with a fork. Then I pulled it, smeared it in sauce, and cranked up the heat. Voila – faux grilled chicken.
Seriously, this sauce is amazing. My wife and daughter both had a little taste out of the bottle, and then – of course, on the chicken. Everyone was literally astounded at the myriad of flavors! Now we’re not a bunch of pinky-wavin’ wine tasters. “Sits well on the palate” isn’t in any of our vocabularies. That being said, that’s kind of how the conversation went. “Wow, you can taste every ingredient!”; “Every time it moves in your mouth, you taste something different!”. You can taste apple, then you can taste vinegar, then you get horseradish, then you get something else. I admit, I was a little unsure about something as sweet as apple – but it was “The Bomb”! Luckily, there’s more than enough left over for a legitimate BBQ taste test. Folks, if you’ve never tried this, you need to, especially if you’re looking for something a little different. Sooner rather than later!
Apple Butter BBQ
One last note, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Gloria and Greg are also a driving force behind “Operation Sauce Drop”. OSD is a wonderful program designed to send troops overseas a little taste of home. Soldiers, sign up, pick a theme and get a box of sauce sent to them – fiery, mild, zesty, etc. If you’ve ever eaten hard rations, you’ll know that some extra flavor goes a longgg way. I would ask that you check out Operation Sauce Drop as well. Their program has ground to a halt, and is in need of donations.
Thanks again to Gloria – look for more on her and Greg, in April.
