For those of you who haven’t figured it out yet, Catherine and I are foodies. Specifically, we like heat and we like flavour. Recently I was given a bottle of Smoke Show Lightly Smoked Jalapeno Hot Sauce made by Montrose Foods Inc. Life changing is a term I don’t throw around often, but this what just that! Smoke Show is hot, flavourful, smoky, tangy, sweet (yes!), spicy, rich, earthy… My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
We are lucky enough to try a lot of food, sauces and experiences in our adventures with you all. After initially trying the sauce, I opted to make myself some nachos with Smoke Show and am ready to concentrate. My bottle lasted two weeks, as I literally put it on everything – steak, fried chicken, fajitas, french fries, crackers, toast…..goodness, here we go again. Nothing gets me off track faster than a delicious topic!
Growing up we had hot sauce on the table when my dad would make his famous chili – which is now a recipe I have adapted to be my own and love to make when the weather is cold outside. Well, times have changed. For me, hot sauce was something that hit you in the back of the head before swallowing, to ensure you didn’t fall flat-faced onto your plate out of boredom.
Decades later, the culinary world has since explored every facet of peppers and spice, to refine and perfect the art of heat, which Smoke Show has accomplished. Smoke Show hits you in the back of the head, for sure, but not before it electrifies your 2000+ taste buds, ramps up your smell sensors (which account for 80% of the flavours you taste) and warms your mouth like a really special hug. As a plug for Catherine’s profession, note that jalapeno peppers are low in calories (5 per tsp of Smoke Show) and pack a powerful nutritional punch (vitamins C, K, A, E, potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper and manganese).
Smoke Show is a Canadian success story, which makes me appreciate them even more. Created by Dave Rose, an self-proclaimed, obsessed youtube hot sauce researcher, Smoke Show came to life when his brother Nick’s obsession with smokers “collided” with Dave’s hot sauce obsession. I’m imagining Dave tripping and hot sauce landing inside Nick’s smoker, but that just sounds messy! I learned that they had a plan in their parent’s backyard of their Montreal suburb using whole jalapeno peppers (gently placed in the smoker), which led to the culinary genius that is Smoke Show. As mentioned above, the sauce is equal parts smoky, spicy and sweet, which gives it the kick of hot sauce but with much deeper layers of flavour.
One of my favourite things about the packaging (how often do I say that!) is that the sauce comes in a plastic squeeze bottle which allows the gastronome (aka foodie) to aim and control where the delicious sauce lands. I learned another advantage when I finished the bottle and was able to take off the top portion and use my finger to lick the rest of the sauce from the sides. Yes, my husband walked in at that moment and it was a little awkward, but I continued until the bottle had not a trace remaining (I was taught not to waste food).
Smoke Show is rapidly expanding their presence, and can now be found in hundreds of stores across Ontario and Quebec (locations growing daily), on Amazon Prime or can be ordered directly on line from smokeshowsauce.com. That said, two advantages to buying it directly from the creators (aka the Rose brothers who I guarantee smell more like ribs than flowers) are: 10% off if you sign up with your email, and; $1 from every bottle purchased is donated to Crohn’s and Colitis Canada (which is an advantage no matter where you buy it – way to go Montrose!).
I suggest you ask your local grocery manager to carry it, as you’ll easily be able to keep the product moving from the shelves with just with your own purchases. Don’t forget to suggest that your local restaurants carry it, rather than those typical ‘hot’ sauces that don’t offer these complex and delicious flavours.
For more info on Smoke Show Lightly Smoked Jalapeno Hot Sauce or Dave Rose’s amazing story (en anglais ou en français), check out their website and some of the interviews on-line. The creators suggest that Smoke Show is amazingly good on oysters. Once my new bottle arrives in the mail soon, I’ll make sure to try that out and get back to you with the results.
To join in on the social media discussion make sure to follow & tweet @SmokeShowSauce on Twitter and Instagram. I can’t wait to hear what your thoughts are on one of my favourite new additions to recipes and snacks alike!
For more behind the scenes of this and other amazing brands we are working with around the world, make sure to follow along with the #DoTheDaniel Instagram account. We would love to have you join on our adventures.
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Photos: motionball, all social media accounts listed above & Daniel Reyes
Cheers!
Mobile photos will be taken with my Huawei P10 Plus
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