OREGON DAN’S

 

“Oregon Dan’s”, ‘All Natural Cooking and Grilling Sauces’ are on the plate today. “’Oregon Dan’s will give your taste buds a tantalizing twang they will not easily forget” is the claim to fame for this line of sauces from “Ultimate Edibles LLC”. These sauces are sweetened with organic agave nectar. This sweetener is the new darling of the food industry. Agave nectar is sweeter than sugar and claims to be natural and healthy. Agave is used instead of high fructose corn syrup and results in a low glycemic product. Low glycemic foods keep energy levels balanced and are a good part of a healthy diet. Low on sodium and gluten free, this sauce may pass as health food. Will it pass the taste test? This is the question we will try to answer. Oregon Dan’s has five different flavors to try: “Original, Medium, Habanero, Apricot and a Red Wine Marinade”. Over several weekends we tried the Original, Medium, Habanero and Apricot.

 Ingredients; (Original)

Organic agave nectar, pineapple juice, tomato paste, onion, pineapple, distilled white vinegar,  distilled apple cider vinegar, Blackstrap molasses, Sherry cooking wine, food starch, red pepper flakes, vanilla extract, spices and salt.

 

Aroma & Texture;

 This is a thick sauce that will pour easily out of the bottle. Out of the bottle a sweet tomato smell with a hint of molasses will greet your senses.

 Taste;

 This is a sweet sauce with agave syrup being prevalent. It has good tomato flavor with a hint of the molasses.

 Heat:

 None present

 Food:

 The Original was tried with a pork shoulder that had been slowly cooked in a smoker for nine hours. The meat was shredded and coated with ‘Oregon Dan’s Original’ sauce. It was returned to the smoker and heated. This was some tasty pulled pork. I do admit it was on the sweet side. The combination of molasses and sweetness married with the richness of the pork and was a winning formula.

 Habanero

 Ingredients: 

Organic agave nectar, pineapple juice, tomato paste, onion, pineapple, distilled white vinegar, habanero puree, distilled apple cider vinegar, Blackstrap molasses, Sherry cooking wine, food starch, red pepper flakes, vanilla extract, spices and salt. These are the same ingredients as the Original plus the habanero puree.

 Aroma & Texture:

 The Habanero hot sauce is the same as the Original with a sweet tomato smell and a thick consistency.

 Taste:

 This sauce is very different than the original. The Habanero puree will grab your attention immediately. This is the flavor and heat that I love. I am looking forward to trying it with some grilled sausage.

 Heat:

This sauce has good Habanero heat. The heat level will tip the meter to 3 stars out of 5.

 Food:

 Some sausage was grilled over a barbeque fire. The Meat Tubes were sliced and put into a pan with ‘Oregon Dan’s Habanero’ sauce. The sauce was warmed and then served. I loved the sweet heat. My wife, Ms. Goofy was not so enamored with the heat. It was a little to hot for her. This sauce should be used with your heat seeking friends. It is not for the novice pepper consumer.

 Apricot

 Oregon Dan’s Apricot will be used on some grilled chicken thighs. The “Aroma & Texture” and “Ingredients” will be the same as the other sauces except for the addition of Apricot puree.

 Heat:

 none present.

 Taste:

 Sauce with a fruit slant perplexes the taste buds. It is pleasant and interesting. Will the apricot flavor work with grilled meat?

 

Food;

 This Apricot flavor was a secret/non secret ingredient that ringed the bell. Fruit and barbeque sauce together? Yes, this worked. The smoke kiss and the sweet apricot flavor was a flavor profile that worked. Who would thunk?

 Oregon Dan’s Medium 

We brought a bottle down to our local watering hole. Our friend James (Tri-Tip) Campers cooked a bunch of Tri-Tip and chicken. Everybody had a  sample and gave the thumbs up on this sauce.

Overall

 We had a lot of fun trying the different flavors of Oregon Dan’s. Barbeque sauce that might be good for you is an interesting twist. These sauces are on the sweet side. We thought they were all good on our grilled and smoked meats. The crowd at our local watering hole unanimously liked the flavor and partial heat of the Medium sauce. The Apricot flavored sauce was a little unusual but worked on grilled chicken. The Habanero sauce is not for beginners but I loved that fruity habanero burn. Oregon Dan’s has a line-up of sauces that would be welcome at any barbeque that we have. Great flavor with the added bonus of health benefits makes Oregon Dan’s a sauce to try.

Oregon Dan’s