A while back the mailman brought me three bottles of sauce from one Chef Hymie Grande' (aka Jamie Faitelson). The big selling point I got out of the press release was that these sauces are the first (and only) barbecue glazes certified by the American Diabetic Association. Yes, sugar free sauces for your barbecue and grilling needs. Now I fully appreciate the fact that there is a real need for sauces of this nature. I get requests regularly. One the other hand, don't blame me if I am skeptical. I have worked around a lot of dietary restrictions in my day and I've found that there are two kinds of products out there to address these needs. The first is a product that simply substitutes one thing for another. Artificial sweetener for sugar, rice flour for gluten, soy for dairy. You get the idea. These products are seldom good because the fundamental flavor gets changed. The second type of product starts from scratch to find a solution that better than just a substitution, it is a unique and good product on its own merits. A quick glance through the ingredients and a sniff of the opened bottles and I knew that these three sauces fall in the second category.
I want to start by saying that these are not barbecue sauces. At least not in the way most people think of barbecue sauce. Yes, there is a combination of tomato, vinegar, and seasonings, but these are glazes. They are labeled as glazes. This means something a little different in the culinary world and these sauces were designed by a professional chef. What you want to do with these sauces is cook them into foods slowly, but brushing thin layers in as the meat finished cooking. This allows the glaze to coat and flavor the meat. This is very important since the flavor of these sauces change dramatically once cooked.
There are three sauces from Chef Grande'. Two thin, watery sauces and one thick sauce. The Polapote' Barbecue Glaze is labeled as a "smokey Mild" sauce. This sauce has a medium heat that you will notice and a tangy component that gives foods a nice lift. This sauce has a Worcestershire sauce background that adds but doesn't overpower.
The New Mexico Sweet Basting Sauce is the mildest of the three sauces. I would say a slight combination of mustard and wine flavors. This is a sauce to use on good meats where you want the flavor of your cooking to show through the sauce.
The Cascabel Express Barbecue Glaze is labeled as "surprisingly hot" and I was actually surprised by the heat. Its that kind of hit you in the back of the throat hot. Straight up I found this sauce good, but mostly just hot. On meat (and I was using smoked brisket) it amplified the meats flavor but added on a layer of heat. I have to say that this was my favorite sauce. It gives you a circling sweet and heat flavor that is hard to pull off and a great addition to everything I've tried it on.
These sauces are not a diabetic equivalent to those supermarket sauces like Kraft (especially considering that these run around $7USD online or $4.99USD at retail outlets a bottle). These sauces stand on their own merit and I really think of the diabetic element as a plus but not something I think of when tasting these sauces. If you need something to satisfy a low-carb diet then these sauces are really something you should look at. If you don't care about the carbs then I would still recommend giving these a try.
You can get more information at: Chef Hymie Grande' Barbecue Glazes
Photo: Regarding BBQ Inc.
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