Chicken

A Fowl Fifth

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Hey folks, it’s that time of year again. The first thursday of september, on which I write my yearly homage to the Hot Ones YouTube show, designed to give you all an alternative and far more UK-friendly version of their ten sauce line-up.

Hot Ones

Last year, I went a little off the rails with the most out there product selection that I could but, for today’s fifth round, I want to be a tiny bit more down to earth. To still pull a whole host of delicious finds from out of my review catalogue, yet also stick a little closer to the real show and bring back a few old favourite producers, in the process.

So, with that in mind, I’m going to kick things off with one of my all time favourite companies and see how things go from there.

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An Audience with the Sultan

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Hello again, everyone. Today, we’re looking at a brand new addition to my sidebar. Another company who’ve sent me something free to feature. And, this time, it’s not a sauce.

It’s a pair of curry kits, containing all of the necessary spices for two full meals and their sides:

Two of the most popular products from The Spice Sultan – Their Thai Yellow and Sri Lankan Coconut & Lime flavours. Both tangy, coconut-forward curry styles, based on authentic spice blends from the founder’s asian backpacking adventures.

Let’s have a look, shall we?

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My Fourth Season

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Hot Ones

Happy thursday, everybody. As I mentioned in tuesday’s review, it’s now september and that means that we’re overdue for round four of my Hot Ones-style line-up. That set of ten sauces, that I update annually, designed to give you the best UK-centric replica of the show’s experience that I can.

I am, after all, a UK chilli reviewer. Which puts me in the perfect position to craft such a collection.

This year, however, I’ve been somewhat disappointed by the products showcased on First We Feast. They haven’t interested me nearly as much as those in past seasons.

So, instead of looking at what the real show does and trying to mimic it, I’m going to try and whip up the wildest collection of wing-friendly, ascending heat sauces that I can, this time.

But, if you are after a more traditional line-up, there’s always the Chilli Shop and Mojo’s Bar’s monthly 📽️Hot Ones challenge night📽️, here in leeds.

Hopefully, between that and today’s post, I’ve got all of the bases covered.

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Pedestrian Hot Wings

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What’s up fiery food fans? If you’ve spent any time on this site at all, you probably know that I’m a fan of the Hot Ones YouTube show but, as of this week, the brand are branching out.

hot-ones-game-show

Hot Ones the Game Show just dropped yesterday – A variation on the formula where, instead of interviewing celebrity guests over a shared meal of lightly-sauced (yet still very hot) wings, Sean Evans asks trivia questions of the general american public, while they suffer from something far more thoroughly drenched.

So, today, I want to take some time to look at that formula and give my thoughts on what it does right, what it does wrong and what it’s likely to mean for the future of the show that I love.

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Irish Legends

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Hey folks, this week we’re exploring the far reaches of the UK with a couple of sauces from northern irish producer, Rock A Doodle Do. A company built on classic metal music puns.

If that’s what you’re after, though, you’re going to have to be patient because I’m not featuring their Can I Play with Mangos quite yet. Instead, I’m focussing on their “Irish Legends” bundle, designed to shine a light on the local mythology. Because, what can I say? I’m a sucker for fantasy themes done well.

IrishLegends2

It doesn’t take a real fantasy fan to know the one on the left, though. The banshee, famous for its bone-chilling, soul-piercing shriek, is definitely a part of popular culture. Albeit a tad less so than your dragons, unicorns and vampires.

It’s the second sauce – The one on the right – where we see something that I’d consider genuinely obscure.

The Pooka, according to Rock A Doodle Do, is “a Malevolent Spirit and a shape-shifter that can take any form it chooses”. Unlikely to do humans any harm but always eager to be their horse for a wild and death-defying night’s ride, taking delight in their terror.

What they don’t say, however, is that this dark creature is also the steed of the more well-known dullahan – The headless horseman – and that it, like the banshee, can be a deathly omen.

You’d think that that would be a selling point for these sauces.

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Hot Ones Round Three

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Happy thursday, folks. Today, we’re back for round three of my Hot Ones-style line-up.

Hot Ones

Because, given the popularity of the show, I feel like it’s worth making an annual tradition out of. Especially when importing some of their actual sauces can be quite the struggle.

So here I am, yet again, to provide you with a more brit-friendly alternative, comprised entirely of sauces that are available in the UK. Sauces that I have featured on this very site and know will make for the most enjoyable and entertaining of challenges.

You can read all about last year’s choices in my previous post but, this year, I’m going to be refreshing most of the line-up, oncemore. So, as with the last time, read on to see which old sauces have stayed, what new ones have made my list and why I’ve made the decisions that I have.

Or watch 📽️ my YouTube videos 📽️ to see me tackle a line-up of real Hot Ones sauces.

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Mahi Learns to Fly

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Hey there, everyone, last month we saw the last of Mahi Fine Foods’ sauce samples and it was quite possibly the best thing in either of my two gift boxes from them. But their last tablesauce wasn’t their last product so, to truly see if it’s the best that Mahi have to offer, I’m going to have to try their last marinade as well.

wingjar

This is, as you can see, their wing one. And, like their Tikka, it’s labelled in black as part of their barbecue range.

Yet what little other colour we can see on the front is yellow, this time, to distinguish it from the Tikka’s deep orange. The only major change to set it apart from that previous marinade, so I won’t be saying much more about the labelling today.

What I will say, though, is that the british crown to the left of the company’s name makes much less sense here, given that wings are a predominantly american dish.

Now, onto the product inside.

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Return of the Wings

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Happy thursday again, folks.

Today, we’re taking another look at my Hot Ones-style line up because it’s been a whole year. Time in which the range of sauces I can pull from has changed quite dramatically. Yet my love for the show has not.

Hot Ones

You can read all about that and see what the old line up was in last year’s post but, this time, we’re focusing solely on the sauces. So read on for what new ones I’ve chosen, which old ones have stayed and why I’ve made the decisions that I have.

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Tikka Time

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Happy tuesday again people. Last month I took a look at Mahi Fine Foods’ Lime & Coriander Rub & Marinade, only to find it absolutely heatless.

It wasn’t bad but it did leave me scrambling for something else to feature. It was a mistake that I won’t be making twice.

As I sit down to write about their Tikka Marinade, I can assure you that I’ve already read through the ingredients at least five times:

Water, Tomato Paste, Onions, Red Chilli Paste, Garlic Paste, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Ginger Paste, Citric Acid, Ground Paprika, Yoghurt, Mixed Spices, Beetroot and Stabilizer: Xanthan Gum.

This one has chilli in it and, if the taste is anything to go by, it’s got a fair bit at that.

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My First Marinade

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Alright, everyone, I’ve left a little too much time between these and will try to be a little quicker about uploading the next one but here we go with the third of my Mahi Fine Food reviews.

This time, though, it’s not your average sauce. It’s a dedicated rub and marinade.

The first such product to be featured on my site, in fact.

2017-09-25 12.25.01

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