NZ BBQ Sauce - Chilli product reviews

I love a good spicy sauce, but this one really took me by surprise. With a name like "NZ BBQ Chilli Sauce" I was expecting it to be "Kiwi Spicy" thus a lot milder than it turned out to be. However, thanks to my love of spicy food, this was well within my "happy place" range of spice.

With a rich, smokey BBQ sauce as the base, the chilli added on top gives this a really deep, sharp flavour profile that makes it a good match for a range of foods. The bottle claims it is great with pretty much anything - beef , lamb, venison and seafood... however I would have to disagree slightly. While I agree it is great with the red meats, I found that if undiluted, it drowned out the more delicate flavours of seafood.

To get around this, and to expand it's usefulness, I started to experiment with it a bit. I started by mixing it with some sour cream to make a dip and that went really well, but it was even better when I made a dip by mixing it with cream cheese. Further experimentation along these lines led to a great dip recipe made with a 250g pot of cream cheese, a couple of tablespoons of aioli and 2 tablespoons of this sauce. Double the sauce if you want a richer, spicier dip. II also found it was nice when I mixed 2 parts tomato sauce with 1 part of this sauce to put on pies.

Another great use for this was to instantly turn canned baked beans into Smokey BBQ Beans. In the bottom of a medium saucepan dump a knob of butter and some crush garlic, then fry up half an onion and 4-6 rashers of bacon chopped into smallish chunks. When it's almost ready, tip in a can of baked beans - not the cheapo beans if you can avoid it, but the cans around the $1.50 per can range are usually a safe bet - and a good dollop of this sauce, maybe 2-3 tablespoons worth. Lower the heat and simmer until it's all warmed through, and serve on toast. Throw a couple of slices of cheddar on the toast first, and drop a poached or fried egg on top for a really filling and tasty meal. So easy!

Overall, though this sauce is a bit of a tastbud killer for the unwary, if you are ready for it, then this sauce is a great option to explore. Check their website for stockists.