On Saturday, The Wife and I took the kiddos to the Lake Home and Cabin Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center. As with most overpriced conventions there were plenty of vendors selling items which really had nothing to do with the theme. Even so, I am not one for giving up the opportunity for trying anything that claims to be “lava hot” and as such I waited my turn at Two Fat Guys’ Gourmet Sauce stand.
Two Guys are out of Illinois but sell their product at numerous local grocery stores including Rainbow and Target. Both of the guys were on hand hawking their wares on meatballs and in a pitcher of watered down bloody marys which got the attention of someone at the counter who was either a plant or totally clueless about what a good bloody tastes like.
While their presentation methodologies were less than impressive, their product was anything but. When one of the ‘fat guys’ asked if I liked it hot I asked if it was “Minnesota hot” or really hot. He replied that because they were from Illinois that it was definitely not “Minnesota hot” and it carried a nice kick. They dipped a meatball in the sauce and handed it over in a small white paper cup. I popped the little treat in my mouth and the BBQ flavor was the first to hit and then a good and steady heat came thereafter which lasted for nearly 10 minutes thereafter. This was some seriously good stuff so I picked up a jar for $5. Considering some of the BBQ sauces I’ve tried have run nearly $10, I was quite pleased for the bang for the buck and look forward to seeing what it’s like in the store.
While the price and flavor were spot on, I was also impressed with the ingredient list:
Tomato concentrate, tomato puree, honey, brown sugar, vinegar, sugar, onions, molasses, mushrooms, gluten free beer, water, salt, granulated garlic, spices, tamarind, lemon juice (no MSG, no soy)
I was so impressed that on Sunday night I made pulled pork and loaded up a sandwich with this stuff. The heat gave me a great sweat and some excellent flavor on the pork. This could become my go to BBQ sauce if the prices in the stores aren’t out of control.
Overall, this is one helluva sauce. I am already looking forward to using it again for my own bloody marys (they have their recipe on the jar) with more sauce than not and certainly some chicken wings which definitely deserve this to be brushed on as they grill. YUM!
Have you ever had anything from Two Fat Guys? If so what did you have and what did you think? What is your favorite sauce to put in a bloody mary and do you use BBQ sauces? Are you surprised that they aren’t using HFC and instead use honey and both white and brown sugar? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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February 11th, 2013 at 8:29 am
“Minnesota hot”. That’s cute. :) I like that it doesn’t have that HFCS crap too – So far you’re 1/1 in your recommendations..the kids plowed through 2 boxes of those Wheat Thins.
I’ll definitely look for it the next time I’m at Target so thanks for the heads up!
February 11th, 2013 at 8:58 am
I have tried this sauce. I would say that it is an above average BBQ sauce, but I didn’t realize it was such a good bargain. That you bought it for $5 at one of those stupid shows is a great deal.
Because I was in the midst of eating a bunch of hot wings when I tried this sauce, I can’t say I got to experience the heat level I would have if trying alone, but I may have to grab some of it if I see it out on a shelf sometime.
The one thing I noticed when I tried it was a nice sweetness to it that you don’t always get with a spicy BBQ sauce. I think it would be really great to use in a meatloaf that some people would use “ketchup” at that point in the recipe. Yum!
February 11th, 2013 at 10:11 am
Sounds great. Question though: What gives it the heat? From the ingredients you list, the only possible thing is “spices”.
February 11th, 2013 at 12:18 pm
I was thinking the same thing, MSPD. And the thing with “spices” is that to list it, it needs to be under a certain amount. So I was wondering how there would be enough to actually make it spicy
February 11th, 2013 at 12:51 pm
I didn’t ask figuring it was either some serious cayenne or habanero. It’s hard to tell, however, because of the sweetness and BBQ flavor.
February 11th, 2013 at 1:09 pm
Just added this to my grocery list.
February 12th, 2013 at 7:50 pm
Never thought to use BBQ sauce in Bloody Marys. I like a pretty straightforward recipe that includes Spicy V8, Clamato with a good glug of Worchestershire (or beef broth), celery salt, and either a pickle or celery stalk. There are a couple of places that make a pretty great bloody, Barbette, Hell’s Kitchen (too much garnish, though), and Obb’s. But hands down, the best I ever had, was at The Times (now Ginger Hop). They made their mix with sun dried tomatos and it was almost as thick as salsa. So sad I can never have one of those again.
February 13th, 2013 at 1:32 am
$2.99 @ Target for the hot lava, other heat levels were $3.99 when I saw it today.
February 13th, 2013 at 7:58 am
links, awesome! Thanks for finding that.
February 13th, 2013 at 11:35 am
Linkstorinks – was this at the AV Target? My Eagan one never seems to have the cool-kid stuff. I might need to make a trip south if so.
February 13th, 2013 at 2:39 pm
Yes it was at the AV target on Pilot Knob.
March 21st, 2013 at 1:41 pm
I think I bought the last of the Lava Hot at the PK Targét; sorry about that. THAT flavor is/was on closeout. (huh?!)
• Anyway, Lava Hot is hot. Hot enough that I enjoy the challenge of eating a fair amount of it. Even Bill admitted that it has spice, so, there’s that.
• What I assume is the next click down, Spicy, is barely spicy at all. It’s tasty, but whimpier than even Famous Dave’s Devil Spit.
• I recently nabbed a jar of their Smokey flavor and I love it. While at spice levels below which I think Bill can even detect, it’s very tasty. Unlike other “smoke” flavored sauces, this one isn’t buried with artificial smoke flavor. In fact, I think it’s pretty darn near perfect BBQ sauce. It may be my new go-to sauce, and I can always just dribble Sriracha in if I’m bored.
I’m pretty thrilled that Two Fat Guys sauces are made out of FOOD. It gets extra credit in my house since my mother cannot consume HFCS at all, and neither of us can tolerate gluten.
Maybe we need to do a LazyLightning group buy of the Lava Hot??
March 22nd, 2013 at 7:02 am
[...] Wilbur’s Revenge in a form I could take home with me. Unlike the Lazy Lightning darling that Two Fat Guys’ Lava Hot BBQ Sauce has become, Famous Dave’s is full of HFCS and other ingredients which I usually shy away [...]