With a name like Weird Meat Boyz, the new, locally made craft hot sauce company caught our attention. One sunny afternoon, the editors got together to try the full inventory of Weird Meat Boyz sauces and their new barbeque sauce.
We know people who are constantly putting hot sauce on pretty much anything they eat, and while we are not those people, we certainly were willing to douse whatever we were going to try at Esquire with various sauces from Weird Meat Boyz that afternoon. We enjoyed the opportunity to get to test drive a flight of them, and the tasty vehicles provided us what we needed to get that done.
Photo by Alyssa Buckley.
Four editors sat down and tried the sauces with some food from Esquire on the patio. With our four different palates and preferences, we each recommend our two favorite WMB craft hot sauces.
Photo by Alyssa Buckley.
The Weird Meat Boyz current hot sauces are jalapeño-pineapple-white miso, habanero-Malört-bell pepper, pasilla chile-coffee-chile de arbol, and ghost pepper-cherry-blueberry-tequila, plus their own chipotle-vinegar-molasses-coffee barbeque sauce.
Photo by Alyssa Buckley.
Jalapeño-Pineapple-White Miso
No question, the jalapeño-pineapple-white miso sauce was my favorite. Even though it was the most mild of the sauces, it still offered a nice kick to whatever I tried it on. While we used wings, fries, and dumplings as our primary dipping devices at our tasting, my home sampling has found me adding it to tacos, eggs, and salmon, using it a bit like salsa. In my opinion, it offered the most complex flavor profile of all the sauces. (JM)
Of all the sauces we tried, this green one was far and away my favorite. It was nicely balanced; the tangy sweetness of the pineapple matched the miso and gently spicy jalapeño. The consistency was a little thicker, closer to a salsa than a drippy hot sauce. This one could be served as a salsa verde with chips or as a topping for grilled meats and veggies. It’s the perfect condiment for a late summer barbecue. (JH)
My second favorite was the jalapeño-pineapple-white miso hot sauce. The little green bottle of hot sauce was the most mild of the Weird Meat Boyz’s sauces, and it had a great pineapple flavor. The sauce was a bit smoky and spicy from the grilled jalapeños, and the umami of the miso gave a subtle finish. It was great on the wings and fries, but I think it’s even better on tacos and nachos. (AB)
Habanero-Malört-Bell Pepper
I have to say my absolute favorite was the habanero-malört-bell pepper hot sauce. It was a bright orange color with a tasty garden-fresh flavor from the bell pepper. The habanero heat was slight, so I could really pour quite a lot on my food. The bottleneck at the top of the little glass bottle kept the sauce from coming out quickly, but with patience, I was able to plop enough of that orange hot sauce on my fries to make my mouth happy. (AB)
Ghost Pepper-Cherry-Blueberry-Tequila
While I wouldn’t typically go out of my way to try out a super hot option, this one being the ghost pepper option, I did go for it, though I had a bit of a pause after seeing the label on this sauce read five peppers out of five. I’d say that it wasn’t as hot as I was expecting, and it did not overpower the flavors in that sauce — and that might otherwise get overlooked if I’m searching around the table looking for a drink to extinguish the flames. (PS)
Under normal circumstances, I’d run far and away from ghost peppers. I’m too old to feel the need to prove or test my tolerance for spiciness. So suffice to say, I was skeptical (read: afraid) of this hot sauce. The sauce has a really lovely color; it’s a purplish-blue, thanks to the fruit. A single drop on my plate met the gentle caress of a fry. It was flavorful and fruity. It was spicy, of course, but not nearly as spicy as I thought it would be. If you have a high-ish tolerance for heat, I think this hot sauce would suit you well. It’s very fruit-forward, and because of the consistency of the sauce, it would probably be very good in other applications like mixed with maple syrup for pancakes, added to a cocktail, or even as an ingredient in some baked goods. I am personally looking forward to adding it to my homemade Thanksgiving cranberry sauce. (JH)
Photo by Alyssa Buckley.
Chipotles-Apple Cider Vinegar-Blackstrap Molasses-Coffee BBQ sauce
I thought the Weird Meat Boyz BBQ sauce was a nice option which showcased the range that WMB have here, working in not just hot sauces but in milder options as well for those who do want a little extra flavor with their grub. (PS)
The other sauce I returned to again and again was the barbeque. Of course, it was perfect on the wings, but the true test was bringing it home to my BBQ sauce-loving spouse. We were able to test it out on some Father’s Day grilling of ribs and brats, and the tangy, slightly smoky flavor was a hit. While this is billed as a BBQ sauce rather than a hot sauce, it still packs a small punch of heat. (JM)
Photo by Alyssa Buckley.
Want to try the sauces yourself? Weird Meat Boyz sells their hot sauces at both farmers’ markets: on Saturday mornings at the Urbana Market in the Square and Tuesday afternoons at the Champaign Farmers’ Market. WMB is also selling their sauces online on their website starting Monday, August 2nd.
You can also find the Weird Meat Boyz at their short term, pop up food truck outside Champaign County Brewing Company every Friday and Saturday starting August 6th and 7th for a couple months. Check out their opening event this Saturday, July 31st from 5 to 9 p.m.
Weird Meat Boyz
Urbana Market in the Square
Sa 7 a.m. to noon
Champaign Farmers’ Market
T 3 to 6 p.m.