The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Three sauces to dress up (or make) a meal
The people who make these sauces have done all the hard work for you. All you need to do is open the bottle, or the package, and pour them on.
Barbecue sauce from the Farm Sauce
We appreciate it when our readers tell us about something they’re sure other readers will enjoy. That’s the case with a barbecue sauce we were introduced to earlier this year. Gary Bixler is the purveyor of the Farm Sauce, made from a recipe he credits to a Mr. Rayland, who passed along the recipe to Bixler’s father in the 1960s. Mr. Rayland’s barbecue sauce has lots of flavors, but the most pronounced is horseradish, as our reader pointed out. We’ve tried lots of barbecue sauces, and this horseradish sauce definitely is unique. It’s also one of our favorite flavors, so count us as fans. Bixler lives in Roswell, and his sauce is bottled by Serenity Farms in Commerce. He recommended warming it up before pouring it over your choice of protein. With the horseradish, we keep thinking seafood (and Bixler recommended shrimp, scallops and salmon), but it’s also delicious on other grilled meats, roasted vegetables and as a topper for your classic meatloaf.
$10 per 13.5-ounce bottle in retail outlets, $12.95 online. Available at Atlanta Grill Co. in Roswell, Canton Street Market in Roswell, Roswell General Store, Urban Hardware in Roswell, Shields Market in Decatur, Savory Gourmet in Alpharetta, Alpharetta Farmers Market, Halcyon Farmers Market in Alpharetta, Buckhead Butcher Shop and the Cook’s Warehouse. Also available at thefarmsauce.com.
Tropical everything sauces from Ricante
This is another sauce brought to our attention, this time by someone from Whole Foods Market, who could not say enough good things about this line of Costa Rican sauces. Offered the opportunity to try sauces made with tropical fruits, like tamarind (Caribbean jerk), guanabana (chimichurri), mango and coconut (Caribbean-style) and pineapple (pineapple habanero), how could we resist? These are truly table sauces, delicious on top of beans and rice, on any grilled fish or chicken, even used to dress up a grilled cheese sandwich. They are hot, but not in an overwhelming way, and are so flavorful that you just keep adding a little bit more. Try the tamarind sauce in macaroni and cheese; there’s a recipe on the website. Other suggestions include stuffed bell peppers seasoned with the pineapple sauce, as well as Whole30 mango coco turkey meatballs. We can’t wait to try them all.
$6.99 per 12-ounce bottle. Available at Whole Foods Market or at ricante.com.
Simmer sauces from Simply Organic
We’re fans of Simply Organic, and have lots of their spice jars in our drawer of seasonings. Now that we’ve been introduced to their simmer sauces, we have a new reason to appreciate them. They are offering four lines of simmer sauces in flavors that include southwest, Indian, Asian and two types of guacamole. Making guacamole that just needs a packet of sauce and two avocadoes? Count us in. (No, you don’t simmer this one, and the guacamole stayed fresh and bright green for two days after we mixed it up.) What sounds good for dinner? How about Madras curry that you simmer with vegetables, and maybe some chicken or pork. Or, you might try pad thai, which just needs rice noodles and vegetables; or General Tso’s chicken, which just needs the chicken and a red bell pepper. Each sauce makes a meal in 15 to 20 minutes, which makes putting dinner on the table so easy.
$3.49 per 8-ounce packet. Thesouthwestandasiansauces are available at Whole Foods Market, and the southwest sauce can be found at Sprouts and the Fresh Market. Also available at simplyorganic. com.