Story by Manos Angelakis
Photos courtesy of Elda’s Sauces and Marinades.

Elda’s Sauces and Marinades

Normally, I make my own sauces and marinades from recipes I have collected through the years. Many of them are from the kitchens of 5-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants. Very rarely I will purchase a readymade sauce, mostly if it requires ingredients I do not normally keep in my larder.

However, I tasted at a friend’s house chicken wings grilled with three different sauces that I enjoyed and when I asked the hostess how they were made, she admitted they were from mail order product. She gave me the name of the company and the next time I received a PR release about the sauces, I asked for a sample.

I made a few different versions using chicken wings, chicken thighs, beef skirt strips, pork baby back ribs, breast of lamb and a number of other meat varieties. I have to admit some of these sauces tasted as good and a few were even better than my “from scratch” versions.

Most sauces come in three-pack packages that allow you to make different tasting pass-arounds if you have a party, but are also good as appetizers for everyday meals or even nibbles if you are a habitual snacker.

So, here is my evaluation of these sauces.

Elda’s Kitchen Hot Wing sauce: Nicely peppery, but not taste-bud numbing hot, the sauce was great with chicken wings but also over fresh pork sausage that made it taste like a chorizo. If you like Tabasco, you’ll love this sauce.

Elda’s Kitchen Theo’s Steakhouse Sauce: excellent on wings but also very good with baby back ribs and strips of skirt steak. If I had a barbecue instead or relying on an electric stove, it would have made quite an appetizer.

Jala-Hot Sauce: That one is close to my limit of spiciness for appetizers and noshes. Obviously made with jalapeños, it is bright and tasty. Even though I do like a few drops of a traditional hot sauce for my scrambled eggs, I think Jala-Hot is a much tastier alternative.

Spyki Sauce: Tasting almost like a traditional Thai spicy sauce, it has such a sweet/sour goodness that made my phanang curry chicken thighs even brighter. I finished the 8 oz. bottle in no time and I’m ready to purchase more from Amazon or Whole Foods.

I haven’t tasted the Black Pepper yet. Therefore I can’t give an opinion.

There was one sauce, the Jamaican Jerk, that I did not particularly care for. I thought it had not enough taste but I tasted it as the last sauce, and perhaps my taste buds were a bit anesthetized from the other ones. So, I’ll taste it again sometime soon and will comment at that time.

 

 

 

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