Maine may not be prime BBQ territory, but DennyMike has made it his mission to show that the Pine Tree State can produce quality "Q". DennyMike fell in love with Texas style BBQ in the 1970s and went on to expand his love and knowledge of "Q" in the subsequent years.

In 2002, he turned his love of "Q" into Denny Mike's Smokehouse BBQ & Deli. Though DennyMike's features several different styles of BBQ, Texas "Q" is still the emphasis. In addition to the restaurant, DennyMike also produces a wide variety of all natural,  small batch sauces and spice rubs.

BBQ was a prominant feature during our recent trip to Michigan. I used the vacation as an oppurtunity to test several new products on a variety of people. During the trip, I used three of DennyMike's signature spice blends.

On day one of our trip, we smoked chicken thighs with mesquite wood. I used DennyMike's Chick Magnet rub for all of the chicken. The Southwestern flavor blend, combined with the mesquite wood smoke gave the chicken a bold, authentic Texas flavor profile. It seemed to go over well with the host of Michiganders we were feeding.

Later that week, the family gathered for a low country shrimp boil. We loaded a 60 Qt. pot with corn, potatoes, smoked sausage and a mixed bag of seafood. We used DennyMike's Fintastic seafood seasoning (combined with Old Bay) in the boil. I also seasoned the food with the Fintastic blend after pouring onto the table. Fintastic is a salt and citrus blend that works well with almost any seafood. It was excellent on the shrimp and even added good flavor to the corn and potatoes.

DennyMike's Pixie Dust also came in handy when it came time to smoke pork ribs. I prefer a sweet rub for pork ribs so I combined the Pixie Dust with brown sugar and seasoned the ribs generously. Pixie Dust is mild, all purpose blend with a lower salt content than many BBQ rubs. It worked nicely when paired with the brown sugar as I prefer not to use much salt in my rib rubs. Pixie dust doesn't have a bold enough flavor to stand up to flavorfull meat cuts or sauces, but would work well as a flavor enhancer for chicken or vegetables.

For additional information about DennyMike's (including how to order their products) click the title of this review. Be sure to also check the "Product Reviews" page to see how DennyMike's rated.

Big Dave's (Holtwood, PA) is a small operation founded in 2009. After first preparing sauces for a local restaurant, Dave decided to bottle and sell his Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce and his Peach N Pepper Jam to the public. This year, Big Daves' introduced two more products: Strawberry Jalapeno Jam and Wild Fire Sauce.

Big Dave's was quick to respond to my email invitation and sent a bottle of both the Honey Chipotle BBQ Sauce and his newly introduced Wild Fire Sauce. I was particularly looking forward to the Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce. Honey and chipotle are both flavors that are near and dear to my heart. They are a common flavor combination in the world of BBQ because the sweetness of the honey balances the smokey spice of the chipotle peppers so nicely.

Though many companies feature honey chipotle products, I've never had a sauce that blends the flavors better than Big Dave's. The initial flavor is sweet, but never too sweet. The honey is never allowed to dominate. Likewise, the following chipotle spice adds just enough contrast without being overbearing. The flavors are bold enough to stand up to any meat or spice rub, but just tame enough not to over power them or scare off any potential tasters.

I gave Big Dave's Honey Chipotle sauce a thorough test (mostly because I enjoyed it so much). I tried it on ribs (both beef and pork), pulled pork and smoked chicken. It was also used in tandem with a variety of spice rubs. Each time, the sauce was exceptional. The medium thickness (similar to Bone Suckin) made the sauce versatile enough for just about any application and the flavor was good enough that I wanted to use it for every occasion.

I've been fortunate enough to sample several quality sauces over the last several weeks, but Big Dave's stands alone thus far. For my personal taste, Big Dave's hits all the right notes. It also drew rave reviews from my co-workers. The only negative I can see about Big Dave's is their relative lack of availability. I've been unable to find an online retailer that sells Big Dave's sauce. I hope that changes soon. Katie is an understanding woman, but driving all the way to PA to buy BBQ sauce may be where she draws the line.

I emplore you to seek out Big Dave's on Facebook. Ask where you can find their Honey Chipotle BBQ sauce and tell them that The "Q" Review sent you. In case you haven't figured it out already, you check out my rating for this product on the "Product Reviews" page.

Tasty Lick's BBQ products are the concoctions of an interesting guy named Fred. Fred Bernardo, aka Smokin Guitar Player, is the owner of Fred's Music and BBQ Supply in Shillington, PA. Fred's sells a wide variety music instruments as well as BBQ and grilling products, including Tasty Lick's rubs, sauces and salsas.

Fred was kind enough to send me several different samples of his spice rubs. The first one I used was the Red Eye Red Meat Rub. I had a beautiful NY Strip that was in need of some love so I brushed the it with olive oil and coated both sides with the Red Eye Rub. The sample packet was just enough to liberally season both sides of the 13 oz. steak. I let the steak chill and the spices rest for about eight hours.

After a few minutes on a hot grill the steak was perfectly seared. The rub created a nice crust on the exterior. It's not a sweet spice rub so it didn't burn when hit with the high heat. The flavor was incredibly savory. There was just the right amount of salt content. I can say, without hesitation, that Tasty Lick's Red Eye Red Meat rub is the best steak seasoning I've ever used. It's also the first sample that I've received that made me say, "I have to buy that." I will be placing an order soon and buying it in bulk.


Steak seasoning isn't the only thing that Tasty Licks does well. I used their Ribit Rib Rub and Smokin Good BBQ rub on two racks of beef ribs. Each sample pack had just enough to cover a rack of ribs. The rib rub is reminicent of a Memphis style dust. It has an underlying heat that would be great for dry ribs. However, the flavor still held its own when the sweet honey chipotle sauce was applied.

On the second rack of ribs, I used the Smokin Good BBQ rub. This rub was a mild all purpose spice rub. This rub is a typical BBQ rub with a sweet and spicy balance. None of the flavors are overly strong. It's merely intended to accent the flavor of the meat. Once the hot BBQ sauce was applied, the flavors of the rub were almost completely masked.

Tasty Licks has several more spice rubs in their catalog in additon to the three I mentioned. Rubs specifically made for Brisket, poultry and pork each feature unique flavor combinations. I still have a couple more to try myself.

Click the title of this review to view the Tasty Licks webpage. You can also find them on Facebook. As always, Tasty Licks' product ratings can be found on the "Product Reviews" page.

Turkey / Beef Meatballs with Kozlowski Farm's Apricot & Mango Roasted Chipotle Sauce

The "Q" Review is getting exotic. This weekend, we explored a taste of India with the help of Stonehouse 27's Tamarind & Garlic sauce. Stonehouse 27 (Germantown, TN) is the proud maker of all natural Indian inspired gourmet sauces.

I was admittedly hesitent when I first received the Stonehouse 27 products. I'd only previously had one experience with Indian food. Katie and I once stopped at a cheap Indian buffet after church. Without going into too much detail, I'll simply say that we left the restaurant within ten minutes of entering and headed to the McDonald's drive-thru.

Since I have no experience using Indian flavors in my cooking, I really wasn't sure what the best application for Stonehouse 27's sauces would be. They all contained ingredients that you won't find in my pantry. After reading the labels, I really had no idea what type of flavor to expect. Thankfully, Stonehouse 27's website provides plenty of suggestions for using each product.

Using the advice of Stonehouse 27's website, I marinated two pounds of large shrimp in 3/4 of a jar of Tamarind & Garlic sauce for four hours. I then grilled the shrimp for a couple of minutes on each side and plated them with rice and steamed peas, pouring the remainder of the sauce over the shrimp.
Before using this sauce, I had no idea what tamarind was or how it would smell and taste. My initial reaction to the aroma of Stonehouse 27's Tamarind & Garlic was that is smelled like a mild chile. The flavor was very earthy, but a little less bold than I had expected. In fact, it was pretty mild. I suppose the word "mild" being printed right on the label should have clued me in, but I still wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

Tamarind & Garlic sauce was a nice change of pace from our normal flavors. It accented the shrimp well, but did not over power it. Stonehouse 27 has a variety of suggestions for using their sauce. It can be used as a simmering sauce or even a dip for vegetables or pita bread. In my opinion, it is best used as a marinade. It worked well for shrimp, but could be equally good on chicken.

Stonehouse 27 is slowly starting to change my opinion of Indian food. It may be a bit out of my comfort zone, but they make a quality product using the highest quality ingredients. I have two additional Stonehouse 27 sauces to sample: Dates & Tamarind and Cilantro & Coconut. I have no idea what to make of those flavors, but I'm confident they'll be every bit as good as the Tamarind & Garlice sauce we tasted tonight.

To learn more about how to infuse Indian flavors into your cooking using Stonehouse 27 products, click the title of this article. For my North Carolina readers, Stonehouse 27 sauces can be found locally at Food Lion. For everyone else, click this link to find a retailer near you. You can also become a fan of Stonehouse 27 on Facebook.

Don't forget to check the "Product Reviews" page to see how Stonehouse 27's Tamarind & Garlic sauce rates.

I'm normally not a mustard guy. I rarely put mustard on burgers or dogs. For the most part, I've also steered clear of mustard BBQ sauces. However, when Bone Suckin sent me a jar of their Sweet Hot Mustard sauce, I decided it was worth a try.

Regular readers of The "Q" Review will remember that the original Bone Suckin BBQ sauce is one of my absolute favorites. Bone Suckin has an unmatched reputation for quality BBQ sauce. So, despite my general distaste for mustard, I decided to use the sweet, hot mustard on grilled chicken drumsticks for our annual summer BBQ.

Bone Suckin' sauces are all natural. You won't find extra preservatives or high fructose corn syrup in any of their products. They sweeten their vinegar and mustard blend with brown sugar and molasses. It's even given a kick of jalapeno for spice. The thick texture is comparable with other premium mustards with the addition of visible jalapeno pieces.

I brushed the mustard on grilled chicken legs for this weekend's BBQ. I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor. It was also praised by our guests. Bone Suckin's Sweet Hot Mustard may be a little too spicy for children (or wimpy adults), but I felt the heat level was just about right. It's on par with a typical medium salsa.

Though the mustard worked well as a glaze for grilled chicken, I'm not sure that was the best application for the sauce. After tasting Bone Suckin's Sweet Hot Mustard, I would recommend it be used as a condiment or a dip. I may even put some on my hot dogs and hamburgers in the future. I won't say that I've been transformed into a mustard lover, but I'm certainly fond of the Bone Suckin' product line.

Bone Suckin sauces can be found at fine retailers all over the country. You can also purchase it online directly from source. Check out their website to view additional Bone Suckin products and recipes to put them to use.

Rating: 4 Stars ****