If you go to the West Chester Growers Market or shop locally at other venues, you know Jeff Porter, the friendly Chile Man of Chile Spot. On Saturday mornings, Jeff is often at his booth on the north end of the growers market, chatting all things spice with fans of his various chile pepper jams, hot sauces and salsa. His latest creation is a BBQ sauce unlike any other. I’ve tried it on chicken a few times, and it is finger lickin’ good—in a way that makes you sweat while reaching for a second IPA.
Over the past three weeks, I wanted to put Chile Spot’s new product to the test, so I’ve grilled chicken with the Competition BBQ Mop Sauce three times. I’ve used the sauce with grilled chicken breasts and while making shish kabobs. This sauce definitely adds zing to chicken and vegetables. My favorite use though has been using the mop sauce on my chicken cheese steak. I had a craving for a buffalo chicken cheese steak but when I remembered the mop sauce in the fridge, I pulled that out. I added the mop sauce while grilling the chicken strips in a pan and then added a little more afterward. I melted some Kings Creamery cheese and then dropped it into a hearty Liscio’s Italian roll. Delicious.
After trying the sauce, I wanted to learn more, so I asked Jeff:
West Chester Dish: Tell me about the origins of your new BBQ sauce.
Jeff Porter: Our new BBQ sauce, which we call Competition BBQ Mop Sauce, is actually the first product that we did extensive research on to come up with a recipe. I started to take notice of the ingredient labels on a lot of different BBQ sauces that I saw, some that we liked and some that we didn’t like. We wanted to see what they were using, and what was something they had in common that we liked or didn’t like. From that I had this extensive list of ingredients and I pulled things to create this new recipe. I also had some things in mind when we started, like I wanted to use apricots in it. I like apricots and knew they’d add a nice flavor. Also, I didn’t want to use high fructose corn syrup. It’s got a bad rap out there and I don’t think my customers would expect that from me. When it comes right down to it, that is a cheap sweetener filler, so instead we used a dark brown sugar and blackstrap molasses for the sweetness.
Do you recommend marinating the chicken or mopping it as it is on the grill?
I would not marinate with the sauce because there is a high sugar content in it. It’s meant to mop on the sauce maybe halfway through grilling and thereafter. If you marinate with it you’re likely to burn it or char it. Unless that’s your desire, I wouldn’t use it as a marinade.
Chicken seems to be the most logical use. What else have you mopped up with this sauce?
I would use this on just about any meat you would use on the grill—ribs would be great, any kind of pork (pork loin, pork roast), chicken (breast, thighs). You can also use it as a condiment with your burgers or hot dogs. Mix it with mayonnaise or just use it as a dipping sauce.
During our conversation at the grower’s market, Jeff saw a child reaching out for a cheese sample and he called out, “Don’t eat that cheese unless your parents say it’s okay.” He then warned the parents, “That cheese is hot.” That was an understatement. Chile Spot collaborated with Kings Creamery to create a limited edition Moruga Scorpion Chile Pepper Cheddar Cheese. Holy cow! I tried a chunk of this cheese and it was a sublime mix of creamy goodness with an aftertaste that went POW! With a name like Moruga Scorpion Chile, I knew it was going to be hot. If you are hosting a party this summer, pick up the Moruga Scorpion Chile Pepper Cheddar Cheese and spice up the night.
Find Chile Spot every Saturday at West Chester Growers Market at 200 N. Church St. in West Chester. Visit Chile Spot for further information or to snag your share of spicy products.
Photos credited to Jim Breslin.
