The Meatwave

Background

Malcom and Waylon Reed are the brothers behind the Killer Hogs competition barbecue team, which got their start in 2001 and have brought home awards from many states they've competed in during their journey. The barbecue bug bit Malcom the hardest and he and his wife took things a step further and created the business, How to BBQ Right, which provides smoked and grilled meat guidance via a website, YouTube channel, and podcast. They also extended Killer Hogs into a brand that currently boasts five different rubs and two barbecue sauces along with a couple condiments and a hot sauce.

Aroma

A heavy sweet molasses aroma fills the nose upon first whiff of this sauce. There's a hearty amount of tomato mixed in, giving a ketchup-like smell whose sweetness is cut by tangy vinegar and savory Worcestershire, all combining to create strong and complex barbecue profile. With some subsequent nosefuls, the spice layer comes into play and features mainly garlic, but some earthy pepper undertones are in there as well.

Thickness & Texture

This dark maroon sauce is very smooth and has a highly glossy surface. Because it's so dark and opaque, it's hard to see any spice specs except for a few black pepper bits here and there. Its thickness sits right in the middle of the scale and the sauce's consistancy is very syrupy. This has it flowing off of a suspended spoon in a fast and even pour after an initial large drip. Once most of the sauce has released, the stream changes to slow drips before ending and leaving a medium coating left clinging to the silverware that's semi-transparent, making it easier to see all the spices littered throughout now.

Out of the Jar

A syrupy sweet start gets a back-up from molasses to come out of the gate with some complexity. Quickly tomato and Worcestershire mix in to create a robust barbecue profile that only gains more flavor as the sugars are contrasted by a wave of vinegar that adds a mellow tartness to the party. At this point, more spices than were smelled in the aroma add garlicky, oniony, and earthy pepper characteristics, which all persist as the sauce gains acidity and spiciness as it exits the tongue. There's some tomato, Worcestershire, and molasses lingering in the full flavored aftertaste that veers more heavily to tongue tingling heat and tartness.

Slathered & Cooked

This sauce coated the chicken in a medium, even layer that baked down very well over indirect heat. When moved directly over the fire, there was quick caramelization which led to a little burning of the sauce, but there was also very little to no sauce loss at all. The overall flavor remained robust and well layered, but it was also not overpowering, allowing the flavor of the chicken to still come through. While sauce did blacken, it never tasted burnt, it just added some bits of concentrated sweetness to the overall exemplary barbecue experience that also had a notable savory quality.

Put to Use

It feels right to me that Malcom Reed has an instructional barbecue universe surrounding him if he's able to make a sauce that tastes this great. This sauce fits into that "bold" category, but where so many sauces in this realm push their ingredients to points of faults, Killer Hogs balances them all expertly while still delivering a quality and fresh flavor. I worry that sauces like this can overwhelm lighter meats, but that wasn't the case here—the flavor of the chicken leg still came through while having a very robust and savory barbecue profile. This all combines to leave me giving Killer Hogs my highest stamp of approval as an excellent all purpose barbecue sauce that's worth seeking out to make any of your grilled or smoked meats taste incredible.

Published on Tue May 26, 2020 by Joshua Bousel

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