Choctaw Farms Honey Habanero BBQ Sauce
Background
Choctaw Farms is run by the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma who began commercially selling their pecans in 2016 under this brand name. Prior to forced relocation during the Trail of Tears, the Choctaw largely lived in an area in present day Mississippi where native hickory nuts were a staple of their diet. After relocation, the tribe found similarities to hickory nuts in pecans, which grew wildly there. Today, the tribe has begun to plant and grow new pecan trees alongside the wild ones that were already being harvested. The Choctaw Farms brand has also expanded beyond pecans and includes items like various pickles, salsa, queso, and a couple of barbecue sauces.
Aroma
A sweet combo of honey and molasses gives depth to the tomato ketchup-like base when taking in a fist whiff of this sauce. A medium smokiness also sits right behind the most dominant traits. There is an enhanced fruitiness to the sauce, which is the primary hint of habanero since there is only the slightest tingle on the nose which could as easily come from vinegar as spicy peppers. It takes some deeper nosefuls for the onion to come out, and there could be a bit of garlic mixed in too, but it's hard to fully discern that by smell alone.
Thickness & Texture
The dark maroon hue and super glossy sheen of this sauce hide a lot of the visible spices expect for a few small white specs here and there. The sauce's consistency is extra smooth and super syrupy, while its thickness lands right at the center of the scale. From a suspended spoon, the sauce pours in a steady stream at a medium speed and falls like that until five or six small, slower drips finish the pour and a medium coating of sauce is left clinging to the silverware.
Out of the Jar
A ketchup with an amped up sweetness, thanks to a large amount of honey, is the first thing to hit in the flavor department. As the sauce settles on the tongue, depth is initially built by molasses, followed by a mellow smokiness that melds well with the sugary tomato profile. A light contrasting tang comes in next while garlic and onion can be more clearly tasted at this point than they could be identified in the aroma. A bump in the fruitiness next does taste distinctly like habanero, and while that may have you expecting a wave of heat next, only a medium burn is released thanks to the strong sweetness that never lets up from start to finish.
Slathered & Cooked
The sauce coated the chicken in an even, medium layer that set well over indirect heat. When move directly over the coals, there was some spotty sauce loss that had the leg benefiting from one final brushing,. There was also attractive caramelization with no burning, which is can be a concern for honey-heavy sauces. The flavor tilted more in favor of sweet honey after being cooked, with that sugary tomato profile the main story during most of the chicken consumption. There was a touch of heat by the end and a little more depth of flavor thanks to a tanginess and smokiness being present, but all of it was more subdued than what was tasted out of the jar.
Put to Use
With a strong tomato sweetness and heavily syrupy consistency, this sauce has a lot of traits you find in competition-style sauces. The clearly heavy presence of honey was concerning at first because it's one ingredient that's known to quickly burn over high heat, so I was left pleasantly surprised when there was only picture perfect caramelization over direct heat. Like a lot of competition sauces though, the flavor really leaned into the sweet tomato after being cooked, and while that is certainly a crowd pleaser, there was a lot that I tasted out of the jar that got lost. One of those things was the habanero, which was never as strong I was expecting it to be, but did provide a distinct flavor and heat in the raw state that was missed in the cooked. Because of this, I have a preference for this sauce as a condiment or finishing glaze, like to coat already cooked wings, however you won't really go wrong with using this sauce on things like chicken or ribs, you'll just lose out on some traits that make it more unique and tasty out of the jar.
