By Noble Savage
A few weeks ago at the Cellar Rats Wine Festival, we ran into Andy Moss, a.k.a. The Saucerer. And while we may too old for very hot sauces – seriously, back in the day we could make a vindaloo our bitch, but now a mild korma could get us sweating – Andy assured us his sauce “is about the flavour, not the burn.” So, feeling adventurous, we bought both the mild and hot peri-peri, the peri mayo, and some pear, red wine and rosemary jam. Time to head for the kitchen!
First off, the packaging is really cool, with two bottles inside a colourful, fabric gift bag. It’s these little touches that show these are not the mass-produced things you get in all the supermarkets, but a passion for only using the best ingredients.
For the mild peri-peri sauce, we decided a good ol’ chicken burger would be perfect. Also, to be honest, easy! I pounded the chicken fillets down a bit and sprinkled on some salt and pepper.
While on the braai, I would baste it a few times with The Saucerer’s mild peri-peri sauce until the fillets were done.
For a bit of extra creaminess, I added some of the peri mayo on top of the fillet. The flavours of the sauce and the mayo really came through, and while it was spicy, it didn’t burn just for the sake of burning the shit out of you.
Really well balanced, and very tasty. (It may be a cliche, but we paired the burger with a Paul Cluver Riesling. Predictable, sure, but it works!)
On to the hot stuff! I love a good surf n’ turf, but can’t afford to do it in the traditional way – steak with lobster – so I rather use some prawns. To marinate the prawns, make a garlic butter sauce, and then add some of The Saucerer’s hot peri-peri sauce. How much you add is up to you. I added about four tablespoons – just enough for the prawns to bite back a bit.
For braaiing the prawns, I find it easiest to skewer them.
They don’t take long to cook, so only start with them when your meat is almost done, or when you’ve just taken it off to rest. If you want, you can baste the prawns as they go on with the leftover marinade – I don’t normally do it with these prawns, as you’ll still have to de-shell them. But if you’re using deshelled prawns, go for it!
A winner side for surf n’ turf is always some garlic butter mash. Yes, more garlic. Always assume I smell of garlic, until you have gathered evidence to prove otherwise. Anyway, as with the mild peri-peri, The Saucerer’s hot peri-peri is packed with flavour. It’s obviously more spicy than the mild, but again doesn’t just deliver a mindless burn. Delish!
“It’s about the flavour not the burn.”
Check out The Saucerer’s Facebook and Instagram pages to find out where he’ll be next.
This post was not sponsored, and the opinions are our own.
Great story! And looks and sounds like great and tasty sauces! Thank you Noble Savage. 🙂