Review of Swamp Dust, Red eye Express, and Jamaican Firewalk

Joel Ferman

<p />Dusted 3 chicken breasts, both sides, cooked for approx 8 min per side at 350 degrees.[p]Swamp Dust- Complex yet soothing spicy smell, well rounded and finely ground. Has a reddish-orange color to it, and tasted out of the bag, has a light paprika taste, then warms up to a light heat.
When cooked on the chiken breast it came out REALLY tasty, but it was a lot more mild then I expected. I give this spice a 6.5 out of 10. My only suggestion is TURN UP THE HEAT.[p]Jamaican Firewalk - Maybe I got a bad batch, but on the sticker it claims "This rub, with a huge peppery punch, is not for the mild crowd" but I was sorely dissapointed with it's level of spicyness, it was seriously weak. With that said, it did have a TRULY delightful and zesty flavor to it, and really surrounded your tastebuds with a myriad of perfectly harmonious spices. I am actually glad is wasn't spicy, for I think heat would overpower the delicate flavors present in this rub. Eventhough it wasn't hot, I really enjoyed this rub and give it an 8 out of 10. (This was the only rub my girlfriend could handle.... the rest were too spic for her)[p]Last, but sure as hell not least, is the DIZZY PIG Red Eye Express- All I can say, is one smell says IT ALL. I mean this is THE rub. It has a smoothe coffee infused aroma that is nicely complimented with fennel seeds and chili powders. This is THE BEST..... I repeat THE BEST rub, I have EVER had, this stuff is just killer. It really enhances the flavor of ANY meat. I tried using it on steaks, Chicken, pork, and even scallops and shrimp, and it worked well with all of them. Once again, I think the heat could be turned up a few notches, but aside from that, this rub is devine, and I give it a 10 out of 10. [p]Keep up the amazing creations Chris, these rubs are amazing!! Oh, and can I buy a tube of Red Eye Express? I used that stuff up REALLY fast.
-Joel[p][p][p][p][p][p][p][p]

Joel Ferman

Oh, sorry for the crappy pictures..... this new g/f isn't too keen on me taking food pics, so I kinda rushed them.
-Joel

BBQfan1

Joel Ferman writes:
"this new g/f isn't too keen on me taking food pics, so I kinda rushed them."
Giver the boot, dude! Make it quick and painless, but giv'er the kick to the curb! lol
Thanks for the extensive testing of the new rubs. I'm always surprised at which ones folks like best... I've given folks samples of one I thought was right up their alley and they prefer the other one(s) I've brought to them as an afterthought! So long as there is something for everyone, that's the key...
NB's still getting caught up on his backlog of mail and work from after his campin' trip, but sure he'll see this and be mucho thankful for the feedback and your research.
Thanks Joel,
Qfan

MickeyT

Joel [p]Great post as always.[p]We all have to remember that the "Dizzy" crew is a "team" effort.[p]Thanks to both you Dizzy dudes.[p]Mick

Joel Ferman

BBQfan1,
Sorry for not including you on the thankyou at the end.... I haven't been to active on the forum lately and grew dumb.... hmmmmm, guess i'll just have to be here more often. I've got 250 new pictures I need to post, but have been too lazy..... on of these days, you guys are going to get a barrage of Joel-pics.
-Joel

Unknown

Joel Ferman,
Dang, I didn't try the Red Eye Express yet. I was saving it for a brisket, now I need to try it on some chicken or something too! I thought the Jamaican Firewalk was very good on wings while the Swamp Dust was better on a pork tenderloin. The Swamp Dust doesn't quite have enough punch for wings but has a very nice flavor. I like them all![p]Regards,
Chuck Lane

Joel Ferman

Chuck Lane,
I am jealous, I am itching for some more....
Enjoy
-Joel

Tim M

Joel Ferman,[p]Hey - you got lots more than me.[p]Tim

Tim M

Chuck Lane,[p]I tried the Red Eye on a tuna steak last night. It was good but I prefer Tsunami or the Swamp Dust with it's extra bite. I went out for diner tonight and had blackand tuna. It was like eating cardboard - no taste at all. It was fresh tuna because it had no fishy taste at all but the blackening added no flavor at all. Maybe I am spoiled by the home cooked tuna with Dizzy Dust.[p]Tim

Nature Boy

Wow, Joel. Quite a complete and thorough testing session! I appreciate you taking the time to put that together.[p]So we range from a D+ to the best ever. Yowza! More heat, eh? Yeah, a few people have mentioned that they expected hotter. Several folks sound comfortable with the heat, and their spouses would not touch it because of the heat. So, mixed feelings out there. I am getting the feeling like they could stand a little more heat...though "seriuosly weak" is not what I was aiming for! You think you would prefer it doubly hot to what it is? Just trying to get a feel.[p]Glad you enjoyed the rubs in general, and, again, I appreciate you (and all that have emailed me) taking the time to give them a thorough test drive. Not sure when they will be available. Hopefully within a month. I wish I could just hit a button and make it happen, but it'll take a little effort to get them to market...once we make the final tweaks.[p]Thanks
Chris

Joel Ferman

Nature Boy,
Sorry for not posting a complete review, when I went to post it, it ate it up, and I got so pissed I just posted a quick one, but the original was about 4X longer. See, my scale is a lot more complex than most. In my book a 3-4 is average, maybe C level and here's why. Most people think of a 7 as average, but that only leaves you with 8, 9, and 10 to deal with if you like something, and typically you aren't reviewing something you really disliked, and if you do, a 1 or 2 will typicall come to fruition. You seldom see 3's 4's 5's and 6's, so I made up my own scale to kind of even things out. Swampdust, my least favorite, is more B- instead of D+. [p]As far as how much hotter?
I think SwampDust could be a good 4-5X hotter, I mean it was really mild. As far as the other two, I wouldn't mess with them too much, cause they were DAMN good. I made several things with it the last few days, and it has consistently been least popular, however everyone still enjoys it. [p]Lastly, if you have any questions, email me and I can give you my phone #, or I can call you, if you so desire. Oh, and do you think I could buy a pre-production bottle of the Red Eye Express for like $12 or so? (I think that is 2X the normal price) I really think you've struck gold with that one.
Thanks Chris and Qfan
-Joel

Unknown

Joel Ferman,[p]Maybe I should know better than to ask, but I saw a Petco animal cage (box really) in the background...exactly what kind of meat was those spices intended for?[p]Kurt

Joel Ferman

Kurt,

Joel Ferman

Kurt,
We have a ball python that eats rats, so as one could imagine, we have a bunch of petco boxes around. The snake cage happens to be right above the cooking area, and seeing as how we are lazy college guys, we don't get around to throwing them away too frequently. Keen eye though.
-Joel

Unknown

Joel Ferman,[p]So..... as I read it, you have snake droppings in your Swamp Dust, eh? How appropriate! :~))[p]Pete

Car Wash Mike

<p />Joel Ferman,
I've not done the Red Eye thing yet. I also thought that the Jamaican Firewalk was not as hot as expected and e-mailed the good NB telling him so. But after saying that, the rub came with a disclaimer so I used sparingly.
I did buy some shrimp and tried. Dusted pretty heavy and it was HOT. Have beer handy hot.
Turned out great.[p]CWM

Nature Boy

Car Wash Mike,
Will be mixing up a new batch this evening with more heat, and a few other minor tweaks. Appreciate the feedback, as it is valuable as these rubs near completion! [p]I don't think it will be 4 or 5 times the heat, LOL, but they are meant to be real hot, and I see I have some adjusting to take care of. Almost seems like 2 heat levels would be in order....but..but..but.[p]Thanks dude. Red Candy Pork skewers on the cooker now.
Beers!
Chris

Car Wash Mike

Nature Boy,
Now you have got me going. First 2 times is good. Maybe 1 1/2. What is Red Candy Pork skewers? [p]CWM

Nature Boy

<p />Car Wash Mike,
Red Candy Pork? Well, I first started calling it "candy pork" when the kids were 5. They looked forward to it just because of the name! It is a concoction I came up with after seeing Lan, my wife, cook this char-sui chinese roast pork that she cooked under the broiler to put in Vietnamese noodle soup. Anyway, the seasoning is a packet she buys (the one on the left is better but both work) and mixes with water and marinates the pork before slow-broiling. Really neat flavor, and a highly intriguing red food color. [p]So I got this idea a few years ago to take this seasoning and instead of water, mix it with soy, sesame oil, peanut oil, sherry (or wine or vermouth) instead of water. Maybe a few other seasonings of the moment...black pepper...garlic powder. Then I take sliced up shoulder meat and marinate it in this stuff, then thread it on skewers, shake on a load of turbinado sugar, then cook at 225-250 direct for 2 or 3 hours until crusted and tender. Serve with jasmine rice and cucumber salad! [p]The kids dig it, and the adults too!
Beers mang
Chris