If it seems like we never have enough good things to say about the products from My Favorite New Mexico Foods, well…we’re not going to dispute that. Try as we might, everything thus far we have reviewed thus far has been various degrees of excellent. With this product, the Chimayo Citrus & Mustard Bar-B-Querque Finishing Sauce, we continue our experimentation with BBQ-ish sauces from MFNM by giving this sauce a one-and-only culinary test-drive.

Usually, one-shot kitchen wonders are not what we do. We like trying products out in a variety of ways before writing a review on them, but this sauce was so quickly used up that we have to make do with what we had. (Take note, Sharon, this means we’ll need some more. ;)) One thing was for sure, we didn’t know offhand what a “finishing sauce” was…at least not by that terminology. SOme research revealed this definition:

Finishing Sauce: A term commonly applied to mixtures that are served over various foods either as it finishes cooking or for use after it is served.

Well, I guess that means that all BBQ sauces are finishing sauces, but not all finishing sauces are BBQ. We took inspiration for our dish of choice that gave us this idea:

Chicken is another common favorite that can be given a new lift by the presence of a finishing sauce. With baked boneless chicken breasts, try preparing a zesty pepper sauce from scratch or purchasing one of the commercially produced pepper sauces from the supermarket. The sauce can be brushed on about half way through the baking or broiling process, allowing the meat to absorb some of the flavor.

Well, we had some boneless, skinless chicken breasts that we were needing to cook for dinner, so Linda set about the task of making them with this sauce. We did a chicken sauté by simply cooking the chicken breasts in this sauce on medium heat until they were cooked all the way though. When nearly done, the chicken breasts were cut into bite-sized pieces and we added a can of diced tomatoes and some freshly diced onions to the mix and let it simmer, adding water on occasion so that it wouldn’t dry out while cooking. Here’s how it looked in the skillet as the chicken cooked down initially:

A word about the straight flavor…its outstanding. Only MFNM can take such divergent tastes as chile powder, mustard, and orange marmalade and make the combination taste like they were meant to be together. Check out this list:

Ingredients: apple cider vinegar, yellow mustard, orange marmalade, chipotle chile powder, chimayo chile powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, sesame oil, and seasonings

All-natural and delicious right out of the jar. You get a nice tangy flavor from the orange & mustard blend (which is not too heavy on the mustard), followed by the heat and flavor of the blend of chile powders. From the initial sweetness, the first thought was that it wasn’t all too spicy…but a nice, simmering heat follows that builds the more you eat. Perhaps a 5/10 for heat, building to a 6/10, it’s enough to at least get your attention. Back to our entree, however….

After the chicken had simmered in the sauce for another half-hour and the added veggies had softened up, Linda cut the chicken up and made one last mix of the chicken sauté before it was served. Here was dinner, right before we ladled it onto our plates:

The finished product was nothing short of outstanding. Linda’s mother, who eschews spicy food, found herself eating her entire portion and then some. She said, “Yes it’s hot, but the flavor is so good that I don’t really care.” Again, MFNM foods manages to marry heat and flavor in such a way that this sauce has appeal to most palates. The description of the sauce from the bottle recommends:

Chimayo Citrus & Mustard Bar-B-Querque Finishing Sauce (Medium Hot)- This tangy yet spicy sauce is a great compliment to chicken, pork and fish. It features 4 varieties of NM chile favorites (Chipotle, Chimayo, Cayenne, and Red Pepper) as well as mustard and a hint of orange flavor to spice up even the most average dish to make it a hit among family and friends. A local favorite is basting chicken wings or shrimp on the grill with this sauce and then using it as a dipping sauce on them as well.

Our lingering thought was that this sauce takes mundane foods and makes them something special in a very simple, straightforward fashion without having to get too complicated in the preparation. Use it as a dip, a basting sauce, or even as a NM-style condiment that you’ll truly enjoy. This sauce may have less critical acclaim, at this point, than some of the others in the My Favorite New Mexico Foods product line, but you could scarcely go wrong with this sauce in any meal in your kitchen. A hearty, enthusiastic thumbs-up from us. Try some for yourself and find out. Enjoy!

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