Cindy and Eddie Darce of Centerville, Louisiana, sent two of their signature products called “Cuddin Eddie’s” Bar-B-Q Sauce and “Cuddin Eddie’s” Pepper Relish (mild). There is a story that goes with the name Cuddin Eddie’s and you can get the entire scoop at www.cuddineddies.com

Both products are good, to very good, and we’ll start with the “Cuddin Eddie’s” Bar-B-Q Sauce.

Ingredients: onions, ketchup, celery, bell pepper, green onions, parsley, garlic, tomatoes, mustard, hot sauce, salt, pepper, sugar.

I want to start off by saying that I like this product. Notice that I said product instead of barbecue sauce. I simply can’t call this a barbecue sauce. I can call it a chow chow, relish or salsa, but the best name for it would be a barbecue relish. It just isn’t a sauce. That does not make it bad, in fact, it is actually very tasty. The consistency is that of a thick relish, chunky spaghetti sauce or a chow chow. I would consider my marketing intent and re-name the product so the consumer understands what they are buying.

I tried to spread it like a sauce and the best that I could do is spoon it where I wanted it to go. You’ll see that picture shortly. That is really the only negative thing to say about this product. The taste is awesome. The trilogy of onions, bell peppers and celery marry very well with the tomato and garlic. It is very sweet, even though sugar is listed last on the ingredient list. I got no hint of any heat, which is how it is intended. I started the taste test with a spoon full and ate 1/2 the jar before I began cooking. Instead of a point scale, I would rather just say that every person reading this should buy a jar. Definitely a compliment to burgers, beans, meatloaf’s, etc. Understand what you are getting and just enjoy! I will tie this sauce [relish] together at the end of this review, once we look at “Cuddin Eddie’s” Pepper Relish (mild).

Ingredients: Peppers (jalapeno, bell, Serrano, pablano, Anaheim), carrots, garlic, vinegar, calcium chloride.

This is the best relish that I have consumed to date, and folks, I’m fairly old:) All of the vegetables are crisp tender and maintain each unique vegetable flavor. The vinegar is very mild and I felt like I was eating freshly diced vegetables and peppers straight out of the garden. Throw your mass produced relishes that have been sitting in your fridge out and buy a jar of Cuddin Eddie’s Pepper Relish (mild). Deviled eggs would be awesome. I bet it is safe to say that no one and I mean no one, eats a full 16 ounce jar of any type relish at one sitting. I did! Did I mention that the Darce’s also sent me a jar of Pepper Relish (medium), which lists habanero peppers as the number 1 ingredient? Stay tuned for that review at a later date. No point scale here either, just go buy a jar.

Now to tie the bar-b-q sauce and relish together, we’ll have grilled pork chops with a spoon full of Cuddin Eddie’s Bar-B-Q sauce [Relish] and baked beans with Cuddin Eddie’s Pepper Relish. Mac and cheese is our starch.

Simple grilled pork chops seasoned with garlic powder and seasoned salt.

Simple bake beans laced with the Pepper relish, warmed on the stove.

All said and done, Cuddin Eddie’s made dinner special and complimented the chops and kicked up the beans.

Overall Cuddin Eddie’s have good products. The labels are good, straight forward and catchy. Maybe a re-name on the sauce [relish] but otherwise, Kudos to Cindy and Eddie Darce.

Cuddin Eddie’s
PO Box 602
Centerville, LA 70522-3507
www.cuddineddies.com