Our regular readers can attest to my love for Defcon Sauces, in particular the wing sauces which made Defcon Creator, John, famous. About a year ago he came out with a powdered version of his Wing Sauce and I kept putting off purchasing it but I finally bought it at this years Weekend of Fire.

Defcon Sauces Smokey Dust Ingredients: Dehydrated Defcon Wing Sauce (aged Cayenne peppers, vinegar, water, salt, cream and natural flavors), chipotle powder and natural flavors.

First off, I’ve just got to say what a brilliant idea this is. Who would have every thought of dehydrating a sauce and thus creating a new product. The color is exactly that of his wing sauce, light orange. This comes in a little shaker bottle and the holes are of a perfect size to let out just enough dust with each shake.

Right away, the taste is unmistakably Defcon. Beautifully buttery and then the bite of Cayenne comes in, just like his wing sauces. If I had to gander, I would say he used his Defcon Condition 2 because it doesn’t have the extract burn that Condition 1 has. Up next comes the smokey taste of chipotles and then a nice dose of salt.

John said me tasting salt is a little odd because he doesn’t put a lot in it. I’m generally not a fan of salt so maybe that’s why I’m picking it up so much or it could be a byproduct of the dehydrating process. John always tells people not to fry the wing sauce with the wings because it, “destroys the life essence” of the sauce. Many people have done this and say it comes out way salty. Coincidence? Maybe.

Like I mentioned before, this is probably based off of Condition 2 which is Defcon’s medium wing sauce. The heat starts out small and then moves up a notch or two and it definitely has that signature bite of Cayenne. Very accessible for the non-chile heads and chile-heads alike!

Now, I tested this on a multitude of products and it was fantastic on all of them. The salt taste was a little distracting, but not a lot. Chicken wings are obviously the best choice for this, but I’ve also dusted it on top of things before cooking (ie: Famous Passow Pizza). When I did this the flavors changed up a little bit (in a good but different way), the heat died down, and the salt taste all but vanishes. Definitely an innovative product worth picking up and using on any occasion. Here’s hoping he comes out with a Defcon Condition 1 fruit leather next.

Taste: 9, Heat: 3