Tastefully Simple Chipotle Honey Grill Sauce with BBQ Pork Chops

Tastefully Simple Chipotle Honey Grill Sauce

I've been using Tastefully Simple products for quite some time now, so I was looking forward to trying out the new Chipotle Honey barbecue sauce.

The sauce smelled great when I opened the bottle. I picked up the honey smell right off the bat.

I decided to grill pork chops with the Tastefully Simple BBQ sauce. We've been doing pork chops quite a bit lately with some good sales in this area. If you tend to dry your pork chops out, check out my tips for grilling boneless pork chops.

Chipotle Honey Pork Chops Setting up on the Grill

The pork chops grilled quickly. Above you'll see them the last couple of minutes while the barbecue sauce "sets."

I grilled these when my older son was home, since the younger son does not like much heat (but he does love honey). The Chipotle note was there but just a hint. The honey was the stronger flavor. The balance was very nice. This is a barbecue sauce that you could serve to any group. I plan to grill something for my younger son with the Tastefully Simple barbecue sauce, because I'm sure he'll love the honey flavor, and the peppers are not hot enough to put my mild guy off.

* Tastefully Simple did send the product free in exchange for an honest review. Regular readers will know I am one to say what I think.

Tastefully Simple Barbecue Dip Raspberry Jalapeno Sauce

Barbecue Grilled Country Ribs with Tastefully Simple Raspberry Jalapeno Sauce

I've been a fan of Tastefully Simple for quite a while now. I made some really terrific white barbecue chicken with their luau dip mix (which was also a great chip and veggie dip as well).

Tastefully Simple checked to see if I'd like to try out some of their new products for this grilling season. I'm usually game to do so and give an honest opinion.

I've always loved raspberries. When we visited the relatives when I was a kid, they would take me picking berries (mostly eating for me) and would keep getting me to say what they were. I called them RAUS-berries. So, the relatives all thought I sounded very city-fied, and I cracked them up with my mini foodie self.

Of course, I had to break open the Tastefully Simple Raspberry Sauce which does have jalapenos but not enough to run off many. You get just a hint of heat but not really any hot which works for me on this flavor combo.

Raspberry Jalapeno sauce is billed as a barbecue sauce or a table dipping sauce. I'd have to agree that it works both ways, so even if you don't barbecue grill, you can still get some great flavor here.

Grilling Country Ribs

Of course, I was going to grill with the Raspberry barbecue sauce, because . . . hey . . . that's what I do. And, that's really the only way I know how to tell you how a barbecue sauce really tastes. Fire up the grill and use it.

I had some country ribs which are an odd cut and inexpensive but with a lot of meat for the money. The flavor is close to pork chops. Also, these are not true ribs, so they don't have to grill or smoke for near as long. These were on maybe 45 minutes to an hour on low heat.

First I smoked the ribs until close done. This can be done with charcoal or gas (just low on the temperature). The last fifteen minutes or so I added the Tastefully Simple Raspberry BBQ sauce.  Sauces with sugar will burn if you put them on for the entire grilling time.

Having smelled and taken a little bite of the barbecue sauce beforehand, I sauced only one side of the country ribs. This is a sweet sauce, and one side was just perfect for us. If you have a real sweet tooth, you could go heavier and sauce up both sides. I'll stick with one side as the balance was just right here.

What Did We Think of the Raspberry Barbecue Sauce?

First, I must say that this is a beautiful barbecue sauce. I rarely go there on the blog. But, if you look at the photo at the top, you'll see what I mean. Wow. That's just a point and shoot camera on my front porch and no PhotoShop. The ribs looked just like that (or better).

The flavor was as good as how the country ribs look. Although I do suggest going light on the amount with the sweetness, the overall flavor was something to write home (or on FaceBook) about. The rich raspberry flavor with the hint of heat was spot on. 

I love a lot of grilling seasoning, spices, rubs, oils and sauces. There are just a very few that I count top picks. This is one, so you know I loved it. Then again, I do go way back as a raspberry fan, but I do think it would be hard not to love this special barbecue or dipping sauce.



Here is the bottle for those looking for Tastefully Simple Raspberry. I know it helps me when I know what to look for on the shelf.

Tastefully Simple Hawaiian Dip Mix White Grilled Chicken

Tastefully Simple Hawaiian Dip Mix

Heather from Tastefully Simple was probably surprised when a barbecue writer picked a dip for a sample product. When I saw a light colored dip, I immediately thought of Alabama white chicken grilled which is likely not the same vision that dances in everyone's else head when they see white-ish creamy products.

Easy Mix Dip By Tastefully Simple

When the dip mix came in, I mixed up a pack. That's super easy. It's one half cup of mayonnaise and one half cup of sour cream mixed with one pack. Stir and you're done. You can dip with chips or with veggies. I loved this dips on carrots especially.

Chicken in Hawaiian Dip Mix

I used boneless chicken strips with the dip, because I was grilling over high heat. If you have grates set higher and the heat down lower, then you can use bigger pieces. With close high heat, then the chicken cooks fast, and sauces (and dips) can burn if the meat pieces are large.

You grill these strips just as I've mentioned on grilling chicken strips, but you may want to brush more dip on as they are grilling. I went light on the dip this first time, but I'd brush with a heavier hand next go round.

Tastefully Simple Dip Grilled Chicken

Our grilled chicken strips were fabulous and even better with more dip to the side. Don't use the dip raw chicken was sitting in, or you may get sick. Split the batch, or make up two packs.

I must warn you that this dip is really spicy. When I thought Hawaiian, I was thinking more fruity or something - certainly not zip. It's not near as spicy the first day as the second, and I think I'll make it a day ahead next time, because I loved it when the flavors melded and that heat really came out.

You could double the mayo and sour cream to tone down the heat (sorry if you know things like this - but some of my readers are just starting to play with food). I love it full on, but it is hot. It's not that bitter hot though. It's just a nice flavor burst "hot."

The Tastefully Simple Let's Luau Hawaiian dip mix is one of my favorite dips ever. It was wonderful with chip, vegetables, and on our grilled chicken. It does pack some heat, so I'd not recommend it for everyone. But, for those who like spicy foods, this would be one of my top pick dips (and also really good on the grilled chicken).

Tastefully Simple Honey BBQ Seasoning & Rub - All Natural

Tastefully Simple Honey BBQ Seasoning & Rub - All Natural

Heather told me that they had added quite a few new products to the Tastefully Simple line and wanted to know if I'd like to sample something (free in exchange for an honest review). The Honey BBQ seasoning and rub had my name written all over it. OK. Well, not really. But, I do love barbecue rubs, and honey is messy (and tends to burn on large cuts of meat) so having that in a dry rub sounded fabulous.

Harry won a ham at the turkey shoot (no - they don't shoot turkeys - they shoot at paper targets), so I thought a honey rub would taste good. Before sprinkling on the rub, I put mustard all over the ham. That's the trick to get your rub to stay on a big cut like a ham. You can't taste the mustard at the end. It just acts like a rub glue.

Ham Bone In Covered with Tastefully Simple BBQ Rub

As you can see, this rub is a beautiful color and the ingredients are all natural (can't beat that). The smell was really nice. The combination of honey and heat was obvious even at the rubbing stage.

Putting the Ham on the Bottom Level of Our Weber BBQ Smoker

Jimmy took the ham out and put it on the bottom level of our Weber smoker. We were smoking ribs too, so it was easier to put the ham on the lower level, since the ribs got sauced later.

Ham on Bottom Level of Weber Smokey Mountain Bullet

Here you can see the ham right before we pulled it off. This ham was pre-cooked, so we were basically just heating it through. At 225 to 250 degrees F, three hours worked well for heating and getting that smoked flavor in with the meat and rub.

 Tastefully Simple BBQ Rubbed Smoked Ham

The ham smoked up beautifully and smelled terrific. The rub slow smoked created a nice crispness while holding in the moisture (along with that mustard I mentioned earlier).

It's all about the flavor when it comes to barbecue, so the real test was when I sliced and served the ham. In some cases, something will look and even smell great but then doesn't really pass the taste test.

The Tastefully Simple Honey BBQ rub flavor was spot on and went well on the ham. For summer, I'd suggest pork chops or chicken (quicker to make and light tasting meats that benefit from a nice BBQ rub). On the ham, we got that holiday honey kick but with some heat (not over the top - just enough to pop). The rub is well named as it was actually "tastefully simple." The flavors were classic and simple but blended at just the right ratios to taste wonderful.

If you like honey but find that the natural sugars in there tend to burn before you finish smoking or grilling, this is a great alternative. Or, Tastefully Simple a good pick if you want a flavorful rub that delivers on the flavor without having too much of any one thing that might freak out your guests. This one is not too sweet (even with honey) and not too hot. I'd recommend it for any griller or smoker unless he or she doesn't like honey. And, who doesn't like the taste of honey?