It was a dark and stormy night. Actually it has been raining constantly for weeks. The barbeque has been idle but we still crave beautiful bbq flavor. Trader Joe's (The store that has everything you have always wanted but don't need) has a convenient product of pulled pork. It comes in a sixteen ounce microwavable serving container. This prepared product set us back six dollars. It claims to serve three and boasts it will satisfy all kinds of bbq aficionados. Aficionado or bbq freak may be appropriate. This is made in Texas; "with a sweet & smoky sauce that screams Kansas City, this is bbq Trader Joe's style.".
I could not help myself and read the ingredient list. Surprisingly it was basically all the ingredients that are used to make pulled pork. I was expecting a lot of chemicals, by products, liquid smoke and gosh knows what. This ingredient list gave me hope. We followed the instructions which basically was put in microwave and heat. This meat mixture was placed on a toasted jalapeno, cheese and mustard slathered bagel. Drum-roll please. The million dollar question is how does it taste?
I have tasted, sampled and scored hundreds of offerings of smoked pulled pork. My first initial reaction to the flavor of our pulled pork was the prevalent taste of sweet bbq sauce. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily but I like to taste the pork. My next observation was the texture. The meat was very soft. There was a lot of pulled thin pieces of meat with a few larger chunks. The larger chunks had a little texture but on a whole I would consider this meat overdone. The smoke presence was slight. This product might appeal to a certain audience. The price is very reasonable. This product is uber convenient to prepare. Would I purchase this again? No. In my opinion, this was overly sauced with a too sweet bbq sauce masking pork flavor. The meat was overdone to my liking. This product was not terrible and I am sticking to that. Trader Joe's offers other offerings of brisket & chicken. Hopefully it will stop raining.
I have often wondered whether they roast, steam or boil the meat. I'm guessing they use so much sauce because the meat alone may not have much flavor and for many eaters, BBQ is all about the sauce.
ReplyDeleteBig Dude, You are right that to many eaters it is all about the sauce. In competition we are instructed to judge the meat. Sauce is optional and is only meant to compliment and enhance. This product is too heavy handed on the sauce for my liking.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking one for the team :)
ReplyDeleteI can no longer find this at my Trader Joe's!!! 😟
ReplyDelete