Heat Horse Review: Artisan Chilli Sauces & BBQ Seasoning Rubs
Updated: Oct 5
Heat Horse chilli sauces and Rubs on Display
Quick Summary
Was wandering round Edgbaston artisan market when I spotted Heat Horse on display. Ended up chatting to the guys running the stall for a while about the history behind the brand, and picked up 3 sauces and 4 rubs to try back at home, partly because I always back local producers when I find them, and partly because chilli sauces and rubs are exactly the kind of thing I take with me on camping trips.
Truth is I've got a bit of previous with this stuff. Years ago I actually owned a chilli sauce company myself, called Eureka Hot Sauces, we supplied a fair few local businesses with it, and a decent bit nationwide too. We won a gold medal for all of our sauces at the time, so I know what a really good one tastes like versus something just chucked together for the sake of heat.
So I'm always on the lookout for something new and a bit different from the usual mass produced stuff, I've tried a lot of brands over the years, Tubby Tom's being one, so I was keen to see what Heat Horse was all about.
Scorecard
At a Glance: Heat Horse Rating
Value: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Flavour: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 ( Still got more to taste )
Heat Range: Mild to Extreme (🔥 to 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥)
Packaging & Pour: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Ingredient Quality: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Would Buy Again: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Who Makes Heat Horse Chilli Sauce and Rubs
Turns out there's a decent story behind these three lads. Heat Horse started back in 2021, three lifelong friends, Chaz, Wayne, and Eggo, sat at a street food event in the grounds of Coventry Cathedral of all places. That day they hatched a plan to travel round food fairs, markets and festivals together, which spawned their first Instagram page, @threemenandaladle, still going today. Not long after, a trip to the Hot Sauce Society event in Peckham got them well and truly hooked on the whole small batch sauce world.
Even the name's got a decent story behind it. They were filming a video series for Instagram, quizzing each other on food while working through progressively spicier chicken wings, and one of the wings was coated in a hot sauce made from blackberries picked straight out of Chaz's garden. Wayne took a bite and came out with the line that changed everything, "It feels like I've been kicked in the face by a Heat Horse!" That line stuck, and their first real sauce, made with Carolina Reapers, became Original Kick, still in the range today. One sauce turned into five, five became seven, and that's really how Heat Horse came to be.
They're based in Elmesthorpe, Leicestershire, and still do the rounds of UK food festivals and markets, which explains why a Birmingham farmers market is exactly the kind of place you'd stumble across them. Chaz actually used to live in the Jewellery Quarter here in Birmingham too, small world. They run under @heathorsesauce on Instagram these days.
The Chilli Chilli Sauces I Tried
Blueberry Bronco: Scotch bonnet, blueberry and balsamic sauce, £6
French Quarterhorse: a Louisiana inspired cayenne and ghost pepper sauce, £6
Mexicanter: jalapeño and tomatillo hot sauce, £6
French Quarterhorse is my favourite of the three so far, good heat and real flavour behind it, and I like a strong flavour over just heat for the sake of it. I've been putting it on nearly everything since, to the point I'll need to order more online soon. 9/10
Blueberry Bronco is brilliant too. The lads at the stall recommended trying it with a chocolate brownie and vanilla ice cream, drizzled over the top, and it worked really well. Also had it with confit duck, bang on. 8/10
Mexicanter's very good as well, I've had it with wraps and just as a dipping sauce, does the job either way. 7.5/10
The Heat Horse Rubs I Tried
Clip Clop Cluck: poultry spice blend, salt, lemon salt, sage, onion powder, lemon, black pepper, thyme, £6
Filley Mignon: steak seasoning blend, coarse sea salt, black pepper, garlic granules, onion granules, smoked paprika, coriander, dill, red chilli flakes, £6
Neighmar: salt, paprika, cumin, coriander, onion granules, black pepper, cinnamon, garlic granules, ginger, cayenne pepper, £6
Maple Stirrup: maple sugar, mustard powder, salt, black pepper, garlic granules, onion granules, yeast extract, amarillo chilli, turmeric, brown sugar, £6
I've tried the top two so far, Clip Clop Cluck and Filley Mignon. Clip Clop Cluck went on roasted chicken legs and thighs with garlic and onions, covered the whole lot in it before roasting. Bang on, it really brought out the flavour of the chicken. 9/10
Filley Mignon went on some rib eye steaks on the BBQ, great product again, I'll be reaching for it next time I'm cooking steak. 8/10
Haven't cooked with Neighmar or Maple Stirrup yet, but I've tasted and smelled both straight from the tin and they're really, really good, can't wait to actually get them on some food.
What Else Is In the Heat Horse Sauce Range
The three sauces and four rubs I tried are just a slice of what they actually do:
Sauces: a big lineup beyond the three I tried, all with the same horse pun naming, Foal's Gold (pineapple, maple and miso), Dread Rum, Reins of Fire, Neigh of the Dead, among plenty more
Stablemates seasoning range: a good spread of flavours beyond the four rubs I picked up
Merch: beanies and tote bags, if you want to back the brand a bit further than just eating your way through it
I'll be working my way through the rest of the sauce range over time whare i am sure i will find some tens, so keep an eye out for updates on this one as I try more.
Where to Buy Heat Horse Hot Sauce
You can find them at UK food festivals and markets throughout the year, or order directly from heathorse.co.uk, sauces are £6 each and the rubs are £6 for the large and £3 for the small, with free shipping on orders over £25 using the code FREETHEHORSE.
The Verdict
If you see Heat Horse about at a market or show, make sure you buy some to try for yourself, you won't be disappointed. There's a lot of competition out there that mass produce this kind of thing, but these guys are still a small artisan company, and it shows. The lads are super friendly too, and will happily advise you on what's best for your taste and what to use it on. I highly recommend these guys, and I hope they do really well in the future. I'll be buying more.
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Thanks James | Fishing Field Fork
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