If you’ve got a delicate palette, or stomach…or both, then this festival is not for you! Pretty much all the BBQ sauces and salsa have some degree of heat. For those of you who are after an unusual stamina (or stupidity) challenge, then get yourselves down to the New Mexico Fiery Food and BBQ Festival and try some of the hottest chilies on earth!
I did, and even though I was still recovering from a box jellyfish sting I managed to muster the confidence to try one of the hottest chilli sauces which won 1st Place in the ‘XXX Hot (with extract)’ category: Monty’s Gourmet Foods, LLC: Monty’s Death Lizard. Which was closely followed by CaJJohn’s Fiery Food Co’s Naga Nugget sweets which nearly blew my head off. Oh boy, if I hadn’t have endured the excruciating all-over bodily pain from a box jellyfish the week before, and survived, then I would have thought I was dying. I think I may have found my limit!
The Fiery Food Festival is held at Sanida Resort and Casino every year at the end of Feb/ beginning of March, normally over that last weekend. My advice is be prepared for the heat, and be prepared for the after effects- your tummy is going to hurt! If you are quietly confident that you have got all your ludicrous challenge-hunting out of your system then this festival is also great for appreciating the many hundreds of different ways chillies can be incorporated into dishes- sweet or savoury and also all the delicious BBQ food on offer. Man Up and Eat Up!
**PLEASE NOTE: A recent online hunt for Monty’s Death Lizard sauce reveals this sauce has now been discontinued by the manufacturer and anyone who is in possession of this sauce should take heed of the following warning: “This Sauce should not be consumed. It will do great harm to all who try it. Do not give this sauce to children, pets, the elderly, people with heart problems, people with ulcers, people WITHOUT ulcers. In fact, just put this bottle down and Walk Away… Quickly.”
The Adventures of Elle Coco 