Trista’s Bronco Berry Ball Sauce wins! Thanks to all 3 of your for submitting recipes, thanks to all 13 of you who voted. (Or less people, multiple times…)
I thought I had set up the poll to close automatically after a week… but it seems to have kept going. So, I froze it in time with the screen capture to the right.
I’ll contact Trista to let her know she won, and get the 13 packets of Bronco Berry goodness on their way to her!
If you have no idea what this is all about, where have you been? You may follow the adventures of Bronco Jalapeño in these posts:
So, about 2 weeks ago, I started a contest. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to delay the voting portion for a week. We shall commence forthwith.
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
1/3 c. minced onion
1/4 c. milk
1 egg
1 tbsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. shortening
2 Cups Bronco Sauce
Mix beef, crumbs, onion, milk, egg, parsley flakes, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Gently shape into 1-inch balls. Melt shortening in electric skillet, brown meatballs. Remove meatballs from skillet; drain off fat. Heat Bronco Berry Sauce in large crock pot stirring constantly. Add meatballs; stir until coated. Simmer 30 minutes, serve hot with a toothpick or in a sub roll.
Directions
*crisp up some Pierogies in butter in a skillet
*put on a plate
*dip in Bronco Berry Sauce, or drizzle on for a fabulous presentation
Bronco Berry Ball Sauce by Trista
Sauce:
Ingredients:
48 precooked meatballs
(Meatball recipe at the end for people who don’t know how to wad together some meat and seasoning)
12 oz bottle of Heinz Chili Sauce
8 oz jar of grape jelly
Arby’s Bronco Berry Sauce
Dump entire bottle of chili sauce into a pot. Add half of the jar of grape jelly (4 ounces) and equal amount of Arby’s Bronco Berry Saunce. Heat and stir until everything cooks down into a yummy looking sauce. Add meatballs. Simmer. Serve.
So, now you vote! Who deserves to win the 13 lucky packets of sweet jalapeño goodness?
You have a week to vote, then I’ll ship the goodies to the winner after they’re notified. You vote according to the rules of the poll, so I believe you can vote often. Get your friends & family to vote for you, and may the best recipe win!
If you haven’t been following the adventures of Bronco Jalapeño, you may want to catch up:
OK. If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that I have an entire case(& a little more) of Arby’s delicious Bronco Berry Sauce just taking up space in my dining room. I would eat it all if I could, but it’s probably not an achievable (or wise) goal. Sadly, my Bronco Berry Sauce will have to go without its perfect partner Arby’s delicious Jalapeño Bites… as they have not yet returned to the menu here in Pittsburgh. Perhaps there is still reason to Occupy Arby’s even if Hala asked me nicely not to?
I’m left with a few tasks… figuring out what to do with the sauce besides dunking Tyson’s chicken tenders in it, and trying to pawn some off on friends, family, and maybe even a busker. It expires in June, and I’d hate for any (more) to go to waste.
I was thinking it may make an excellent glaze for meatloaf, or even as an internal ingredient. It would also probably be good as a glaze on grilled or baked chicken, but I’m guessing the high sugar content would make it blacken quite quickly. I wonder if it will freeze? A Bronco Berry Popsicle could be either incredible or disastrous. Would there be a way to work it into an icing (or again as an ingredient) in a chocolate cupcake?
My readers and commenters are obviously the most enlightened and intelligent group of people I know, so I’m turning to you for ideas.
I promise to wrap it better than my last gift from Arby's if I need to mail it to you.
Here’s where the contest comes in. Give me your recipe for something including Arby’s Bronco Berry Sauce as an ingredient. You may want to familiarize yourself with it if you’ve never tried it. The name is misleading, it contains no berries or horses. It’s sweet, it’s spicy, it’s awesome. This will be like Chopped or Iron Chef, except instead of TV fame and butt-loads of money the prize is… Let’s say 13 packs of Bronco Berry Sauce, because I like the number 13. Also, I’m not Alton Brown or Ted Allen. If it’s really good, we’ll maybe eventually have to make copycat recipes to continue making the prize winner.
You have until Friday May 4th to get your recipes to me. I’ll post them in a blog, put up a poll, and have the readers vote. We’ll close the poll & pick a winner on May 13th. You can enter multiple times within reason. Voting will happen with the little poll widget here, so encourage your friends, neighbors, family, and even enemies to vote for you.
The only way to enter: You can email your fantastically delicious recipe to world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com with the subject containing the hashtag “#Bronco13” & the name of your recipe. We’ll annoy people with it on Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, & wherever else hashtags work.
In the event of a tie, both of you will get 13 packets of Bronco Berry Sauce.
Ever get the Jalapeño Bites at Arby’s? They’re awesome… but the most awesome thing about them is that they come with a genius little cup of Bronco Berry Sauce®.
Arby’s :: Bronco Berry Sauce®
Despite the name, it contains no horses or even any berries. It’s a simple list of ingredients that are probably more sweeteners and preservatives than actual food with nutritional value. It’s something that Clark Griswold would be proud of. In fact, here’s the list as states by the Arby’s nutrition page…
Bronco Berry Sauce® Ingredients:
Sugar, Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Red Bell Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Modified Corn Starch, Jalapeno Peppers, Onion (dehydrated), Xanthan Gum, Spices, Salt, Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate (preservatives), Citric Acid, Red 40, Blue 1.
Crazy. It’s odd that they don’t have to declare the spices… but there’s whole other issue. I wrote to Arby’s via webform, suggesting that they ought to bottle and sell the stuff…
Buenos Dias Buckaroos!
I write to you today with high praise for your Bronco Berry Sauce. Holy Cow, is it good! I mean, the Jalapeño Bites are excellent in and of themselves, but the delicious dip takes it to an infinitely higher level of superbity. Is superbity even a word? I don't know, my friends. But if it's not, it should be... and it should be the word to describe Bronco Berry Sauce.
I would like to know if you ever have plans to bottle the stuff and make it available for sale inside your restaurants, like Bob Evans does with their Wildfire BBQ Sauce? I think it would be a stroke of genius. I'd also purchase your Arby's Sauce, Horsey Sauce and the Honey Mustard if it were available. But the Bronco Berry Sauce is the object of my culinary desire.
I have seen the "copy-cat recopies" online, but I balk at their attempts to copy perfection. Why settle for an imitation when you can have the real thing?
If there are no plans to bottle & sell the Bronco Berry Sauce, can I somehow buy a case of the little dipping cups? Typing that out, it sounds ridiculous, but I'm serious.
Thanks you for your time, I look forward to hearing from you!
Yee-Haw!
-Eric
world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
Well, apparently they have no plans of doing any such thing. They also apparently get this question a lot… as I got virtually the same answer twice:
from customerservice@arbys.com to world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com date Tue, Aug 10, 2010 subject Customer Feedback #387566 mailed-by arbys.com
Dear Eric,
Thank you for your comments. Our customer’s input and comments are always welcome and very important to us. I have forwarded your request to the Menu and Product Development teams. However, the Bronco Berry Sauce is not available for retail sale.
We use this information to guide the decisions we make about our brand and our products.
Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Arby’s Customer Relations
from customerservice@arbys.com to world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com date Thu, Aug 12, 2010 subject Customer Feedback #388610 mailed-by arbys.com
Dear Eric:
Thank you for your comments. Our customer’s input and comments are always welcome and very important to us. Arby’s sauces are currently not available for retail sale, however, we have shared your comments with our Menu and Product Development teams.
Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Arby’s Customer Relations
Odd. I’d like to get directly in contact with the product development team… I mean, why wouldn’t it work?
I know there are a plethora of copycat recipes online. They’re easy to find and probably easy to make… but they’re not the same. So… I can do without the Red 40 and Blue 1… but where can I pickup Xantham Gum, and what are the magic “spices”?
Or, Arby’s could just get with it and bottle their sauces. Since Wendy’s & Arby’s are now owned by the same company, their Sweet & Sour Nugget Sauce would be good too!
Do you have any sauces that you think ought to be bottled & sold?
This past Christmas when we had the family over for a holiday dinner, I decided to try & make some scalloped potatoes. I found a ton of recopies online, and took what I liked from some & what I liked from others and put them all together… leaving out the stuff I didn’t like. They turned out really well, to the compliments of everyone. The only problem is that I didn’t write down what I did… so I had no idea when I went to make them again for an Easter dinner yesterday. Last time, like everyone in the kitchen, I kept adding stuff until the sauce looked & tasted just right.
Friday night, I pulled out the same printed recipes from last time…. made sure we had most of the stuff here & popped what I needed on to the grocery list. This time I wrote down what went into it, but I may have the portions off… Where I have “cup” or “Tablespoon”, I may have just dumped some stuff in by eye.
People have asked how I made them, so I’ll try writing it out coherently here. I’ll add that my wife, Bethany, washed & cut the potatoes while I made the sauce… which was invaluable… because the sauce needed to be watched, and cut potatoes that sit for any period of time get all brown. I guess I could have cut them & put them in some cold water to halt the browning if I absolutely had to… but we get along well in the kitchen, and it’s nice to cook together sometimes. (I offered for her to do the sauce & to put me on potato duty, but she declined in case the cause didn’t turn out well, the blame could go solely on me.)
Eric’s Decadent Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes:
Ingredients:
5 lb. bag of russet potatoes
2 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (I buy the stuff in bags, this is 1 small bag.)
2 cups shredded Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese (The store brand was 2 bags for $5 I think.)
1 pint (2 cups / 16 fl. oz.) heavy cream
1½ cups buttermilk
1 stick (8 Tbsp.) butter
½ cup Parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. corn starch
Salt/Pepper/Season All to taste
1 tsp minced garlic (I used the stuff minced & put in olive oil, in little jars)
2 Tbsp. sour cream
2 Tbsp. Miracle Whip or mayonnaise… (or 1 Tbsp. Each!)
1 sm. bag bacon bits
bread crumbs (or crackers)
Stuff:
potato scrubber
cutting board
knife
9″ x 13″ glass baking dish
sauce pan
spoon and/or wisk
large bowl (if you’re gonna soak the potatoes)
measuring cup & spoons
aluminum foil
hot pads
oven
stove top
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Wash & slice the potatoes, store in cold water if you have to so they don’t brown… or have someone do that while you…
Grease a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with the stick of butter. Melt the rest of the butter on medium heat in a saucepan.
Add the flour & corn starch to the butter to make a roux.
Turn it down to low heat, & slowly stir in the cream, buttermilk, sour cream, & mayo/Miracle Whip. Stir like a madman.
Add the bacon bits, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and salt/pepper/spices to taste. Don’t forget to stir.
Add about half of each kind of shredded cheese to the mix, keep stirring like a madman.
Pull the sauce from the heat, keep stirring… add a little to the bottom of the baking dish.
Later potatoes, sauce, & remaining shredded cheese… saving a nice amount of shredded cheese for the top.
Cover with foil, bake at 350° for an hour.
Pull it out, uncover, top with bread crumbs or crumbled up crackers, add some additional seasoning if so inclined, and pop it back in for another 15 minutes.
Well, there you have it. Pretty simple, and nothing makes me happier than cheese & potatoes. I noticed a lot of scalloped potato recipes don’t have cheese, but really… where’s the fun in that? Some also used a cream of chicken or cream of potato soup… makes it too much like White Trash ‘Taters for me. You may want to skip the breading, use chips or those crispy canned fried onions. Everyone has their own thing that they dig. Yukon Gold potatoes would make this really nice, probably wouldn’t need to cook as long…red potatoes might make it bitey… A mix may be nice. As far as the spices, I used coarse ground black pepper, I think some dry mustard, paprika, and some McKormick Season All.
I’m told that means “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” or more accurately “Blessings of St. Patrick’s Day upon ye!”. I hope that’s right. Today, we celebrate Irish heritage. How the holiday’s become that, I have no idea. I’d like to share with you some Irish toasts, blessing, song, & food. If you’re not of Irish descent, well… we’ll forgive for just one day. As long as you forgive me for skipping the Guinness and sticking to the Smithwick’s.
Irish toasts & blessings…
A family of Irish birth will argue and fight,
But let a shout come from without and see them all unite.
Always remember to forget
The troubles that passed away.
But never forget to remember
The blessings that come each day.
An Irishman is never drunk
as long as he can hold on to
one blade of grass and not
fall off the face of the earth.
As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction!
Bless your little Irish heart — and every other Irish part.
From the great Gales of Ireland
Are the men that God made mad,
For all their wars are merry
And all their songs are sad.
Grant me a sense of humor, Lord,
the saving grace to see a joke,
To win some happiness from life,
And pass it on to other folks.
Here’s a toasting to his health.
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick
And see all those snakes again.
Here’s to a sweetheart, a bottle, and a friend.
The first beautiful, the second full, the last ever faithful.
Here’s to you and yours,
And to mine and ours,
And if mine and ours ever come
Across you and yours,
I hope you and yours will do
As much for mine and ours,
As mine and ours have done
For you and yours!
Here’s to a long life and a merry one.
A quick death and an easy one.
A pretty girl and an honest one.
A cold pint– and another one!
Here’s to the land of the shamrock so green,
Here’s to each lad and his darlin colleen,
Here’s to the ones we love dearest and most.
May God bless old Ireland, that’s this Irishman’s toast!
Here’s to women’s kisses,
and to whiskey, amber clear;
Not as sweet as a woman’s kiss,
but a darn sight more sincere!
Here’s to women’s kisses,
and to whiskey, amber clear;
Not as sweet as a woman’s kiss,
but a darn sight more sincere!
I drink to your health when I’m with you,
I drink to your health when I’m alone,
I drink to your health so often,
I’m starting to worry about my own!
I have known many,
and liked not a few,
but loved only one
and this toast is to you.
May God grant you always…
A sunbeam to warm you,
A moonbeam to charm you,
A sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you.
May good luck be your friend
In whatever you do
And may trouble be always
A stranger to you.
May joy and peace surround you,
Contentment latch your door,
And happiness be with you now
And bless you evermore.
May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, and never catch up.
May neighbours respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.
May the face of every good news and the back of every bad news be towards us.
May the good saints protect you
And bless you today
And may troubles ignore you
Each step of the way
May the grass grow long on the road to hell for want of use.
May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty.
May the leprechauns be near you,
To spread luck along your way.
And may all the Irish angels,
Smile upon you on St. Patrick’s Day.
May the lilt of Irish laughter Lighten every load,
May the mist of Irish magic Shorten every road,
May you taste the sweetest pleasures That fortune ere bestowed,
And may all your friends remember all the favors you are owed.
May the luck of the Irish
Lead to happiest heights
And the highway you travel
Be lined with green lights.
May the lilt of Irish laughter lighten every load.
May the mist of Irish magic Shorten every road…
And may all your friends remember
All the favours you are owed!
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
May the rocks in your field turn to gold.
May the roof above you never fall in,
And those gathered beneath it never fall out.
May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.
May the winds of fortune sail you,
May you sail a gentle sea.
May it always be the other guy
who says, “this drink’s on me.”
May you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows your dead.
May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings,
slow to make enemies and quick to make friends.
And may you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.
May you get all your wishes but one, so that you will always have something to strive for!
May you have food and raiment,
a soft pillow for your head.
May you be forty years in heaven
before the devil knows you’re dead.
May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been,
The foresight to know where you are going,
And the insight to know when you have gone too far.
May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been,
the foresight to know where you’re going,
and the insight to know when you’ve gone too far.
May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door.
May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live.
May you live to be 100 years, with one extra year to repent.
May you never find trouble
All crowdin’ and shovin’
But always good fortune
All smilin’ and lovin’
May you taste the sweetest pleasures that fortune ere bestowed,
And may all your friends remember all the favors you are owed.
May your heart be light and happy,
May your smile be big and wide,
And may your pockets always have
a coin or two inside!
May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.
May your home be filled with laughter
May your pockets be filled with gold
And may you have all the happiness
Your Irish heart can hold.
May your mornings bring joy
and your evenings bring peace…
May your troubles grow less
as your blessings increase!
May your pockets be heavy—
Your heart be light,
And may good luck pursue you
Each morning and night.
May your pockets be heavy—
Your heart be light,
And may good luck pursue you
Each morning and night.
May your right hand always be stretched out in friendship and never in want.
May your troubles be less
And your blessing be more
And nothing but happiness
Come through your door
My friends are the best friends
Loyal, willing and able.
Now let’s get to drinking!
All glasses off the table!
Saint Patrick was a gentleman,
Who through strategy and stealth,
Drove all the snakes from Ireland,
That the tap may be open when it rusts!
There are good ships,
and there are wood ships,
The ships that sail the sea.
But the best ships, are friendships,
And may they always be.
We drink to your coffin. May it be built from the wood of a hundred year old oak tree that I shall plant tomorrow.
When we drink, we get drunk.
When we get drunk, we fall asleep.
When we fall asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to heaven.
So, let’s all get drunk, and go to heaven!
Wherever you go and whatever you do, May the luck of the Irish be there with you.
Here’s to cheating, stealing, fighting, and drinking!
If you cheat, may you cheat death.
If you steal, may you steal a woman’s heart.
If you fight, may you fight for a brother.
And if you drink, may you drink with me. … Slainte!
May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings, slow to make enemies, quick to make friends. But rich or poor, quick or slow, may you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.
May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.
May the strength of three be in your journey.
May the sound of happy music, And the lilt of Irish laughter, fill your heart with gladness, that stays forever after.
Here’s to me, and here’s to you,
And here’s to love and laughter-
I’ll be true as long as you,
And not one moment after.
There are many good reasons for drinking,
One has just entered my head-
If a man doesn’t drink when he’s living,
How the hell can he drink when he’s dead?
May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.
May you have love that never ends,
lots of money, and lots of friends.
Health be yours, whatever you do,
and may God send many blessings to you!
May the sun shine, all day long,
everything go right, and nothing wrong.
May those you love bring love back to you,
and may all the wishes you wish come true!
May you have:
A world of wishes at your command.
God and his angels close to hand.
Friends and family their love impart,
and Irish blessings in your heart!
May you have warm words on a cold evening,
a full moon on a dark night,
and the road downhill all the way to your door.
For each petal on the shamrock.
This brings a wish your way
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.
May the embers from the open hearth warm your hands,
May the sun’s rays from the Irish sky warm your face,
May the children’s bright smiles warm your heart,
May the everlasting love I give you warm your soul.
May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks,
May your heart be as light as a song,
May each day bring you bright, happy hours,
That stay with you all the year long.
May joy and peace surround you,
Contentment latch your door,
And happiness be with you now,
And bless you evermore.
May the saint protect ye-
An’ sorrow neglect ye,
An’ bad luck to the one
That doesn’t respect ye
t’ all that belong to ye,
An long life t’ yer honor-
That’s the end of my song t’ ye!
May good luck be your friend
In whatever you do.
And may trouble be always
A stranger to you.
May your blessings outnumber
The Shamrocks that grow.
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
May your troubles be less,
And your blessing be more.
And nothing but happiness,
Come through your door.
And some Irish song…
This one’s from Seamus Kennedy, you need to check him out if he’s ever on tour in a pub or a festival near you!
Saint Patrick was a gentleman,
Who through strategy and stealth,
Drove all the snakes from Ireland,
Here’s a toasting to his health.
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick
And see all those snakes again.
World (and Lunar) Domination 