Super excited for this one. There’s surprisingly a lot of controversy about what is a mambo, mumbo sauce and whether its a washington DC thing or a Chicago thing. Had no idea when I did some research that I’d be embroiled in this. I’m going to make a stand and say it’s attributed to Washington, DC. Leave a comment, share your hate – I’d love to read it.
That being said, it’s appropriate this is being posted when I’m returning from the Windy City and I can say I’ve had this flavor before. This is absolutely the sauce that Harold’s uses. And how do I feel about it? Read on, my friends.
The Prep Table
What is mambo/mumbo sauce? I keep using both terms because it’s unclear. From here on out, I’ll say mambo, but if you’re a mumbo purist, I like you all the same. It’s a blend of ketchup, soy, vinegar, brown sugar and some spice. That spice being hot sauce, paprika and cayenne. Mix it together and you got a mambo. This works just as well on the wings as it does on your Chinese take-outs in the DC area, which is why I’m attributing as such.
I also got a turkey fryer (for a pending post not at all relating to a turkey) so we’re going to make onion rings to accompany our mambo wings. We’re going to make a tangy horseradish sauce, and that’s the ingredients you see. Lots of horseradish, and tamed down with some lemon. Enough zest to know you have tastebuds, but calmed with the acid.
The Process
Please visit my post where I tested what works best with Pellet Grill Smoked Chicken Wings. I’ll probably dupe the post just to make it clear later on, but this recipe works.
I’m doing a beer battered and breaded onion ring to see what I like best. I can absolutely say it’s dish-dependent, but I’ll let you know generally what I appreciate most as we continue on with this post.
The Result\
I had smokers and fryers all running. As the rings finished, they went into the smoker to hold heat. I had wings to cook, and it was truly art as I accomplished this feat. While the onion rings weren’t the star of the show, we gotta get back to this idea of Mambo Wings and whether or not it’s worth the trouble. Let’s get to it.
I won’t pat myself on the back too hard, but this is one hell of a result photo. We have some mambo sauced wings, tossed and ready to eat. We have beer-battered and breaded onion rings with a side of horseradish sauce. I threw a cup of extra Mambo sauce for dipping as if the tossing and topping wasn’t enough. You come here for results, let me give you a result.
Beer battered onion rings far surpassed the breaded. The light and airy was ideal for this meal, and the flavor was on point. Breaded wasn’t bad, it just didn’t hold up to the beer-batter.
The mambo sauce is a spectacular flavor for those that shy away from spice. I personally would never order a mambo sauce over buffalo. This was apparent when I visited Harold’s in Chicago and left wanting more. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as good as it could be. If you hate spice but want a little bit of flavor, Mambo is your go-to. If you like buffalo wings – some buttery hot flavor, Mambo is not your sauce. You wanted answers, you got answers.
Until next week!