My first collaboration! Chúuk has always been near and dear to my heart, being my favourite restaurant in Durham to go to for excellent drinks and food, from people who are genuinely passionate about what they’re doing. The name here isn’t just a description of the sauce, but a throwback to the original tagline of the restaurant, a precursor to the current ‘Mexican Kitchen & Bar’.
Batch 1: Fermented for 1 year, 36 bottles
Ingredients: fermented honeydew melon, tomato, sweet onion, habanero peppers, fresh lime juice, scorpion peppers, garlic, white vinegar, kosher salt, cumin, coriander
I really wanted to get this one right, so I made sure to stop by and let the staff sample the sauce twice before moving to bottling (thanks to Ryan for suggesting we up the lime juice, great call!). The honeydew works as the glue here, holding all the ingredients together by tempering some intensity from the chilies, as well as providing some textural backbone to keep the sauce at a salsa like consistency. Apart from the ground spices, lime juice, and vinegar, this entire batch was well smoked (with white oak chips) for added flavour and out of respect for its namesake. The smoke provides aroma and flavour on the journey from initial acidity from the green tomatoes and lime to the long finish of heat from the scorpions and habaneros.
This reads like a classic verde sauce, but with some punch; add some to your fish, pork, and birria tacos, even a couple drops in your spicy margarita or guacamole will be well received. At the time of writing this, I thoroughly enjoyed it on the Pulpo (octopus) dish available at Chúuk.