#9 - Batchelor's BBQ Beef Flavour Deli Box Noodles

• Brand: Batchelor’s Deli Box Noodles
• Flavour: BBQ Beef Flavour
• Cost: £1.00 (3 for £3 deal, normally £1.19 each)
• From: Tesco
• Description: Noodles in a tasty barbecue beef flavour sauce
• Weight: 75g (255g when prepared)
• Allergies: Egg, Wheat, Barley and Gluten
  
  
                                         Where's the beef? Seriously, where is it ?

Here we go again with another Batchelor's Deli Box, this time BBQ Beef flavoured. You might think these are getting a lot of coverage at the moment and they are, after this exactly one third of all my posts will be about this brand. Don't blame me, blame Tesco for the cheap deal when you buy 3. There's a good point to make actually; although in my previous 2 posts for this brand I have mentioned how I like the packaging, and I do, but it's not completely practical. Yes I love the room in there to really stir up your noodles and permeate the flavour throughout but there is a sense of over-packaging. One issue is that if you were to buy 5 of these for your working week they would take up quite a lot of cupboard space being 11cm wide x 11cm deep by 10cm tall, hmmm...

Once again they're boasting about how much less fat they have than Pot Noodle and this time they're saying there's 75% less fat in this pot than you find in a Beef & Tomato Pot Noodle. First thing to point out is that these are about 17% smaller than a pot noodle, and there's more to life than fat content. I see a B&T Pot Noodle in my future...

“How do they taste?” The answer is 'of something'. What that something is I'm not quite sure but my best guess is old carrots. Once again the noodle mixture is of a lovely consistency and the flavour does find its way into every little nook and cranny but it's just not that great. There is a bit of smokiness to it but that's more in the after taste as it's mainly sweetness that pervades the eating experience.

“Do they remind me in any way of a BBQ beef dish?”  The answer is no. The main reason for this in my humble opinion is, similar to the Naked Noodle Chilli Beef, there is NO BEEF FLAVOUR in this product whatsoever. There are 'Smoke Flavourings' listed in the ingredients as the penultimate item - for those who don't know, ingredients are listed in descending order of volume - but that's it. Our old friend maltodextrin (the heap filler / thickener) makes an unsurprising appearance, as does the magical MSG / E635 combination of flavour enhancers, and these are alongside a whole host of flavours that you just don't get - here's the list: Tomato Powder, Dried Red Pepper, Sugar, Salt, Onion Powder, Veg Oil, Roasted Barley Malt Extract (???), Dried Parsley, Garlic Powder and Black Pepper Extract. The one I didn't list, which is at the top of the list, is Dried Carrot. Remember I said how they list the items, remember I said it tasted of old carrots - BOOM!

“How do I feel now I’ve finished it?” As usual with these the answer is OK but a bit peckish. My mouth feels like it's been coated with dry rub though; the smokiness that was coming through as an after taste now seems to have dried my mouth out and is now all I can taste. I wouldn't mind if I could swallow properly now and / or it actually tasted good.

Conclusion – These really don't get any better, hopefully there aren't many more flavours for me to try out. I still don't understand how they can promote the item as having a beef flavour without at least trying to add some beef flavour. I love a BBQ, I love beef - beef does not just taste of the rub / seasoning you apply or the smoke from a barbecue, IT TASTES OF COW!!!

Need 4 Noodle Rating: 4.5/10