I have a confession. I am deeply obsessed with hot sauces. And I could easily fall into an epic What Hot Sauce is the Best flame war that would likely end with some Tobasco Sauce fan swinging from tall tree on a short rope. By and large I prefer Crystal Hot Sauce. Because Amazing.
I've been trying to think of some food that would not be improved by hot sauce... and... I got nothing. Cup cakes maybe... I dunno.
Also... if you ever run across some Khan's Island Sauce... TRY IT. So much flavor. hot as crap... but such great flavor. Its habenero based and it is sweet and spicey and complicated... and also... really hot.
So there ya go... Hot Sauce People... this is your post.
12 comments:
Hot sauce isn't my thing, but when you start the BBQ sauce thread, I'm in.
Havn't been eating as much lately but I do like me some garlic sriracha on some fried chicken. Ya it's not very hot but definitely tastes good. Growing up in west Texas it was all about those Hatch green chiles, mild and full of flavor in the early season; make you run screaming to the bathroom with an icecream cone in the late season...
c0pperheaded: "Hot sauce isn't my thing, but when you start the BBQ sauce thread, I'm in."
Agreed on the hot sauce, but I'd also go for just a general spice discussion (dry rubs, etc).
I use a rub on smoked chicken that uses cayenne. Last time I made it, you coulda counted it as hot sauce. Lots of cleared nasal passages that night.
There is a cable show called Man vs Food that sometimes calls for him to eat copious amounts of hot sauce on his challenge dish. I am talking homemade volcanic style sauces that make him look sunburned on camera kind of hot sauces.
I like to put tabasco into scrambled eggs sometimes, sometimes the sriracha. Not a fan of blowing the top of my head off style hot. I like to just enjoy the warmth along with the rest of the dish.
Crystal is indeed a good brand. Tabasco kind of fell into disfavor with me because the Katrina flooding ruined their farm land where the peppers were grown. The flavor is just not the same to me. Tillamook Creamery on the Oregon Coast had the same problem in the 90's after the flooding ruined grazing lands that had taken decades of grooming to get the right kind of grass for the cows.
Since you like to tinker with foods Nate, I am surprised you haven't concocted one of your own recipes for a custom blend hot sauce. With all the varieties of peppers out there, I think you could come up with a very good one.
If you have a Pepper Palace nearby, try any of their "Death by ..." line. The Death By Salsa is particularly good - the kind of heat that you can add a teaspoon to chili (or dip a chimichanga in), and feel it when you belch, but still such good flavor that you don't mind sweating for it a bit. I am also a sucker for their Scorpion Buffalo sauce.
Miss Annas garlic habanero sauce is my all time favorite hot sauce. It's made in St Croix.
I've drastically cut back on my varieties of hot sauce due to Tabasco's Sriracha.
Konriko's Louisiana style and Habanero Sauces are my preference for a more traditional sauce with a simple flavor. El Yucateco XXX has a great level of heat with a smoky flavor that goes perfectly with Mexican food.
Habinaro sauces lack the flavor to make the heat worth it. Thai red pepper paste has terrific flavor, could use more heat, but nothing beats it's flavor.
I generally like Tobasco, but i think they let the fermentation of the peppers go on for too long. I think that detracts from the flavor and give me a numbing sensation in the back of my throat. I am guessing that the chemicals responsible are phenols produced by the fermentation bacteria.
Chicago has a string of po folks/college student eateries called 'Harold's Hot Fried Chicken Shack.' It's the kind of place where the kitchen is behind bulletproof glass and they rotate your food to you from behind a bulletproof lazy susan. Ah, good times. They put two slices of white bread down on a plate, then cover it with fries, then put the fried chicken on it, then slather on Cajun Chef hot sauce, then bag it up for you. By the time you get home, the hot sauce and the grease has soaked into the fries and the bread making a perfect slurry of deliciousness.
Gotta buy me some Cajun Chef.
Scorned Woman used to be good. when they were a boutique sauce. it had a wine base.
then they got bought out by a conglomerate and the recipe got Improvamented. now it doesn't use wine anymore and is no longer very good.
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