OT - Hot Sauces

[Taro T]

All this talk about grilling and restaurants over here, and talk about potato chips over on Scott's other board's OTW section got me thinking about my favorite potato chips (Zapp's - a Louisiana staple (the Hotter n Hot Jalapeno and the Cajun Crawtators are legendary; not sure if they still make Tiger Tators - they're excellent as well - kind of a cross between the other 2 varieties IIRC (haven't had those in nearly 20 years)) which got me thinking about some hot sauces I haven't had in forever, which got me to order a couple of bottles of one of my favorite sauces.

 

Westlow's Bonney Pepper Sauce. The 1st ingredient is Bonney Peppers and the 3rd is mustard flour. A few dabs of that on a well grilled Sahlen's dog (and some catsup) is to die for. It is hot but not overpowering - a bit hotter than Weber's Hot Texas Sandwich Sauce and without the relish of the Webers.

 

That's a favorite. Another is Grand Anse #5 Pepper Sauce. About 3 drops in spaghetti sauce is awesome.

 

I also am fond of Armageddon Sauce from the Red Dog Tavern near Old Forge. That stuff is nasty hot but w/ a good flavor.

 

Ortego Sauce Pimente Brand is another good one to raise the heat w/out messing w/ the flavor too much. But don't add more than a few drops or it will overpower the dish. (It doesn't mess w/ the flavor, it just is pure heat in a bottle.)

 

Obviously, I'm a big fan of the standards - Frank's, Frank's Xtra Hot, Tabasco, & Melinda's. I'm not a fan of Dave's Insanity - I've got nothing against stupidly hot sauces (the 2 I described above fit that bill) but simply don't like it's flavor.

 

Any thoughts on good ones that you've come across? If so, let me know, I might already have them in my beer fridge or pantry and if not, I'm always looking for new keepers.

[Weave]

I make my own hot sauces. I grow habenero, tabasco, jalepeno, and super chilis (proprietary hybrid chile pepper). My primary hot sauces are my own recipe.

 

When I use store bought hot suaces I have a few standards that I vary depending on the application. Sriracha sauce is mandatory for kicking up Asian food. It has a nice spicy bite and great garlic flavor. Tabasco brand is the best there is for grilled clams and scrambled eggs. Google up Dr. Gonzo's pepper mash. His industrial strength habenero pepper mash has awesome fruity habenero flavor and a ton of bite. Great on Zwiegle's white hots. Melinda's habenero sauce and Tabasco brand chipotle pepper sauce round out my regular dashes.

[Sterling Archer]

I usually stick to Louisiana style sauces. Not a big Tabasco fan. Like the heat but like a little depth of flavor.

[Weave]

I usually stick to Louisiana style sauces. Not a big Tabasco fan. Like the heat but like a little depth of flavor.

 

Tabasco is a Louisiana style hot sauce. Their's is a bit differnet in that they ferment the crushed chile peppers for awhile before making the sauce. Gives it a completely differnet flavor than the others.

 

I like nearly all the Louisiana style sauces I have tried but find that I like different style sauces for different applications.

[Taro T]

I make my own hot sauces. I grow habenero, tabasco, jalepeno, and super chilis (proprietary hybrid chile pepper). My primary hot sauces are my own recipe.

 

When I use store bought hot suaces I have a few standards that I vary depending on the application. Sriracha sauce is mandatory for kicking up Asian food. It has a nice spicy bite and great garlic flavor. Tabasco brand is the best there is for grilled clams and scrambled eggs. Google up Dr. Gonzo's pepper mash. His industrial strength habenero pepper mash has awesome fruity habenero flavor and a ton of bite. Great on Zwiegle's white hots. Melinda's habenero sauce and Tabasco brand chipotle pepper sauce round out my regular dashes.

:thumbsup: My cousin makes his own sauces as well. I grow peppers every year, (usually about 6 different varieties ranging in heat from jalapeno through habanero - nothing quite as fun as to get them mixed up and accidentally eat a habanero raw when you aren't expecting it :doh: only happened once to date ;) ) but haven't tried making my own sauce yet. I did make my own pico a few years back, but kids and work took up too much time and I never tried making it again as I really couldn't experiment w/ it too much. I've also pickled and canned peppers, with better luck.

 

I was going to have a big garden this year, and then the rains came and never left and I never planted. I've got a couple of pepper and tomato plants, but not nearly enough to experiment with.

 

I've got the Sriracha, but rarely use it. Wife usually makes Kung Pau or dumplings when we have oriental dishes and those usually get the hot oil treatment. I might have to consider adding it again next time we go Chinese.

 

Agree w/ you on the Melinda's habanero. Not a huge fan of the Tabasco chipotle but do use it occassionally. I'll have to check out the Dr. Gonzo's. Thanks for the recommendations. :thumbsup:

 

Tabasco is a Louisiana style hot sauce. Their's is a bit differnet in that they ferment the crushed chile peppers for awhile before making the sauce. Gives it a completely differnet flavor than the others.

 

I like nearly all the Louisiana style sauces I have tried but find that I like different style sauces for different applications.

They're so cute when they're young. (Sorry SA, couldn't resist.)

 

Went to Avery Island once, but unfortunately picked one of the handful of days out of the year that they weren't doing tours. :censored: Would have loved to see that operation.

[Weave]

I've got the Sriracha, but rarely use it. Wife usually makes Kung Pau or dumplings when we have oriental dishes and those usually get the hot oil treatment. I might have to consider adding it again next time we go Chinese.

 

I go through spells where I use Sriracha like it's ketchup. I think it is great utility hot sauce. It isn't gonna burn out anyone's taste buds but it has great flavor. There is alot of garlic in that sauce. I'll bet I go through two big bottles of it every year.

 

Agree w/ you on the Melinda's habanero. Not a huge fan of the Tabasco chipotle but do use it occassionally. I'll have to check out the Dr. Gonzo's. Thanks for the recommendations. :thumbsup:

 

Dr. gonzo's is what inspired me to make my own hot sauces and pepper mashes (relishes basically). His stuff is very fresh and uses a minimum of ingredients so the ingredients that he does use really shine. When I read the ingredients on the label I thought, "I could make this". So I purchased a Bell Blue Book of canning, a bunch of ingredients, and went to work. My first attempts came out really good and it moved me to try hot sauces and canning other stuff too. Every harvest season I make jalepeno dill pickles, pepper mash, several hot sauces, spicy pickled beets and beans, and salsas.

 

I grind my own chili powders too. Dry and smoke my own chile peppers and grind them into spices. Make my own barbeque rubs too. I'm a bit of a foodie. Probably more than just a little bit. One of the days we were in New Orleans was spent in a kitchen getting hands on one-on-one cooking lessons with a clasically trained French chef. :blush:

[Taro T]

I go through spells where I use Sriracha like it's ketchup. I think it is great utility hot sauce. It isn't gonna burn out anyone's taste buds but it has great flavor. There is alot of garlic in that sauce. I'll bet I go through two big bottles of it every year.

 

 

 

Dr. gonzo's is what inspired me to make my own hot sauces and pepper mashes (relishes basically). His stuff is very fresh and uses a minimum of ingredients so the ingredients that he does use really shine. When I read the ingredients on the label I thought, "I could make this". So I purchased a Bell Blue Book of canning, a bunch of ingredients, and went to work. My first attempts came out really good and it moved me to try hot sauces and canning other stuff too. Every harvest season I make jalepeno dill pickles, pepper mash, several hot sauces, spicy pickled beets and beans, and salsas.

 

I grind my own chili powders too. Dry and smoke my own chile peppers and grind them into spices. Make my own barbeque rubs too. I'm a bit of a foodie. Probably more than just a little bit. One of the days we were in New Orleans was spent in a kitchen getting hands on one-on-one cooking lessons with a clasically trained French chef. :blush:

I like garlic, especially fresh from the garden, but definitely consider it an addition to the dish and don't like it to be the focus. (My friend that usually gets me the cloves that I use to start the garden when I decide to re-grow it (I'll grow it for ~3 years and then get tired of it and grow something else, then decide to do it again.) LOVES garlic and will put 2 or 3 cloves in a potato before baking it. A bit too hard core for me.)

 

New Orleans School of Cooking was the 1st place I ever found the Bonney Pepper Sauce I mentioned up thread. I could easily spend a full day going through some of the spice shops down there. Not hot, but with a great flavor is the NOSoC's Joe's Stuff. Love that on popcorn.

 

Not sure if I want to make my next 'fun' project brewing beer or making hot sauces, but since I won't have enough of my own raw materials to make the sauces, I think it'll have to be beer. But fall '12, I think I'm going to give it a shot.

 

:thumbsup:

[chileanseabass]

Not a fan of Tabasco or hot sauces that are too hot that you can't enjoy the flavor of the food. My favorites are Texas Pete and Cholula.

[Taro T]

Not a fan of Tabasco or hot sauces that are too hot that you can't enjoy the flavor of the food. My favorites are Texas Pete and Cholula.

Don't know if I've ever had Texas Pete. Cholula is a bit mild for my tastes (at least the varieties that I've tried, only tried the original and chipolte versions). There's another brand w/ a name close to that which the local Mexican & Tex Mex restaurants will usually have on the tables (comes in a green and a red which taste nearly identical, both are reasonably hot (by my definition, you'd probably consider them unreasonably hot)) which I do like. But for the life of me, I can't think of the brand.

 

Dinosaur has some pretty good hot sauces as well.

 

But except for the ones like Dave's Insanity that are supposed to be hot for no apparent reason, most hot sauces, the ones like Tabasco, should only be added in small quantities to supplement the food. If it's overwhelming, there's too much. I'd probably add more than you would, but an etoufee or gumbo isn't served properly without rice and Tabasco.

[TheChimp]

Try this sh*t, it'll kill a goat at ten paces.

 

http://www.hotsauce.com/Endorphin-Rush-Beyond-Hot-Sauce-p/1121.htm?click=2704

[SabresVA]

I make my own hot sauces. I grow habenero, tabasco, jalepeno, and super chilis (proprietary hybrid chile pepper). My primary hot sauces are my own recipe.

 

When I use store bought hot suaces I have a few standards that I vary depending on the application. Sriracha sauce is mandatory for kicking up Asian food. It has a nice spicy bite and great garlic flavor. Tabasco brand is the best there is for grilled clams and scrambled eggs. Google up Dr. Gonzo's pepper mash. His industrial strength habenero pepper mash has awesome fruity habenero flavor and a ton of bite. Great on Zwiegle's white hots. Melinda's habenero sauce and Tabasco brand chipotle pepper sauce round out my regular dashes.

 

 

I make my own as well. You said you make Tabasco...... do you ferment your peppers or just boil them? I fermented min last year for about 3 months, not as long as the real stuff but the sauce came out with a very nice butter flavor...

 

I also make a jalapeno paste/sauce.

 

ever work with cayennes?

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

This is crazy stuff. We should have a sabrespace potluck dinner the way some of you know your food.

 

Being one to run my mouth (ya think?), and at the time still being an idiotic college intern trying to Barnaby my way into acceptance, I once claimed I could eat the hottest wings possible. The office took up a collection for me to eat 7 wings doused in Dave's Insanity. It was this very weekend and all the markets were pretty much asleep, so this became the focal point of the day. The wings were cold and sitting in a ziploc bag full of sauce. I had a gallon of milk and loaf of bread at the ready. The only perameters to collect were that I had to wait 5 minutes to leave the room. Thank God this was before Youtube, because it was my redneck moment.

 

I knew the only way to survive was through pure speed. It took about 45 seconds for the 7 wings, and between the laughter, oh my gods, and I can't believe its....I pulled it off and slowly licked the last drumstick bone, top to bottom and back for effect.

 

The worst part was my lips on fire. The milk would work in 10 second relief spurts and helped big time. I was using the bread as a napkin for the most part. Of course I went to the vomitorium when allowed, as there is no way I wanted to see what would happen hours later.

 

Glad I did, would never do it again.

[Tom Backyard]

Amongst my favorites is El Yucateco, it's a habanero. They make a green and a red. I prefer the flavor of the green.

 

My mother and law makes me a super hot mash using mustard oil and scotch bonnets. It is so tasty and hot.

 

I also like to eat straight up pickled tabasco peppers on just about anything, or by themselves.

[SwampD]

Amongst my favorites is El Yucateco, it's a habanero. They make a green and a red. I prefer the flavor of the green.

 

My mother and law makes me a super hot mash using mustard oil and scotch bonnets. It is so tasty and hot.

 

I also like to eat straight up pickled tobacco peppers on just about anything, or by themselves.

I agree with the El Yucoteco. Good stuff.

 

I always go here for all my hot sauce needs.

[Weave]

New Orleans School of Cooking was the 1st place I ever found the Bonney Pepper Sauce I mentioned up thread. I could easily spend a full day going through some of the spice shops down there. Not hot, but with a great flavor is the NOSoC's Joe's Stuff. Love that on popcorn.

 

The only thing we bought from the NOSoC last week was the Joe's spice mix. I'll have to try it on popcorn. You are right about the spice shops. Lots of 'em. Seemed like they all carried the same selection though and most of it was stuff I can get here at home without the tourist prices.

 

Not sure if I want to make my next 'fun' project brewing beer or making hot sauces, but since I won't have enough of my own raw materials to make the sauces, I think it'll have to be beer. But fall '12, I think I'm going to give it a shot.

 

:thumbsup:

 

Heh. My "serious" hobby is brewing beer. On average I brew between 50-75 gallons per year. Started out buying kits and worked my way into brewing from raw grains. I've been known to brew on Flying Bisons' pilot system from time to time. The owner is a great guy. I have 3 taps running in my house year round. Beer is an obsession of mine. If you need to ask any questions or want pointers send me a PM. I can talk beer for hours.

[Weave]

I make my own as well. You said you make Tabasco...... do you ferment your peppers or just boil them? I fermented min last year for about 3 months, not as long as the real stuff but the sauce came out with a very nice butter flavor...

 

I also make a jalapeno paste/sauce.

 

ever work with cayennes?

 

I haven't tried to ferment my pepper mashes yet so it's not "Tabasco sauce" (capital T), it's hot sauce using tabasco peppers. But it is a Louisiana style sauce.

[chileanseabass]

Don't know if I've ever had Texas Pete. Cholula is a bit mild for my tastes (at least the varieties that I've tried, only tried the original and chipolte versions). There's another brand w/ a name close to that which the local Mexican & Tex Mex restaurants will usually have on the tables (comes in a green and a red which taste nearly identical, both are reasonably hot (by my definition, you'd probably consider them unreasonably hot)) which I do like. But for the life of me, I can't think of the brand.

 

Dinosaur has some pretty good hot sauces as well.

 

But except for the ones like Dave's Insanity that are supposed to be hot for no apparent reason, most hot sauces, the ones like Tabasco, should only be added in small quantities to supplement the food. If it's overwhelming, there's too much. I'd probably add more than you would, but an etoufee or gumbo isn't served properly without rice and Tabasco.

 

 

My beef with Tabasco isn't the heat, it's the flavor. I'm just not a big fan. Louisiana brand hot sauce is similar to Tabasco, but I enjoy the flavor more. Texas Pete is a milder one made in Winston-Salem, NC. It's everywhere you look here, but I'm not sure if you can get it outside the Carolinas. I know "Dave" from Dave's Insanity, and can't sya I care much for his stuff either. He has some good pasta sauces, but the hot sauces just don't seem to compliment anything.

[SDS]

This is crazy stuff. We should have a sabrespace potluck dinner the way some of you know your food.

 

Be careful if you invite Jack to a potluck dinner... You might want to draw the blinds.

[korab rules]

I make my own hot sauces. I grow habenero, tabasco, jalepeno, and super chilis (proprietary hybrid chile pepper). My primary hot sauces are my own recipe.

 

When I use store bought hot suaces I have a few standards that I vary depending on the application. Sriracha sauce is mandatory for kicking up Asian food. It has a nice spicy bite and great garlic flavor. Tabasco brand is the best there is for grilled clams and scrambled eggs. Google up Dr. Gonzo's pepper mash. His industrial strength habenero pepper mash has awesome fruity habenero flavor and a ton of bite. Great on Zwiegle's white hots. Melinda's habenero sauce and Tabasco brand chipotle pepper sauce round out my regular dashes.

 

 

I go through spells where I use Sriracha like it's ketchup. I think it is great utility hot sauce. It isn't gonna burn out anyone's taste buds but it has great flavor. There is alot of garlic in that sauce. I'll bet I go through two big bottles of it every year.

 

 

 

Dr. gonzo's is what inspired me to make my own hot sauces and pepper mashes (relishes basically). His stuff is very fresh and uses a minimum of ingredients so the ingredients that he does use really shine. When I read the ingredients on the label I thought, "I could make this". So I purchased a Bell Blue Book of canning, a bunch of ingredients, and went to work. My first attempts came out really good and it moved me to try hot sauces and canning other stuff too. Every harvest season I make jalepeno dill pickles, pepper mash, several hot sauces, spicy pickled beets and beans, and salsas.

 

I grind my own chili powders too. Dry and smoke my own chile peppers and grind them into spices. Make my own barbeque rubs too. I'm a bit of a foodie. Probably more than just a little bit. One of the days we were in New Orleans was spent in a kitchen getting hands on one-on-one cooking lessons with a clasically trained French chef. :blush:

 

 

 

 

 

The only thing we bought from the NOSoC last week was the Joe's spice mix. I'll have to try it on popcorn. You are right about the spice shops. Lots of 'em. Seemed like they all carried the same selection though and most of it was stuff I can get here at home without the tourist prices.

 

 

 

Heh. My "serious" hobby is brewing beer. On average I brew between 50-75 gallons per year. Started out buying kits and worked my way into brewing from raw grains. I've been known to brew on Flying Bisons' pilot system from time to time. The owner is a great guy. I have 3 taps running in my house year round. Beer is an obsession of mine. If you need to ask any questions or want pointers send me a PM. I can talk beer for hours.

 

You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar!

 

Don't know if I've ever had Texas Pete. Cholula is a bit mild for my tastes (at least the varieties that I've tried, only tried the original and chipolte versions). There's another brand w/ a name close to that which the local Mexican & Tex Mex restaurants will usually have on the tables (comes in a green and a red which taste nearly identical, both are reasonably hot (by my definition, you'd probably consider them unreasonably hot)) which I do like. But for the life of me, I can't think of the brand.

 

Dinosaur has some pretty good hot sauces as well.

 

But except for the ones like Dave's Insanity that are supposed to be hot for no apparent reason, most hot sauces, the ones like Tabasco, should only be added in small quantities to supplement the food. If it's overwhelming, there's too much. I'd probably add more than you would, but an etoufee or gumbo isn't served properly without rice and Tabasco.

 

Forget the Texas Pete - its low grade Frank's. The dinosaur sauces are very good - especially the devil's duel - habanero and jalapeno, I believe. Been a while since I had it.

 

I love trying different hot sauces - I like them hot, and used Dave's for a while, but that stuff is just stupid.

 

My wife enrolled me in the hot sauce of the month club a couple years ago - I love it, because the varieties available locally get exhausted pretty quick.

 

One of my favorite sauces of all time is "Scorned Woman." Not sure what pepper it was based on, but a major ingredient was carrot. Can't tell you much more about it as I haven't seen it it in years and years, but if I ever see it again I am buying the entire supply.

 

I like habanero and chipolte sauces. One of my favorite peppers is the scotch bonnet - nice and simple with vinegar and garlic. Good heat, especially with the vinegar, but won't kill you.

 

Not enough time to garden - I spend all my spare time on the lake in the summers. I have one solitary tabasco pepper plant on my deck that I have high hopes for though.

[SDS]

One of my favorite sauces of all time is "Scorned Woman." Not sure what pepper it was based on, but a major ingredient was carrot. Can't tell you much more about it as I haven't seen it it in years and years, but if I ever see it again I am buying the entire supply.

 

Dude... Google is a useful tool. Bookmark it!

 

http://www.amazon.com/AmericanSpice-com-Scorned-Woman-Hot-Sauce/dp/B0000DG4N9

[korab rules]

Dude... Google is a useful tool. Bookmark it!

 

http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/B0000DG4N9

 

I don't have enough time to go anywhere on the web but SS.

 

Not sure its the same recipe. I definitely remember the carrot because it was so unusual, but good.

[Weave]

You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar!

 

Nah. I'm just hungry and thirsty.

[biodork]

You guys are great... weave, I'm becoming convinced there is no topic on which you are not an expert! Man knows his whisk(e)y, beer, food... the wife is a lucky gal. :worthy:

 

I can't really do the crazy hot stuff so I don't know how these rate, but there are some local guys around here that supposedly make good sauces of all different heat levels. Their "Ultimate Annihilation" sauce is described as the hottest natural sauce in the world:

 

http://www.torchbearersauces.com/

 

Their sugar fire sauce is pretty unique, too, and makes an awesome apple pie.

 

Also, this isn't a sauce but the video cracks me up. :)

[Weave]

You guys are great... weave, I'm becoming convinced there is no topic on which you are not an expert! Man knows his whisk(e)y, beer, food... the wife is a lucky gal. :worthy:

 

LOL

 

More likely, she is very tolerant of my habits and hobbies. She's not the lucky one, I am.

 

Thanks for the praise but I'm no expert. Just a guy who discovered a long time ago that the finer things in life are more attainable if you learn how to make them yourself.

 

I probably should have gone to a culinary arts school instead of engineering and business school. I've done pretty well in my field but it isn't where my passions lie. Food and drink are my biggest passions (well, and the Sabres too). It's also why I continually fight to rid myself of about 40 extra lbs. :blush:

[biodork]

Thanks for the praise but I'm no expert. Just a guy who discovered a long time ago that the finer things in life are more attainable if you learn how to make them yourself.

 

The description under your avatar would disagree, lol. Still, very cool that you've taken an interest in this kind of stuff, and that you're always helpful in sharing what you've learned with the rest of us. :thumbsup: