Hot Sauces

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Tons of good ones listed in this thread already that I like.

I would just add that I used to laugh at Franks Red Hot being a "hot sauce", but the extra hot Franks Red Hot is actually really good. Pleasantly surprised.

Can I piggy back and talk about salsa too? Most commercial salsas kinda suck, and never come close to the stuff you get at authentic Mexican restaurants. Anyone have tips to get some in Calgary?

Franks Hot Wing sauce is actually my go-to hot wing sauce. Add in some of my own hot sauces to spice it up. But as a base, it's phenomenal wing sauce.

As for good salsa, I would say just make your own. It's super easy and much better than what is sold in stores. Costco actually has really good salsa. I haven't been there is a couple years, but I believe this is what I used to buy. I would eat it by the jug. So good.

Spoiler!

[Cain]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Is that the same as in their volcano chicken ramen packs? That stuff is horrific if you use the whole sauce pack.

Yup, same stuff. Can also get the 2x heat, but that one is a bit too hot. I like their ramen too (not sure my stomach does though) so if you aren't a fan you definitely won't like it. At least with the bottle you can fine tune how much you use a bit more easily.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

For the holidays, my wife got me the season 16 full set of hot sauces from Hot Ones.

https://heatonist.com/collections/ho...39394065186914



I took it to a holiday party where all the men tried every sauce at least once to run the gauntlet. No joke at all, Da Bomb is ####ing gross and downright impossible to eat. Every other sauce, including the Apollo, was tasty if not crazy hot. Hellfire was close to being impossible to eat as well.

My favorites included the Bliss & Vinegar, which had a hint of strawberry in it, and the Señor Lechuga adobo, black lime, and ghost pepper (the generic label one). All others had good and bad points, and I was surprised that only the last 3 were too much for me. There's serious heat in most of these, but if you know what to expect, it's not too bad and quite tasty. Not for the faint of heart though...if you find Tabasco or Sriracha too hot, stay faaaar away from these.

How was The Last Dab?

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

How was The Last Dab?

Not sure on the new one, but the bottle I've got has a very pleasant almost mustardy taste that makes it fantastic on burgers. The heat won't hit you immediately, but does ramp up fairly quickly. It plateaus though so if you're ok after a few bites then you shouldn't have any issues

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Franks Hot Wing sauce is actually my go-to hot wing sauce. Add in some of my own hot sauces to spice it up. But as a base, it's phenomenal wing sauce.

As for good salsa, I would say just make your own. It's super easy and much better than what is sold in stores. Costco actually has really good salsa. I haven't been there is a couple years, but I believe this is what I used to buy. I would eat it by the jug. So good.

Spoiler!

For salsa, my go to bottled salsa (if i can find it) is DL Jardines Habanero. it is great!

They used to sell it at Urban Fare, but i havent seen it in a while

Spoiler!

[darockwilder]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Tons of good ones listed in this thread already that I like.

I would just add that I used to laugh at Franks Red Hot being a "hot sauce", but the extra hot Franks Red Hot is actually really good. Pleasantly surprised.

Can I piggy back and talk about salsa too? Most commercial salsas kinda suck, and never come close to the stuff you get at authentic Mexican restaurants. Anyone have tips to get some in Calgary?

I like this stuff. It's at the regular grocery stores usually by the hummus and whatnot.

https://freshisbest.ca/product/fresh-is-best-hot-salsa/

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

I would counter with buying some Lao Gan Ma chilli oil. Stuff is amazingly delicious and goes on almost everything I eat. I eat about a jar a month.

Spoiler!

Just make sure you buy the right one. Lao Gan Ma is just the brand. If you go to T&T there's like 3+ variations in a container that looks almost identical to each other.

I believe there's at least chili crisp, chili oil, chili oil with bean.

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Tons of good ones listed in this thread already that I like.

I would just add that I used to laugh at Franks Red Hot being a "hot sauce", but the extra hot Franks Red Hot is actually really good. Pleasantly surprised.

Can I piggy back and talk about salsa too? Most commercial salsas kinda suck, and never come close to the stuff you get at authentic Mexican restaurants. Anyone have tips to get some in Calgary?

Franks on wings with parmesan is pretty good. It also is a combo that works well with honey garlic. Often when I go out to eat wings, if I'm eating saucy rather than a dry wing, I'll ask for hot (Franks) and the parmesan shaker or I'll ask for honey hot (Honey Garlic + hot).

As others mentioned regarding salsa, are you actually referring to Pico de Gallo? As mentioned, Costco has a pretty good one for a good price. I personally do not like the peach or mango one though.

[calumniate]

https://www.eater.com/22308176/best-...ntry-essential

Good review on chili crisps.. which is kind of an aside of hotsauce. I like them because they can be easily applied.. and have a little bit more complexity sometimes (garlic, beans, seeds, etc)

[trieu8]

Can you get the dirty dicks hot sauce anywhere locally? Its tasty but very expensive from Amazon. I think it was $27/bottle last time I checked?

Originally Posted by ChuckieNZ

Yea, Da Bomb is disgustingly awful.

I'm enjoying some selections from Torchbearers at the moment. Pretty good kick, around 120,000-150,000 scoville.



Otherwise my go to is this beauty - fantastic flavour (ingredients include pineapple, mango, banana & habenero) especially on something like pizza.

[djsFlames]

Going to need some Dirty Dick's for a convenient segue on a future homecooked dinner date.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

For the holidays, my wife got me the season 16 full set of hot sauces from Hot Ones.

https://heatonist.com/collections/ho...39394065186914



I took it to a holiday party where all the men tried every sauce at least once to run the gauntlet. No joke at all, Da Bomb is ####ing gross and downright impossible to eat. Every other sauce, including the Apollo, was tasty if not crazy hot. Hellfire was close to being impossible to eat as well.

My favorites included the Bliss & Vinegar, which had a hint of strawberry in it, and the Señor Lechuga adobo, black lime, and ghost pepper (the generic label one). All others had good and bad points, and I was surprised that only the last 3 were too much for me. There's serious heat in most of these, but if you know what to expect, it's not too bad and quite tasty. Not for the faint of heart though...if you find Tabasco or Sriracha too hot, stay faaaar away from these.

Since this thread brought up these sauces in my mind again, I decided to order some plain wings tonight and apply the sauces to run the gauntlet. Here's my official review:

1. The Classic: Great garlic and vinegar flavor, but just not nearly hot enough for my liking. A great introductory sauce for someone new to hot things.

2. Bliss & Vinegar: my first tasting loved the sweetness, but I found it to be a little too sweet and tasted too much of coconut. Still great vinegar and just enough heat to be satisfying.

3. The Hoff: a bit too much mustard flavor and not enough chili flavor. Decent heat, but not overwhelming. A solid sauce, but unspectacular.

4. Los Calientes: A great green chili sauce with solid heat, good vinegar flavor, and a touch of sweetness. Honestly, now my 2nd favorite.

5. Hot Heads: Surprisingly strong heat for a #5 that lingered a very long time. Decent flavor, but a bit on the acrid/bitter side. Not amazing.

6. Señor Lechuga: Great blend of heat and flavor. The lime really punches through, but there are lots of other spicy blends that make the flavor pop. Has a bit of earthiness too. Really a great sauce. 10/10 and the heat is manageable.

7. Chile Lengua de Fuego: nice roasted green chili flavor, a surprisingly nice mix of acid and bitterness, and while it is hot, it's not nearly as hot as you would expect. Honestly, it surprised me the second time around. I really like this one.

8. Da Bomb: Didn't try it. I'm never eating it again. I will suggest it to my enemies as punishment.

9. Hellfire: This is where the heat overwhelms the palate. It's not bad or anything, but just not super tasty. It also uses black garlic which adds some earthiness, but takes away from the rest of the flavor profile. Just okay. Heat is pretty high, but manageable.

10. Apollo (last dab): I only put a little on...just a dab. That was enough. It's a weird sauce because the pepper doesn't always show up in the liquid, but when it does....hoooooooo boy. I had to take a break after that one. The part of my mouth that experienced that apollo pepper couldn't even take my hot breath on it without intense pain. The sauce itself is quite tasty, but I can't remember what it tasted like now because all I remember is pain.

[savemedrzaius]

Love seeing the different hot sauce labels and breakdowns of the flavours.

[DownInFlames]

I like peri peri sauce on chicken. Nando’s garlic is my favourite but I haven’t really tried many varieties so there are probably better ones.

[keratosis]

My favourite is from Salt Spring Island Kitchen Co. Specifically the habinaro curry orange. So much flavor and just the right amount of heat. Works on almost anything. Sadly only available online or the lower mainland.

[calgarygeologist]

You guys have me interested in getting back into hot sauce again. Years ago I loved buying hot sauce especially because the American SW was a routine vacation area for us. I loved spending time checking out hot sauce in places like New Mexico, El Paso, Arizona, etc. For whatever reason my interest waned and I usually just go with Frank's, Tabasco, Sriracha sauce or a chili paste when I need some kick in my cooking. I probably still have a few old bottles in fridge. How long can hot sauce last? Blair's Mega Death was one of the first hit sauces, and one of my favorites, that I bought which led me down the hot sauce rabbit hole.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by blankall

I have a bottle of hellfire and Mad Dog 357

I bought a bottle of that many years ago, just ridiculous, way too hot. I gave it to a friend who runs a restaurant. He uses it on his "nuclear wings", goes through a bottle every 6 months or so. It doesn't make good wings, good for bar challenges.

[2Stonedbirds]

Love hot sauce! I started making my own as a hobby years back, every year the peppers commandeer more and more room in the greenhouse. So far my favorite varieties for making hot sauce are the super versatile basket of fire peppers, habenero, Carolina reapers, and scotch bonnets. I find habenero and basket of fire peppers add really nice flavor with good heat, while Carolina reapers ect really boost the heat levels.
I like to typically make three different kinds every year. A sweet heat type for those who find milk spicy, a nice and hot type, and then a super hot type that is basically abuse. This year my reapers didn't make it, which was dissapointing but I had lots of habeneros of different varieties so was still happy.
I find over time the hot sauces lose a little heat, but more flavor comes out. Typically I use mild peppers 50/50 with hot varieties to make up base. I prefer Anaheim peppers for this, but bell peppers work well too.

[Nyah]

If you can ever find them, Melinda's Hot Sauces are outstanding. The hot sauce booth at the Crossroads Market keeps the in stock sometimes. I love the garlic pepper sauce and the XXXtra Hot Sauce. They're my favourites:

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Nyah

If you can ever find them, Melinda's Hot Sauces are outstanding. The hot sauce booth at the Crossroads Market keeps the in stock sometimes. I love the garlic pepper sauce and the XXXtra Hot Sauce. They're my favourites:

I was just about to post the same thing regarding Melinda's. One of my staple hot sauces has always been Grace hot pepper sauce, it's got a great vinegar base with good heat but not overpowering



Then I stumbled upon Melinda's Ghost Pepper sauce when I was looking for something hotter, and it's like the spicier cousin of Grace. Same tasty vinegar base, but a little more complex with a lot more heat. Goes great on anything that you want to give you a punch in the mouth. Pretty sure I found it at Superstore too

[Wormius]

Melinda’s are sold at Save-On. I picked up the regular jalapeno there, which is nice. Crystal Louisiana Hot Sauce is also quite tasty.