Favorite Hot Sauce

[Tyrod]

Any self respecting southern household will have some sort of hot sauce available at meal times. Often times the hot sauce will be kept right on the kitchen table adjacent to the salt & pepper and napkin holder. The choice of specific hot sauce will depend on taste or regional differences. Myself, being Southern by choice if not by birth, choose Tobasco sauce with either Texas Pete's or Louisiana hot sauce as a backup or, since they're milder, if I'm not feeling quite as spicy at that meal. I know the love of hot sauce is not limited to the south. I feel that wherever regionally you find smokehouse BBQ restaurants common you'll find hot sauce common. Not just in the restaurants but in homes as well. This includes most of the midwest. I figure in California & NY they put corn syrup on their eggs with a side of tofu bacon.

Now the story turns gross. Many many years ago, because I had a mostly sit on my buttocks kind of job, I developed a hemorrhoid. That kinda ended my hot sauce days. While I experienced the same pleasure going down, the next day was agony. I think you can figure out why. After a while, I began to miss my hot sauce. I discovered that if I only used tiny amounts of hot sauce, the next day wasn't so bad. I also discovered that different kinds of chilis had distinctly different flavors. I rekon since my mouth wasn't on fire I could actually taste the flavor of the chili. Turns out I like cayenne chili flavor the best, but it usually too hot for me. I use it very sparingly. Anyway, I got my medical problem fixed and I'm back to using hot sauce as I please. Most grocery store hot sauces don't specify what chili they use. It's probably like a commodity, they use whatever chili is cheapest that week and blend it with other things to make the flavor consistent. Sort of like blended Scotch Whisky.

Anyway, chime in on where you live and the hot sauces you like and use.

 

[OLDSTER]

Franks REDHOT original.

 

[6518John]

Have always been a Tabasco man, but recently have jumped ship primarily to Sriracha Rooster sauce. Put one or the other on everything but ice cream.

 

[UncleEd]

Tabasco or Texas Pete.

 

[kwselke]

Tabasco Green (jalapeno) makes canned chili edible. Tabasco Chipotle (smoked jalapeno) sprinkled on a cheeseburger makes it wonderful. It also is an excellent marinade for chicken. Crystal (cayenne) for general purpose use.

 

[vonn]

For me moderation is mandatory,I like it but it doesn't always like me!

 

[6518John]

A man who use to jump out of perfectly good airplanes into God only knows what waited below, now complaining about hot sauce! I feel even older now!

 

[wbraswell]

I like variety, depending on the food. On Asian food, sriracha, of course. Fried chicken, Texas Pete. On fish or shrimp, I usually use Tobasco. I really like the Cholula Green Pepper on a lot of things. At our local Firehouse Subs, they have at least 40 different hot sauces that you can try with your food. They put a sticker on them rating them from 1 to 10 for heat, although at least one of them has an 11 on it. I usually try two different ones that are 6-8.

 

[DWalt]

For many years, I have used exclusively a brand called "San Luis" which is made in Mexico (San Luis Potosi) and sold in the H-E-B Texas supermarkets in quart bottles for one dollar. Yes, one dollar. It's more viscous and doesn't run off of whatever you apply it to, unlike Tabasco, etc. which are watery. Not super hot, but hot enough for most purposes. Think of it as a little thicker version of (red) Cholula sauce, which is also pretty good but much more expensive. It may be available at other stores, but for sure at H-E-B. I use about a bottle per year. I fill smaller bottles with it and keep one in each vehicle glove box for use on the road on fast food hamburgers, etc.. At least in my area, it's common to put hot sauce on corn-on-the-cob instead of butter, and I eat a lot of corn-on-the-cob. San Luis is perfect for that.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Fried fish on white bread with a little tarter sauce and a bunch of Frank's! most other uses are with Sriracha Rooster!

For some reason, my wife keeps the Sriracha in the refrigerator and all the others in the pantry. Back 20 to 25 years ago I had a bottle of Sriracha in the door of the fridge, and a layer of something started to grow on it by the time the replacement was half gone the layer was about 1/8 inch thick. I came home one day and my Mexican peatrye dish was gone! I ask who threw out the old Sriracha?, the wife owned up to saying "it was gross!" I told her she had set medical science back 25 to 50 years! Anything that could grow in pure Sriracha had to be the cure for cancer!

Ivan

 

[chaparrito]

I have lots of bottles and often make my own, but my go-to bottled three are:

Herdez Salsa Casera - hot. I like the canned better than the bottled.

La Victoria Salsa Brava

El Yucateco black label (smoked) Salsa Habanera

 

[Onomea]

I been there, and I done that. Two three times 'round the block, I reckon. As for me, straight up, standard Tabasco.

At home anyway.

In your restaurant? Heck, yeah. Bring it on! Always lookin' to see what you got.

It's all about flavor — how the food tastes!

(Not about just blastin' your tastebuds. After all, we ain't in junior high any more...)

 

[Targets Guy]

The one my wife makes. Nothing better.

 

[mtgianni]

Green Tabasco, Tapatio and Siracha all get used. I like the spice of red Cholula but not the vinegary taste.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Being very close to the McIlhenny family I am of course partial to the Tabasco products. The regular old red stuff does it for me. As far as their speciality products I really like the Sweet and Spicy-but the rest of the sauces....meh. I also like the Crystal hot sauce on beans and rice.
It's not just the hot but the flavor and I really like the red Tabasco flavor.
I remember when I was in my teens and was in the factory one day-The old foreman opened up one of those barrels and said hey get a good whiff I was his "catch of the day"

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Started young with my Grandma's homemade Tobasco peppers in vinegar.
Since then, have tried too many to name.
But keep coming back to that old standby, Louisiana Hot Sauce.

 

[JayCeeNC]

Louisiana Brand or Crystal.

 

[OFT II]

Louisiana brand or Cholula for me.

 

[steamloco76]

I like original Tabasco on fried eggs and in bloody marys. Franks Red Hot gets used a good bit as does Louisiana/Texas Pete/Crystal depending on which one I grabbed at the Dollar General.

Sriracha Rooster Sauce, well it's hit or miss. I love the flavor IF the particular batch isn't too hot. They are not consistent from batch to batch. I've also discovered a Mexican sauce, Cholula. Using arbol and piquin peppers, it has a very unique, mild-hot flavor which is really good with turkey burgers, salmon cakes and pork.

 

[rockquarry]

I've tried many of them, but regular Tabasco remains the standard of hot sauces. However, for those who haven't tried it, Tabasco Reserve is the best, in my opinion. Very rich flavor in comparison with the regular; also hotter with a stronger vinegar flavor. Not for everyone and it costs about three times as much as the regular. I've been ordering it online from Tabasco. It may be available in some stores, but haven't seen it.