FeralGoth.com Hot Sauce Reviews!!
Let's start with what's in the refrigerator!
I inherited the "sauce hording" disease from my Dad, who would slowly, but without fail fill the refrigerator door with various and sundry sauces. Steak sauces, marinades, hot sauces, seafood sauces, mustards, etc. Now it seems as I've gotten older I've got that tendancy myself, as my bf pointed out the other day, I seem to be taking over the refrigerator door. Oops. All these reviews are from my point of view, you may not share my exact opinions since our tastebuds are not calibrated the same. Wouldn't it be cool if you could calibrate tastebuds?! Anyway, the self-proclaimed hot-sauce cenobite is here to help. Please enjoy these reviews and feel free to add your own comments by emailing me: feral at maelstromstudiolab.com
In no particular order:
Kato's Island Sauce
Here's everything I like about Indian food without having to actually eat Indian food! This curry-flavored habanero and mango sauce is named after a dalmation puppy, but don't let that fool you, its got a ferocious bite as well as a slightly sweet mango flavor. Tijuana Flats gives it a "middle weight" rating mostly due to the use of cayanne and habanero peppers. This, like many of my favorite sauces puts flavor before hotness though, and Kato's is absolutely bursting with delicious flavor. Available from: katoproductions.com
Mongo Oriental Hot Sauce
Another "middle weight" rated sauce from Tijuana Flats, Mongo definately puts flavor before hotness, with the first ingredient listed as soy sauce. The heat comes from cayenne and jalapeno peppers and is futher enhanced with Asian-themed spices and ingredients like sesame oil, onions and garlic. Great on noodles, though I like to dollop it onto steamed gyoza as often as possible. Made by Garden Row Foods.
Betrayed Hot Sauce
Despite the usual hot sauce posturing and scary-looking drawing of a giant-headed lady on the label, this hot sauce from Deception is one of my new favorites. Rated as a "tear jerker" by Tijuana Flats (2nd to hottest rating), Betrayed still packs a serious flavor punch with the hot. Habaneros and chipotle peppers work together in a tomato base to create a complex hot smokey, kinda sweet but still savory sauce. So far it seems to work with most dishes and might even be a nifty addition to marinara sauce. Made by Deception by Mary's Gourmet Foods.
Louisiana Swamp Scum
A serious favorite of mine, Louisiana Swamp Scum, a "middle weight" sauce on the Tijuana scale is dominated by an intense smokey flavor. I add it to unsuspecting salsas, tacos, burritos, and even GREENS! Yes, Louisian Swamp Scum is the ultimate hot sauce for collard/mustard/turnip greens. Remember that little bottle of vinegar with all the peppers in it on your grandma's table? This sauce renders it obsolete! The actual peppers used to make the sauce are not disclosed, but the balance of vinegar to molasses works with those peppers, whoever they are, fantastically. Made by Mossy Bayou Foods.
The Green Valley Pecan Company Pecan Hot Sauce
Dang that was a long name! Another "middle weight" sauce with an interesting ground pecan texture. Habanero peppers in a tomato and red wine vinegar base play off of the ability of pecan fat to distribute flavor and hotness. Honey balances the vinegar to keep it from being too acrid. A favorite of my bf's, this sauce really has a unique mouthfeel with the pecans and is general enough to be used with a variety of dishes. Available from Green Valley Pecan Company
2-16-06 Additions:
Purgatory's Cajun Bottle Rocket
Extremely tangy and piquant with a light body. Cayanne and thai peppers blend with traditional Cajun spices and vinegar in this "middle weight" sauce. Can get salty if you're adding it to food that is already heavily seasoned. The neat thing with Cajun spices is how (as my Dad explains it) they "make use of your whole tongue". In this sauce, the vinegar wakes up the tip of your tongue and the heat hits the back. Available from Tijuana Flats
Reel Heat's Meltdown Marlin
Roasted red jalapenos and aged habaneros work together in a tomato/vinegar base in this "middle weight", medium bodied sauce. The tomatos give it a very nice non-runny texture that makes adding it to tacos, etc. much easier. It also has a nice garlic/citrus thing going on that helps to temper the vinegar. No fish ingredients so I'm not sure what's up with the name - I suppose its designed to be put ON fish? Available from www.reelheat.com
Smack My Ass and Call Me Sally Habanero Hotsauce
A bright red/orange homogenous (ground up and strained?) sauce featuring habaneros, garlic, and lime juice. The lime juice is a neat addition to the customary vinegar and lends a slightly fruity hint of almost sweet element to this "middle weight" sauce. The heat is steady, consistant, and persisting. Does well on its own or as an addition to salsas etc. especially when cheese is involved. Available from Tijuana Flats since they made it - its the original hot sauce from their "smack my ass" series
