# Your favorite hot sauces??



## chiklitmanfan

I'll have to break mine into 3 general categories and no, I do not put hot sauce on everything I cook unlike some crazies I know with porcelain stomachs.

Mexican: Way out in front of everything else, is Cholula and Tabasco Jalapeno sauce.  No, I don't go HOT for hot's sake but rather as a flavor enhancer.  My one exception to real heat is Salsa Brava, made by La Victoria.  Back in the 50's this was my Dad's taco sauce and was so hot back then that I hated it as a kid. Now, I think it has been cooled down after 60 years and is sometimes hard to find. The intense hot flavor is hard to beat.

Cajun:  The grand daddy of them all, Tabasco red pepper sauce!  My wife and I actually made a 'pilgrimage' to Avery Island Louisiana to appreciate this fabled product up close and personal.  Avery Island is actually the tip of a prehistoric salt dome that sticks out of the bayous.  Fascinating place and worth the trip.

Southern and low-country cuisine:  I love Crystal hot sauce the best because it gives tremendous flavor without a lot of heat and it is reasonably priced.


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## Steve Kroll

For the most part, I'll go along with your choices. I like all of those, too.

Two other general purpose sauces I like are Tabasco Chipotle Sauce and Sriracha. I also keep a jar of Sambal Oelek in the fridge to kick up Chinese takeout a little.


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## Andy M.

No surprises here.  Tabasco Original, Green and Chipotle.  Frank's for wings.  Sambal Olek, Sriracha and chili oil for Asian.


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## Dawgluver

*Your favorite hot sauces ??*

I have a love affair going with Tabasco Chipotle, it transforms eggs to a new level.  And I really like Shark Sriracha and Franks.


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## GotGarlic

I like Texas Pete for general use, Tapatío for Mexican, and sriracha or Thai sweet chili sauce for Asian. I want to try sambal oelek but I forgot to buy it the last time I was at the Asian grocery store.


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## CraigC

Xni Pec, Gochujang, Kimchi Base, Sambal Oelek, Sriracha, Crystal, Tabasco (both original and Jap), Franks, Chipoltle in Adobo and Dave's Insanity (used very sparingly). There are others I haven't tried, I'm sure!


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## FrankZ

Not a fan of Crystal, but I do like the Tabasco sauces.

I also like Crabanero on seafood.  I also use Frank's wing sauce for my wings usually and Nando's hot sauce as well.


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## GotGarlic

I bought Dave's Insanity hot sauce for DH, but it's hotter than we like. We use it occasionally, and sparingly, but it's been in the fridge for a while


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## PrincessFiona60

Tabasco, original, jalapeno and chipotle.  I like the chipotle in my V-8 juice the best!

Shrek likes Cholula and the Tabasco's.


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## danbuter

Franks.


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## Roll_Bones

I like Crystal or Franks for wings and everyday use.

I do not like Texas Pete at all.

Costco has both Franks and Tabasco Brand on the shelf and i always have both on hand.
The Tabasco Brand is a bit hot.  Maybe a bit too hot?


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## GotGarlic

Roll_Bones said:


> I like Crystal or Franks for wings and everyday use.
> 
> I do not like Texas Pete at all.
> 
> Costco has both Franks and Tabasco Brand on the shelf and i always have both on hand.
> The Tabasco Brand is a bit hot.  Maybe a bit too hot?



Tabasco is a fairly hot pepper, so the sauce is going to be hot. If you think it's too hot, though, stay away from all those above it on this chart  From Chilli Facts » Pure-Sauce.Com


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## Kayelle

I don't like any hot sauce that has vinegar as the first ingredient, in fact until I discovered this I thought all hot sauces were terrible. Thanks to DC, I found this a few years ago and it's all I use........good stuff indeed.


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## chiklitmanfan

Thanks for sharing...this has been fun and informative.  I have seen Sriracha (sp?) chili sauce at the stores but never tried it. It is definitely on my shopping list because we cook a lot of Asian dishes.  Frank's seems to be the 'standard' for hot wings.  I've also tasted some scorching hot barbecue sauces and think anything so hot that it overpowers the flavor of good pork or brisket barbecue is a cop-out.


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## Andy M.

I like hot sauce on/in some things but not a lot of things.  I don't care for hot BBQ sauce but like Tabasco on mac and cheese.  Hot wings but not hot cheese.  You get the idea.


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## Steve Kroll

Here's one that I'm sure most DC folks will find strange, if not an outright crime: I only eat pizza with Tabasco sauce on it. 

It was a taste I developed as a teenager and, to this day, I don't care for pizza without it. A lot of places don't have Tabasco on hand, so my wife always carries a mini bottle in her purse.

I've had pizza in Naples Italy, and am sure I offended more than a few of the nationals by dousing their local pies with hot sauce.


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## Dawgluver

*Your favorite hot sauces ??*

I don't find it strange.  We only eat pizza with "sprinkles" (hot pepper flakes).  Will have to try the Tabasco.


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## Kayelle

chiklitmanfan said:


> Thanks for sharing...this has been fun and informative.  I have seen Sriracha (sp?) chili sauce at the stores but never tried it. *It is definitely on my shopping list because we cook a lot of Asian dishes.  *Frank's seems to be the 'standard' for hot wings.  I've also tasted some scorching hot barbecue sauces and think anything so hot that it overpowers the flavor of good pork or brisket barbecue is a cop-out.



Just to clarify, Sriracha is great with all cuisines, not just Asian. I do a lot of Mexican and couldn't do without it anymore. It's great on Pizza too.


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## CraigC

If you get into Korean food, you won't get far until dishes require Gochujang paste.


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## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> I don't find it strange.  We only eat pizza with "sprinkles" (hot pepper flakes).  Will have to try the Tabasco.



Same here.


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## Andy M.

Reminds me of the old Tabasco ad on TV.  Guy sitting on the front porch eating a slice.  Shakes some Tabasco on each bite.  It's hot and he's sweating.  He watches as a mosquito bites him and flies off only to explode in mid-air.


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## GotGarlic




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## CWS4322

I have a lazy Susan on the table that has all of the above plus El Yucatreco Habanero sauce. What I don't have in the house is plain ol' ketchup. The OS is in the fridge.


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## Kaneohegirlinaz

Chili-pepper-water
You'll find this on every table in Hawaii, be it in a home or restaurant


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## Zagut

At the moment Yucatan Sunshine is tops on my list because it has flavor plus heat. 

I love hot sauces and each has it's pluses and minuses. Hot is great but not at the expense of flavor. Hot just for hot is useless. 

Keep in mind I have an asbestos stomach so hot for me might be overpowering for some. 

The pictures are what I have on hand and I'm always seeking different concoctions to try. 

I've dabbled with homemade but my pepper crop has been disappointing these last 2 years. 

There is no favorite for me because I find so many different varieties and each one fit's in somewhere. 

Tabasco is a stand by and I've never been fond of Siracha  because of the abundance of garlic in it.

But to each his own and don't burn your taste buds out.


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## Steve Kroll

Andy M. said:


> Reminds me of the old Tabasco ad on TV.  Guy sitting on the front porch eating a slice.  Shakes some Tabasco on each bite.  It's hot and he's sweating.  He watches as a mosquito bites him and flies off only to explode in mid-air.



Good golly...I hadn't thought about that commercial in years. So maybe I'm not so strange.  

Another pizza/tabasco ad...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8oyiHLWUSY


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## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> Reminds me of the old Tabasco ad on TV.  Guy sitting on the front porch eating a slice.  Shakes some Tabasco on each bite.  It's hot and he's sweating.  He watches as a mosquito bites him and flies off only to explode in mid-air.



I loved that commercial!

Oh!  Melinda's Chipotle Catsup...OMG good!!!


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## FrankZ

I like the Frank's Red Hot commercial... "I put that **** on everything"


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## GLC

Sriracha is my standby for all styles,  but I keep Crystal around for when I need something thin that integrates smoothly with a thin sauce or whatever. I was relieved to hear that Huy Fong was apparently coming to an accord with the city that was persecuting them. Also like Louisiana "The Perfect" hot sauce.


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## taxlady

We just go to the West Indian store and buy something that looks good. We've been very lucky so far.


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## Roll_Bones

GotGarlic said:


> Tabasco is a fairly hot pepper, so the sauce is going to be hot. If you think it's too hot, though, stay away from all those above it on this chart  From Chilli Facts » Pure-Sauce.Com



I would not bet my life on that list even though I'm certain its pretty close to being right.

I have learned that heat is not always in the name of the sauce or pepper itself.
I have had banana peppers that made cayenne taste like bell pepper as far as Scovile or how hot it was..
I've had Habanero sauce that was milder than Tabasco brand sauce.
So there are many sauces and peppers on that list that i could eat that are well above cayenne.
In a perfect world, that list would work.

Quick story.
Took a big basket of peppers to the local bar yesterday.  Had over 200 habanero, 50 or so Ghost peppers (Bhut Jolokia) and an assortment of another types..

Had a guy ask me why the ghost peppers were wrinkled and i explained thats how they are supposed to look and showed him a picture on my phone.
Well he decided he was going to prove it was not as hot as advertised and took a large bite out of one of them.
Then proceeded to finish the rest of the single pepper.

I can only say two things.
I felt sorry for him.
I was laughing inside so hard it hurt.  It was funny accept I thought he might actually get sick.


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## GotGarlic

Roll_Bones said:


> I would not bet my life on that list even though I'm certain its pretty close to being right.
> 
> I have learned that heat is not always in the name of the sauce or pepper itself.
> I have had banana peppers that made cayenne taste like bell pepper as far as Scovile or how hot it was..
> I've had Habanero sauce that was milder than Tabasco brand sauce.
> So there are many sauces and peppers on that list that i could eat that are well above cayenne.
> In a perfect world, that list would work.



Yes, like anything in nature, there will be variations. I suspect the list is based on averages. 



Roll_Bones said:


> Quick story.
> Took a big basket of peppers to the local bar yesterday.  Had over 200 habanero, 50 or so Ghost peppers (Bhut Jolokia) and an assortment of another types..
> 
> Had a guy ask me why the ghost peppers were wrinkled and i explained thats how they are supposed to look and showed him a picture on my phone.
> Well he decided he was going to prove it was not as hot as advertised and took a large bite out of one of them.
> Then proceeded to finish the rest of the single pepper.
> 
> I can only say two things.
> I felt sorry for him.
> I was laughing inside so hard it hurt.  It was funny accept I thought he might actually get sick.



Jeez, poor guy! That's what trying to be macho gets you 

When our first German exchange student arrived, we had a nice crop of veggies, including hot peppers. We were talking about the different kinds and he told us he really liked hot foods. I was a bit skeptical, since he grew up in the former East Germany, but I got a cayenne pepper and cut the tip off. I told him to just touch his tongue to the end of the cut pepper, but no - he had to take a big bite. His face immediately turned red, he started tearing up and he coughed. I would almost swear I saw steam coming out of his ears  I tried to warn him!


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## Roll_Bones

GotGarlic said:


> Jeez, poor guy! That's what trying to be macho gets you



I told him how hot it was and showed him the Scoville scale that accompanied the Wiki article before he ate it.
He ate all of it except the stem. Seeds and membranes!
The first bite did not register immediately and thats when he went for the remaining bite.  It was a big pepper too......LOL

It was this information that prompted an attempt to outwit that little device I call a smart phone.
The phone won.


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## Stock Pot

*Hot sauces*

I think Frank's, Tobasco (original), and Sriracha covers it all for most cooking, but I can't help picking up an odd brand at the dollar store every now and then and I have found a three good ones there- Mancini, Tapatio and Louisiana. Louisiana brand is very much like Frank's and the other two are between Frank's and Tobasco in hotness. I'd rank Sriracha almost as hot as Tobasco, but with a flavoring than reminds me of chili peppers. Tapatio also has a chili flavor but is not as hot as Sriracha and it is great in salsa.


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## skilletlicker

GotGarlic Stock Pot mentioned the only one on my shelf. Tapatío


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef

For Asian food - Hoy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce

For Mexican food - Cholula or Tapatio

For chicken wings - Frank's (formerly Durkee's Frank's) hot sauce

For eating with tortilla chips or garnishing Mexican food items - Pace medium Pincante sauce or La Victoria medium salsa


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## FrankZ

Roll_Bones said:


> I have had banana peppers that made cayenne taste like bell pepper as far as Scovile or how hot it was..



You may have had a Hungarian Wax instead.  You can tell them from banana peppers because one will try and burn your cheeks off, from the inside.

They can be difficult to tell apart unless sitting side by side.  

You could have also found some banana peppers that were unusually hot.


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## Cooking Goddess

Did someone say "exploding mosquito"? 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R62Vzp4bXmA



This is what we currently have in rotation:


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## Hoot

I have used most of the sauces mentioned. Our one and only Mexican restaurant uses Valentina, which is pretty good. I recently discovered that the Texas Pete folks have produced their version of sriracha, which is mighty good.


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## GotGarlic

I forgot, I do have an Asian chili garlic sauce I use in marinades sometimes. If something tastes a bit flat, just a half teaspoon or so gives it some nice zing


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## biscotto

I love Frank's and Cholula. And we make a yummy pepperocino oil at home.


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## Andypants

I like any of the Matouk's Caribbean hot sauces, but they are very hot.


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## Andypants

No one has mentioned Goya hot sauce, that is way too sweet.  Frank's is my favorite followed by Crystal, Tobasco is a bit too vinegar-y.  Texas Pete is 4th.

Crystal also makes good wing sauce, but most people here are capable of making their own which would be much cheaper.


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