I used to love hot sauces and had a variety in stock, and back then I could have happily participated in discussing them. But in the refinement of old age, I have limited tolerance for hotness. My standard go-to hot sauce which I always have, along with an emergency backup jar, is Huy Fong Chili Garlic sauce. Although I always use it sparingly, to me it’s an essential, just like ketchup, except a kind of ketchup where you only use a fraction of a teaspoon. I prefer the thickness and flavour of the chili garlic sauce to their famous sriracha.
I do also have Lao Gan Ma (“Angry Grandma”) chili crisp, but I use it so rarely it’s barely worth a mention.
We go for Mexican food every other week. They have salsa, which may or may not be hot, and two kinds of Tabasco, and Cholula (not actually) Hot Sauce. So I get a side order of fried jalapeños (supposed to be two, they bring three… for $1.50) to cut up and put into my food.
I think there’s some in the fridge. I’ll have to look. I’ll save it for when I cook lamb steaks on the barbie.
A few years ago our freezer contained several bags of frozen peppers from the garden grown over a couple of years - Jalapeno, Habanero, and some little red thai chillis. In the interests of making space, I cooked them up in Apple Cider vinegar, and then blitzed them with the stick blender until thick and smooth. And very hot. It got bottled up and sits in the fridge.
That has been the base for several hot sauces - both Louisiana-style and more fruity sauces. The Pineapple was a hit, but the Passionfruit wasn’t so good. But we go through it fairly slowly - my family are not fond of super-spicy food. I just add it on as a condiment for myself.
Just this week I made up a dozen small bottles of Lousiana-style sauce for giving away at a church bake sale. If it does not all go - it will get eaten eventually.
Just an FYI about hot sauce making-- many commercial brands age their hot sauces. Tabasco ages it in barrels for 2-3 years. This is not to discourage you from making your own hot sauce, just to say if you try the result you might think “hmm, it doesn’t taste like the commercial brands”. But, you might prefer the ‘fresher’ flavor of an un-aged sauce. I’ve made my own hot sauces from peppers I’ve grown, and I’ve had good results from it. It is fun to come up with your own personal hot sauce recipe.
I didn’t know that. Thanks.
I did know that barbecue sauce, be it Crazy Dave’s Devil’s Spit or a much milder sauce, has a LOT of sugar and salt. Didn’t know about hot sauce. I keep Louisiana Hot Sauce, commonly found on store shelves, on hand, but really don’t use it very much. I’ll have to check the ingredients on the bottle.
Cayenne peppers, vinegar, and salt. No sugar. That’s the recipe for the quintessential Louisiana-style hot sauce. IMO, when you start adding garlic powder and onion powder, you’re leaving the state. Add cumin and Mexican oregano, and you’re into Mexican territory.