New to Hot Sauce? Here Are the Top 10 Hot Sauces For Beginners
Digg
Share
One of the questions I most often get from hot sauce novices is, "what sauces would you recommend I try?" I could effortlessly rattle off a laundry list of my favorite products, but no doubt several of them would be considered too spicy or too piquant for beginners to consume more than one drop.
Perhaps you deem yourself one of these people; you're new to chile pepper sauces or spicy dishes, or perhaps you simply don't like atomic-level heat in your food. You could have tried your hand at a select few hot sauces and are growing to like the sensation of spice.
Maybe you want to move beyond the world of hum-drum, mass-produced products like Crystal, Tabasco, Texas Pete's and Frank's Red Hot that reside in every grocery store in America. There's nothing necessarily wrong with the aforementioned market leaders, but there's vaster array of products with more interesting flavors. But with literally thousands of brands and flavors, it's easy to get discouraged when deciding which sauces to purchase.
Fear not, for I have compiled a list of what I consider a list of roughly ten hot sauces I think are the best for hot sauce beginners to try out. All are cream of the crop when it comes to taste, and most of highly versatile. What about heat? Some are a little pungent, but don't worry; none of these on the list should leave you screaming in agony or running for a glass of cold milk.
Half Moon Bay Trading Co. Iguana Mean Green Jalapeno Pepper Sauce
I'm not huge into jalapeno sauces, but Iguana Mean Green does this popular pepper right. Very mild heat and a basic savoriness are hallmarks of this elixir.
CaJohn's Gourmet Chipotle Hot Sauce
Another great offering from CaJohn's Fiery Foods. Lip-smacking tasty and smokey, this one does well on burgers, steaks and nachos.
Cholula
Hey, just because this is a highly-recognized, readily-available brand doesn't mean it doesn't deliver the goods. Richer than the "pepper-colored vinegars" that populate the sub-genre of hot sauces known as Louisiana Style, this flat-out tastes great and packs a mild-medium spice punch.
Ott's Original Wing Sauce
I've praised Ott's Buffalo Wing Sauce in text, in audio, and on video. If you know me well, you know that I love Ott's. For beginners, this product is a nice hint at what buffalo sauces should really be. Forget all the other watered-down pretenders lining your supermarket shelves; Ott's has a superb flavor, a rich n' creamy texture and won't burn your tongue. Its gentle heat will merely provide a spicy tingle while your taste buds are sent to heaven.
Cheater 5 Totally Tubular Taco Sauce
Looking for something a bit different the next time you have taco or burrito night? Open a bottle of Cheater 5 Totally Tubular Salsa Taquera. Its tomato-like present also is yummy on pizza and as a zingy salad dressing.
Georgia Peach and Vidalia Onion Hot Sauce
This obliterates the lines between hot sauces, barbecue sauces and steak sauces. It's all of those, but so much more. This sweet, savory blend is fruity, rich and most importantly, delicious. Georgia Peach and Vidalia Onion Hot Sauce is fantastic on everything from tacos to pulled pork. Do you have a wife or significant other who hates hot sauces or thinks that they exist solely to burn your mouth? Give her some of this, and she will completely change her mind.
Ring of Fire "Garden Fresh" Chile Sauce
Mike and Diane's Gourmet Kitchen are quite skillful at juggling delicate flavors, and keep the balls high in the air with this veggie-dominated liquid. Contains spices, herbs, tomatoes, garlic, serrano chiles, onions and vinegar.
Marie Sharp's Mild Habanero Pepper Sauce
Belize-based sauce maker Marie Sharp's wrote the book on spicy, carrot-based condiments. While not as tongue-scorching as their original Hot Habanero Pepper Sauce, this milder version packs a lot of the same flavor and goes with everything.
Nando's Chickenland Hot Sweet Peri-Peri Sauce
This one tastes of tomatoes, bell peppers and African Bird's Eye pepper, with touches of onions, citrus and garlic. As the name implies, chicken is good with this, as is pasta and casserole dishes.
Louisiana Gold Wasabi Pepper Sauce
This major brand attempted to make the horseradish-esque root from Japan, wasabi, palatable and accessible, and created a damn good sauce in the process
Related Articles:
Spicy Food Reviews - Hot Sauce Reviews, Hot Snacks, Hot Wings, Seasonings, BBQ Sauces, Condiments, and More
Comments
2010-05-08 17:40:24
2010-05-08 17:55:50
2010-05-08 19:53:02
An affordable alternative that I enjoy at home is Tapatio. Plus I love those big litre bottles.
2010-05-09 13:18:48
I dislike Tabasco because it's got too much of a vinegar taste, in my opinion.
I'll have to check out some of these other sauces.
2010-05-10 09:25:57
I will soon be reviewing Ott's wing sauce and will post on www.thehotzoneonline.com when the review is complete.
2010-05-10 17:53:03
Adrienne
2010-05-11 12:23:24
2010-05-11 18:29:58
Volcano Chilli - I've never tried CPP's 2012, but the impression I got from others was that it contained a good amount of heat.
Steve - I can't wait to read your review of it.
Best Beef Jerky - never tried Pico Pica. I'll have to see where I can order it online in the U.S.
Buddah - while Oaxacan is a very, very good sauce, I wouldn't put it among my "elite" sauces. I actually prefer CaJohn's Gourmet Chipotle over it. Apple Canyon's Orange Sesame Dressing & Marinade is a good sauce, but it's technically not a hot sauce.;-)
2010-05-14 16:40:02
Yarnydog
www.cheater5.com
2010-10-19 13:51:06
Nando's has now 4 restaurants in the dc area....far from the 700 worldwide but it's a very successful start!
2010-10-19 14:20:26
2011-09-09 14:21:51
2011-11-16 07:23:25
2011-11-16 07:49:28
2011-11-16 08:49:40
I don't even think you can buy Ott's in Canada...I also agree with Buddah where's the Oaxacan?
Not to mention, you forgot Droolin' Devil's Garlic Chilli Sauce...it's an award winner and a must have in everyone's fridge around the world...;)
Seriously dude, where's the Rooster Sauce? ;)
2011-11-16 08:54:35
2011-11-16 09:48:21
Add Your Comment: