i have been partial to tabasco

frank's red hot

cholula

a variety of costa rican products manufactured by different companies, the general flavor of which is commonly known down south as "chilero", all of which are better than good.

louisiana red dot

but i have found, through experiments in my kitchen, the ultimate (to my taste buds, at least) hot sauce is simple, delicious, not overpowering, and inexpensive.

without further ado, i shall elaborate:

find an almost empty large bottle of tabasco.  the kind with the flip off plastic gizmo on the top from your favorite restaurant.

steal it.  make sure you get the cap too.  

take it home, dump out all the stale tabasco, or keep it, or drink it... whatever...

clean up the bottle.  wash it well, in the dishwasher if you have to.  boil it to ensure it's sanitary and you're not going to catch someone else's flu.  

go to the grocery store, get some sea salt.  while you're there, pick up a head of garlic and a handful of serrano peppers and a bottle of vinegar.  white will do, but again, it's to your own taste.  balsamic tends to conflict too many tastes, but each to his own.  

take all that stuff home, peel out the garlic and cut each clove in half.  wash off all the serranos, trim off the stem, and cut them all in half lengthwise.  get a funnel and your smallest stovetop pot.  

now, you're ready for culinary titillation extraordinaire.  

put 1 tablespoon of sea salt in the clean and (hopefully) sanitized bottle via the funnel.  take all the garlic cloves and stuff them in one at a time so they cover the salt on the bottom.  then stuff all the serranos in one at a time, periodically packing them in the bottle by slapping it on the palm of your hand.  

boil the vinegar until it's at a rolling boil on the stove.  pour said vinegar into a pyrex or anchor hocking measuring cup.  measuring cups have pouring spouts on them so you don't make a mess and spill boiling vinegar on yourself or onlookers.  pour said vinegar into the bottle until it's about 1/2 inch from the top.  

DO NOT GRAB THE BOTTLE.  

it is hot.  it will make you drop your new creation on the tile kitchen floor.  let it cool off slowly so you don't break the glass.  after about 1/2 hour, put the little plastic thingy back on the bottle and cap it, shake it until the salt in the bottom disappears.  

let it sit on the counter overnight.  

put it in the fridge the next day.  

the second morning, sprinkle some on your eggs.  you can then try it on the hamburger you have for lunch.  or the mashed potatos you have for supper, or the broccoli, or the creamed peas...

the list goes on.  this concoction is especially delicious with soups, stews, chicken pot pies, the list goes on.  use your imagination.  

when the vinegar is gone, repeat the salt step and the boiling vinegar step.  the peppers and the garlic excrete capcacin (spelling?) and whatever it is that makes garlic, garlic, for about a year.  

after they start to look scary and discolored, take off the plastic thingy from the top, shake the thing over your garbage disposer for about 10 minutes and all the stuff comes out of the bottle.  by this time, you can customize your recipe to your tastes.  this is just a start.  spiced vinegar is wonderful in a variety of dishes from breakfast, to lunch, to supper, to snacks.  

if anyone out there finds a better dispenser arrangement, let me know.  i have 2 local restaurants keeping their wore out tabasco bottles for me, and i make the stuff and give it out as gifts.  my buddies, as a rule, bring the empties back and want more.  

there: i have shared my wisdom with the hive.  i may not be a success in life, but i have damned sure lived mine with the best hot sauce in the world.  

cheers, arfcommers!  

ENJOY!!!!!

Is it just real hot or does it actualy have a good flavor? Most fad hot sauces are just hot, NO flavor, just a bunch of hot stuff so folks can brag.

I prefer hot sauces that actually have a good flavor to them. I had a habenero sauce one. it was not as hot as I expected and the flavor was perfect.

Tabasco Habanero Sauce- much better than regular tabascos, hotter, more flavorful, less vinegary

IBTCock Sauce

I personally like Frank's Red Hot. It's about the same as Cholula imo. Have to give this a try though..

Quoted: IBTCock Sauce

Doh!  I love Sarachi.


Awesome on noodles... use it like a sauce!


- BG

The green tobasco.

and another one called Horney Toad.
Its hot, but i just like the name.

in costa rica, most restaurants have a big glass candy dispensing jar full of boiled vinegar and scotchbonnet peppers and garlic and onions, along with a ladle.  get some peppers, some garlic, and some vinegar, and you're good to go.

the sauce, when constructed as such, is not overly hot, has a wonderful flavor, and by the time you finish your meal your're sweating.  

there is no post-meal bathroom trauma like you get with cooked jalapenos.  

trying this trick with pequin peppers works very well too.  experiment with peppers and vinegars, quantities of salt, etc.  

if you try the general recipe once, you'll start fooling around trying to perfect your own, trust me...

enjoy guys (and gals!)

Frank's EXTRA Hot.

Just the right blend of peppers, vinegar and salt.

Rectal Rocket Fuel - it's a jerk sauce.  Despite the name, it tastes pretty good.  

mmmmm.....creamed pies

Heh, no one has said "taco bell hot sauce" yet?

Tabasco "Chipotle".

I have been assimilated.

Tapatio!!

Also, Blairs 16 million reserve.

www.sweatnspice.com/429-13.htm

I believe that stuff can be fatal.

Da Bomb

Got a bottle of mad dog 357 sauce.  supposed to be 6 million  scorville units.  Its pretty brutal.  For taste, im partial to habanero tabasco.  Love the garlic tabasco on my scrambled eggs though.

I just hose my meal down with Fox Labs, and leave it at that.

Tabasco Original, by the gallon.  

Dat'l Do-It Devil Drops

Great flavor while still hot enough to get you sweating after 2 or 3 drops.

link:  http://www.datildoit.com/devildrops.htm

I like Crystal.  It's not too hot such you can taste the vinigar and the flavor of the chiles and it's cheap too.  

Quoted: Tapatio!!

yep

I honestly like them all. Every type there is.

Cholula's. Best fricking stuff there is. Period.

Blairs reserve.

Why does it have to be sea salt?  Isn't all salt generally the same (maybe not iodized) ?

What pisses me off is when I see cooking shows using course salt just because they can.  It dissolves in what they are putting it in usually, so why the hell would you use course salt?  

Perhaps a chef could enlighten me.

That's great!  I'm going to try it tomorrow.

You ever try to make your own salad dressing?  I'm having some good luck with making Italian lately.  Ironically, I make it in an old Tapatillo bottle 'cause of the cap.

Tabasco,
it has the right level of hotness in my opinion. It's not so hot that it ruins the meal

LaVictoria Salsa Brava.  The stuff is has some kick but not too bad but it has GREAT flavor and really does enhance the food your eating.  YUMMY

Crystal has a really good taste but could be a little hotter.

Cholula

Usually Frank's Red Hot

I do like Tapatito, and Tasbasco Chipolte though.

Texas Pete, which isn't hot at all, is great on Fried Chicken.

Quoted:
Got a bottle of mad dog 357 sauce.  supposed to be 6 million  scorville units.  Its pretty brutal.  For taste, im partial to habanero tabasco.  Love the garlic tabasco on my scrambled eggs though.[/quote34

357,000.  Sorry bout that.

http://www.sweatnspice.com/proddetail.php?prod=2

I've been using some homemade stuff brought back from Trinidad. OUTSTANDING! Apparently made from mangoes or some fruit because it's sweet w/ a smoky taste and very hot. Absolutely the best FLAVOR of any hot sauce I've ever had.

The best was Andre's Rouge, but the company went out of business. I have one unopened bottle left and saving it for... I don't know?  The other would have to be Louisiana Hot Sauce! Goooooood stuff!  

I love Tabasco on:

Pizza
Eggs
Bagels and cream cheese
Biscuits and Gravy
Cottage cheese
Soups (especially cream of broccoli, mushroom, all soups except chicken noodle(I put peanut butter in chicken noodle.))
Mac & Cheese
Cheese & Mac
Tomato Juice
Baked potatoes
Casseroles
Pasta
All Mexican food
Breaded pork tenderloin, wiener schnitzel
Chicken(baked, fried, grilled, whatever, there is no escape.)
Stews (definitely stews with drop biscuits, (if you don't know what drop biscuits are then you need to find out)
Pretty much anything but cereal and milk and dessert.

TABASCO

Quoted: Quoted: Got a bottle of mad dog 357 sauce.  supposed to be 6 million  scorville units.  Its pretty brutal.  For taste, im partial to habanero tabasco.  Love the garlic tabasco on my scrambled eggs though.[/quote34 357,000.  Sorry bout that. http://www.sweatnspice.com/proddetail.php?prod=2

Mines the collectors edition, 600,000   not six mil.  my bad

Quoted: Why does it have to be sea salt?  Isn't all salt generally the same (maybe not iodized) ? What pisses me off is when I see cooking shows using course salt just because they can.  It dissolves in what they are putting it in usually, so why the hell would you use course salt?   Perhaps a chef could enlighten me.

You don't have to use sea salt.  Kosher salt is much less expensive and works great too. And they do have a reason for using coarse salt.  It's not just because they can.  

Normal table salt has anti-clumping agents added that throw off the taste.  It's subtle, but I can taste the difference.  Also, depending on what you're doing, coarse salt does have an effect.  If you're just throwing it in a pot of boiling water, it won't make much difference aside from taste, but if you're putting it on meat, table salt will dissolve almost instantly.  Kosher salt is in large flaky grains, and it will not dissolve nearly as fast, and it's much better at pulling protein-rich juices to the surface of the meat, which will give it a much better crust when seared.

And try salting the rim of a margarita glass with table salt.  

I also keep pickling salt on hand at all times in my kitchen.  It's like kosher salt, but in a much finer grain, even finer than table salt.  It dissolves in cold liquids, and it's much better for salting popcorn and french fries.  It does tend to clump, though, if you don't keep it away from moisture.

Endorphin Rush.

Tastes fantastic, then lights all your body hair on fire.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Got a bottle of mad dog 357 sauce.  supposed to be 6 million  scorville units.  Its pretty brutal.  For taste, im partial to habanero tabasco.  Love the garlic tabasco on my scrambled eggs though.[/quote34 357,000.  Sorry bout that. http://www.sweatnspice.com/proddetail.php?prod=2 Mines the collectors edition, 600,000   not six mil.  my bad

I was going to say -- six million is about the rating of pure capsaicin (sp?).  One drop of that might be too much for an entire pot of chili.  

Dave's Insanity Sauce, Mad Dog 357 are both fun to have at a party.....

Louisiana Hot Sauce has great flavor (it's what we are using now), but not quite hot enough for me...

Here's a good combo:

Smoked oysters (drain oil), douse with hot sauce, right in tin.

Eat with a fork and some Garlic and Herb Triscuits.  Ummmmmm!

I really like Texas Pete for most applications.

Daves Insanity goes in my chili though.

Quoted: Endorphin Rush. Tastes fantastic, then lights all your body hair on fire.

+1 on the "Rush".

Interestingly, it 'only' has a Scoville rating of about 35,000  

Here's a nice little website for Scoville comparisons

http://www.chilliworld.com/FactFile/Scoville_Scale.asp

Cholula for me...

Cholula. Hot, but flavorful.