This Hot Sauce Will Push You To The Limit
What’s your favorite hot sauce? My twelve-year old son is now very partial to Navy SEALs Hot Sauce that I purchased for him when I was vacationing in Florida a few weeks ago.
Ever since William was a little boy, my husband has brought him to The National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum whenever we visit Florida. Located in Fort Pierce on the Treasure Coast, this national treasure is the birthplace of the Navy frogman. When my daughter and I perused the souvenir section of the museum, we had to decide between the Navy SEALs Barbecue Sauce and the Navy SEALs Hot Sauce. We ultimately landed on a bottle of hot sauce for Will, who was vacationing elsewhere. I wasn’t sure if Will would like the sauce or not. But, it was the signature sayings on the bottle that sold me-- “Will Push You To The Limit” and “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday.”
Yesterday, Will finally got around to trying his souvenir sauce and drizzled some on the homemade pizza I had made for lunch. He shook his head knowingly and chuckled when he saw the sayings. He loved the sauce and told me, “It was perfect.” I think it is now the official souvenir hot sauce in our house.
What is your favorite hot sauce and does it push you to the limit?
Photo by Carolyn B. Trainer
--Melissa A. Trainer
John on August 22, 2010 at 06:58 AM
Dave's Gourmet Insanity Sauce. The stuff tastes great, and it's got a really intense burn. There are others that I've tried over the years that have been equally as hot, but didn't have the same taste.
There's a little road side BBQ joint near Murpheesboro TN called Pope's BBQ that's has a great hot sauce, but I haven't been there since I was 14 years old (I'm 40 now) so I'm not sure if it's still there or not. The pulled pork there was also the best that I've ever had.
memomachine on August 22, 2010 at 07:03 AM
Hmmmm.
My favorite is Gochujang (go-chu-jang) a Korean spicy pepper paste. You can use it by itself or more likely as a base to make Ssamjang for when you make/eat Ssam otherwise known as Korean BBQ.
Personally I like buying boneless beef ribs and slicing them into 1/8th inch slices and then marinating them Kalbi style and then pan frying them on the stove top and then eating them Ssam.
Robbins Mitchell on August 22, 2010 at 07:26 AM
McIlhenny's of course...everything else is just a wannabe
Larry on August 22, 2010 at 07:39 AM
For everyday use I like Rooster Sauce, the oriental red thick stuff in the plastic squeeze bottle.
Beyond that I like flavor as much as the heat and I find chipotle based sauces the best.
Ron on August 22, 2010 at 07:50 AM
Forget Dave's brand.
Try sauces that don't include capsaicin extract for a better flavor- and there are many that are just as hot as the Dave's Insanity now. The extract leaves a distinctive unpleasant taste.
Ghost pepper (Bhut Jolokia) sauces, CaJohn's hot sauces, there are quite a few great sauces out there. Marie Sharp's is a great all-around sauce with a terrific flavor and is spicy enough for most. A Ghost sauce will suit the rest of you.
The rooster sriracha is tolerable for pure sweet heat but there are many better srirachas available too. Calling Rooster "oriental" isn't quite right, Rooster is all USA, not Asian at all, and does not taste like a Thai sriracha (Shark brand is great in the "strong" flavor).
(Just one pepper fiend's opinions)
whels on August 22, 2010 at 07:52 AM
My favorite is, unfortunately, no longer available. It was a Panamanian-style habanero sauce that was produced in Aurora, Colorado. To the best of my knowledge, the company went under some years ago. The same thing apparently happened with my prior favorite, Mrs. Dog's Seriously Hot Sauce.
From now, on, I'm keeping my favorite to myself.
Denver on August 22, 2010 at 07:54 AM
Robbins Mitchell on August 22, 2010 at 07:26 AM wrote,
"McIlhenny's of course...everything else is just a wannabe"
It would be nice if Tabasco actually had taste instead of just heat. Too much vinegar, not enough sauce.
D.J. on August 22, 2010 at 08:08 AM
I feel compelled, as a former Seattleite, to mention The Man.
Charles Curran on August 22, 2010 at 09:33 AM
Support the "Seals".
Lawrence Person on August 22, 2010 at 09:41 AM
Those are two different things.
I make my own salsa, but when I pick up bottled hot sauce, I tend to lean toward a hot Habanero-based sauce like Melinda's Exxxtra Reserve. (I've had hotter sauces like Dave's Insanity Sauce, but didn't care for the "darker" taste.)
However, for "hot sauces that push you to the limit," a friend recently got me Melinda’s Naga Jolokia Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce, which is plenty hot, but has pushed the limits not of my taste buds, but of my gastrointestinal tract...
macko on August 22, 2010 at 12:10 PM
yacateo habanero sauce. green, red and brown with increasing intensity
Tom Ganley on August 22, 2010 at 12:20 PM
My current favorite is Try me Yucatan Sunshine Hanbenero. Wall mart has it sometimes.
Jason on August 22, 2010 at 12:51 PM
I enjoy habanero based sauces as well, although, I often chop my own fresh ::: a mixture of garlic, habanero and serrano. By far the hottest sauce I have ever tried was also Melinda’s Naga Jolokia. It also pushed the limits of my G.I. tract, as it did with commenter Lawrence Person.
Steve Skubinna on August 22, 2010 at 12:52 PM
I can't designate a single hot sauce - it depends on what I'm putting it on. Tabasco is a good basic all round sauce, but it is a Lousiana sauce, not Mexican. For Mexican food I prefer Tapatio or Cholula, and for more heat Yucateca Habanero. For fried rice, a sriracha sauce. For extreme heat I much prefer Endorphin Rush over Dave's. When I make chile I use a mix of fresh and dried peppers.
My spice cabinet has over a dozen bottles, so whatever I'm making I have a suitable sauce.
And then, I will make sauces for special purposes - in my mind, nothing goes better in a barbecue sauce than chipotles.
But my point is, there is no single all in one sauce that is good on everything.
Steve Skubinna on August 22, 2010 at 12:54 PM
Oops - forgot my favorite sauce for grilled meats. Professor Phartpounder's Colon Cleanser. It's a mustard based habanero sauce that, to me, sits perfectly on a grilled chop or steak.
Ambrose on August 22, 2010 at 02:47 PM
The oldest hot sauce in America is still the best: La Victoria Salsa Brava. Wonderful Caribbean flavor and no vinegar taste. Not the hottest, but the best. I buy it by the case online.
gonzo on August 22, 2010 at 05:57 PM
Cholula. Best when served on top of pizza.
anon on August 22, 2010 at 06:09 PM
The "extra hot" Texas Pete is actually surprisingly good for a low-cost sauce you can find just about anywhere.
gsarcs on August 22, 2010 at 06:27 PM
Favorite sauce/salsa? Either my dad's or mine. His is roasted jalepeños ground in a honest to goodness molcajete. That is it...no onions, tomatoes, etc. Mine is serranos with tomatoes in a blender. I hang my head in shame to admit that I don't own a molcajete and use a blender. The rest of the stuff wouldn´t, as Cheech would say,"get a fly off." My wife, Irish-German, eats both without a blink...whatta woman!
Dandapani on August 22, 2010 at 06:33 PM
Melinda's Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce. The best. Very hot. All natural. No extracts.
Bryan on August 23, 2010 at 01:23 PM
Rooster sauce, that's awesome. I've got a bottle on my desk at work, and a big one in the fridge at home. I call it Sriracha, but I guess that doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. I also call it Chinese ketchup, which is probably offensive to someone, not to mention that it's factually inaccurate. It actually comes from Rosemead, CA. Made in the USA.
Cholula is a fine breakfast hot sauce, tasty and mild enough to swig if you're so inclined. Tapatio is fine for anything remotely Mexican, just a touch more sass. Valencia tastes strangely like metal to me, but I'll go through the whole bottle for the benefit of the doubt.
Of course, you have your "Louisiana" hot sauces, which are vinegary as all get out. Love them. I like Frank's Red Hot, and even my Great Value brand Louisiana hot sauce is terrific. Pretty mainstream, I know.
Sriracha is still the best all-purpose sauce I've found, goes on everything. I believe this is because it's a touch sweet and nothing overwhelms anything else.
Kaleo on September 12, 2010 at 11:53 PM
No contest, the best "general-purpose" hot sauce is Sriracha. Hot, not super hot, but great flavor that goes with anything.