Speaking of sauces, can I pimp Cajun Power Garlic Sauce for a moment? A couple of local Cajun places serve it, and I got addicted enough to buy some for home. It’s super delicious on anything Cajun and on BBQ pulled pork; I’m sure it has many other uses.
(It is more the “couple of tablespoons” than “couple of drops” kind of sauce, though, just so we’re clear.
I fucking love Encona. I even use it in bloody marys.
I used to have an entire shelf of hot sauces, but now I’ve slimmed to three: Frank’s Red Hot, Tabasco Chipotle (when I want it smoky) and a locally made scotch bonnet sauce for extra-hot needs. The regular Tabasco is too vinegary.
[quote=“onalark, post:13, topic:46282, full:true”]
Unless I can cook it down or pair it with something creamy, Tabasco is often just too vinegary for my tastes. (And no wonder: vinegar is the first ingredient.)[/quote]
I’ll second all of the comments to the effect that Tabasco is nothing but vinegar with a wee dab of heat but no discernable flavor. The only thing it’s good for is masking the taste of inedible food.
Try smoke-drying those babies with mesquite. Keep the temperature down to 150F or less, though. Serranos make far better chipotles than jalapenos do.
As for “take it with you” packets, I profoundly miss the ones that 505 sells. They were indispensable packets of real chili sauces that saved me from death by boredom in the Netherlands – and they pack a week’s worth of vitamin C in each packet, too.
Yes, I agree about the Crystal brand. It was on every table in the mess decks on the USS Coral Sea (CV-43) when I served (1983-87). Honestly, I like the Walmart brand great value sauce too. Both are very plain, which is what I want. (Sriracha is also a favorite - and I go for the Yucateco when I want real heat)
I find that actual Tabasco has (to me) a strange or different flavor profile from these two, there’s something in it that is definitely different. That’s why I tend to believe that people who are nuts about Tabasco are authentically making a statement about taste, as opposed to jumping on the bandwagon, or into “the brand”, etc.
Curious if others agree about the difference or if it’s all in my head…
Yeah, I really don’t get someone saying that Tabasco has no flavor; it’s rather distinctive, which is one of the reasons why I didn’t like it at first. Nowadays, I don’t particularly like or dislike it; it’s an acceptable fall-back option when nothing more interesting or novel is available.
As a Flea marketer and sometimes old bottle buyer, I look for these bottles.
Man, all this chile sauce love, and nobody has brought up the venerable Tapatio?
I suddenly have a desire to have a Bloody Mary.
Drunk soup FTW 
When I was stationed at Ft. Polk I kept a bottle of Louisiana Bull or Tabasco in an ammo pouch. C-rats/MREs so much better with it. About cried once when my XO dropped my bottle while using it. That stuff was harder than cigarettes to get in the field.
Today I stick with a couple unless I see something new at the stores. One for smoky, one for heat.
Also like a few others.
Never mind the cupboard.
Two words: MRE bomb!
Thanks for giving me this months background. As to the taste of Tabasco, I really don’t like it except with creole food. That clunky flavor profile disappears and undergoes a magical transformation when applied to a nice Jambalya or Gumbo.
For regular use I prefer Texas Pete, Tapatio or Cholula,
I think it’s a shame for anyone to restrict themselves to just one hot sauce. Tabasco, Cholula, Texas Pete, Crystal, Tapatio, Sriracha, Frank’s Red Hot, Louisiana, Tiger Sauce, African Heat Peri Peri… so many wonderful choices, each with its own merit.
But for sheer portability of hot sauce, MRE Tabasco wins. Now for sale:
Tobasco’s nice and all, but Harissa (preferably Ferrero’s) is the bee’s knees, the earwig’s inner thighs and so much more beside.
That’s why I still end up keeping a bunch of extra hot sauces around, as much as I’d like to slim my condiment collection. The vinegary flavor of Tabasco’s no good to me… except in Jambalaya, where it’s perfect. And as much as hipsters want to proclaim it the One True Sauce, I find that sriracha is at its best in Asian food, where that garlicy sweetness goes naturally with the soy and sesame flavors.
Count me as a die-hard Tabasco fan. I actually like the vinegary taste of it, and it has just the right level of heat. Since I have trouble digesting onion and garlic, it’s one of the few sauces I can use without risking gastric distress. I love the simplicity of the ingredient list; just peppers, salt and vinegar.
Salt, pepper and (original red) Tabasco are the three seasonings that have a permanent home on my dinner table.
The grasshopper’s gams?
I’ve taken a liking to Texas Pete Hot Sauce. It has a good burn and a lot of flavor. It’s not quite as vinegary as Tabasco.
