Point/Counterpoint: Is Tabasco the ideal hot sauce?

the takeout ^

[mylife]

Hot sauce an invaluable condiment for peppering up food that needs a splash of acid or heat, whether it’s soup, dip, or fried chicken. Hot sauce is also a good option if whatever you’re eating is boring or terrible. The culinary world features an entire rainbow of hot sauce, but one of the most divisive is Tabasco. It seems like either you’re a fan, or you hate it. No room for ambivalence here. So, what do you think? Are you a hater or a lover of Tabasco hot sauce? We present both arguments below.

Tabasco is good For a while, I decided I was not a fan of Tabasco sauce. It was mostly because everyone around me said how much they hated it, so I went with the flow. Peer pressure is real. But recently I got to thinking about how much I missed going to a diner for things like a late breakfast. When I go to a diner, I’m not really a pancake or waffle person, I’m more of an egg breakfast person. Omelets, eggs Benedict, skillets, you name it—I prefer that kind of stuff. And it all gets me reminiscing about things like those possibly ancient stacks of single-serve jellies and hot sauce caddies on the table.

While I like Cholula, which is usually in those caddies, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I almost always reach for Tabasco sauce. I really like some form of acid in my food, otherwise it feels kind of plain to me. And that’s why I like Tabasco. The acid thing seems to be the main complaint (that and the fact that it’s kinda watery).

[Oshkalaboomboom]

Your professional opinion is needed over here!

I grow my own peppers, make a variety of hot sauces in all heat levels and I even supply a couple of local restaurants because hot sauces are a rare sight here in Spain. Tabasco is the one people ask for the most. I have a jar of Tabasco Peppers sitting in vinegar right now waiting to be made into sauce.

[COBOL2Java]

I go to an asian grocery store and stock up on gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes).

"Gochu" means chili pepper and "garu" means powder. Note that gochugaru is usually not as fine a powder as paprika or cayenne powder but is most commonly ground to flake size.

[Myrddin]

Dave's has 4 product "gift packs". I was introduced to their products at the local Winger's restaurant about 15 years ago. Instant Insanity, Ultimate Insanity, Ghost Pepper and Scorpion Pepper products are all on my shelf at home. A 1/8th teaspon of Scorpion sauce over a whole baked chicken breast is just right. I need to order some Carolina Reaper sauce. My reapers did Ok in the garden last Summer, but not enough to bother preserving.

[Joe 6-pack]

That’s good stuff. I work with the owner’s wife :-)

[82nd Bragger]

Yuck, sour American crap. Gringo hot sauce sucks compared to the varieties you stated + Picamas.

[gundog]

I’m not sure that stores in this region (PNW)order it, other than the $ store, and they only have one flavor, and sometimes the wing sauce. Years ago, a local Grocery Outlet had tons of it marked down. I still have some. I should order some of the pepper sauce.

[AFreeBird]

Low on my list.

Vinegar should not be the primary ingredient in a pepper sauce, IMHO.

[mylife]

Lil lime...

[AFreeBird]

It’s Mexican in origin.

[Dead Corpse]

I’ve built up an immunity to iocaine powder... /Princess Bride

Tabasco is a gateway drug to stronger peppers. After you get over the masochism of the heat, you start paying attention to the taste.

[mylife]

its all about the taste

[ViLaLuz]

It depends on the type of cooking. The sauces are regional. If you’re doing southern or soul food, you’ll need the Tabasco or my favorite Louisiana Hot Sauce. There’s also Trappey’s, Crystal and others. For the southwestern and south of the border type foods, Cholula, Valentina, etc. In New England, Frank’s Redhot for Buffalo wings and such. In my travels down the eastern seaboard I’ve seen a lot of Texas Pete. Then the Asian foods have their own such as Red Rooster Sriracha. They’re definitely regional tastes.

[mylife]

bufalo brand chipotle is a pleasant cheap surprise in poke chops but I love salsa verde on poke chops

[ViLaLuz]

Ooh, I’ve never heard of Buffalo brand chipotle. I’ll have to check it out. I love the green salsa, too. Now I’m hungry.

[mylife]

89c at walmart

[who knows what evil?]

The Chipotle Cholula is tasty on eggs...you can throw the other Cholulas in the dump...weak, no flavor.

[mylife]

use bufalo chipolte, wwoooseersire, salt pepper and lime zest

[who knows what evil?]

Indeed...a GOOD sauce will ‘burn at both ends’. Double your pleasure. :-)

[ViLaLuz]

Thanks, mylife. Walmart also has a good generic Louisiana hot sauce for about that same price. And it’s probably made byCrystal under the Great Value name.

[mylife]

the lime zest is the key