Been going through the “what annoys you” thread and note a chilli theme had started to show itself. So time to out myself.
I’m a massive chilli head. Up until this season (where I was forced back into the renting scene) I’ve been growing a range of chillis, and am always on the lookout for new sauces. The only person I know who handles the heat better than me is the ex-wife, who for all her faults is one hell of a chilli fanatic.
So what sauces do people have and what do they recommend? My current fridge/pantry has the following:
- Tabasco. LOL. Have to include it. TBH I didn’t mind the Buffalo variety they came out with but it’s hard to get and wayyyy too expensive.
- Franks Red Hot Sauce. It ain’t hot. Not even slightly. And it’s wayyy too salty. But it’s still ■■■■■■ nice. Even my kids (4 & 6) like it. Marinate some chicken wings in it and cook 'em slow on the BBQ for a taste of heaven.
- The Chilli Factory Scorpion Strike. Crazy hot. Like, crazy. Mind you when I first bought it I was adding a quarter teaspoon to a curry to add spice (I have to dumb curries down for the kids so I cook mild then add my own heat). Now I’m adding 1 to 2 teaspoons depending how I feel.
Has a good flavour that compliments curries and pasta dishes nicely. Sells as a BBQ sauce although I’d rate it more of a tomato sauce. - The Chilli Factory Reaper Paste. This is insane. Open the jar and your eyes start burning. So far I’ve only added small amounts to pasta dishes. Definitely a fan.
- The Chilli Factory Fiery Frillneck Hiss. This is DELICIOUS. Beautiful and smokey, although not even close to what I’d call hot (although most would). Only issue is the cost - I’ll use a quarter of the bottle with fish and chips. Must try.
- Danny Cash 1%er. This is a vinegary chilli sauce. Very hot, and the heat accentuated by the vinegar. I like it, but I don’t find many instances where I use it as the vinegar flavours don’t meld well when using it to spice up other dishes and it’s too hot to use as a sauce on its own. Would work well in a marinade along with some Franks Red Hot Sauce to make very spicy and yummy buffalo wings.
- Blairs Ultra-Death. This is VERY hot, one of the ingrediants being “natural pepper flavour” which as far as I can tell is a mix of oil and pure capcaisin. Having said that it is also DELICIOUS. Of the ultra-hot sauces this is definitely the best flavoured. Put a small blob on the side of the plate and dip every once in a while for a flavour and heat explosion. Sooo good. Sooo, sooo good. Seriously, for those who can handle it (which is not many) it is delicious. But even more seriously this is probably the hottest sauce here so you really, really need to take care with it. (maybe not as hot as the Reaper Paste, but that isn’t a sauce it’s pretty much just Reaper chillis and stuff to stop it going bad)
I also had a try at making a fermented chilli sauce out of some habs I grew. Basically you make it similar to saurkraut. Unfortunately I put it too close to a beer I was making that used some brettanomyces yeast and peddiococus bacteria and there was cross contamination. Chilli, lactic acid + brettanomyces = wayyyy too intense. It is possible to have too much of a good thing.
As for where to buy this stuff, I get the Chilli Factory stuff from BBQ Galore. Surprised they sell the Reaper Paste and Scorpion Strike without making people sign a disclaimer though. The Danny Cash was a present so no idea where it came from. Blairs and Franks I got from FireWorks Foods online. I also got some dried chipotle, chipotle in adobo and hab powder from there.
I get turned off most chilli sauces you see around. In my experience, the vast majority are just bad BBQ sauces with a bit of heat added. The sauce is not good enough to stand on its own, and for my palate the heat is not enough to lift the sauce beyond mediocrity. But despite my current pantry being full of ultra, ultra, ridiculously hot sauces, I am always on the lookout for something I can pour over some chips or chicken.
For those into the extreme who like to grow, the orange habaneros you can get from Bunnings are actualy a good buy. They put out heaps of fruit, are easy to grow (just give them plenty of nitrosol) and you need to cut them wearing latex gloves they are that hot. Seriously, I spent a night with my hand in a bowl of ice because I cut a couple up gloveless. A much easier starting point for people who like it extreme and want to grow their own, without sourcing some Scorpion or Reaper seeds and hoping you can get them to strike…
Finally, anyone who likes chilli I recommend next season growing some jalapenos and making your own chipotles. Just put the chillis into a smoker with some mesquite (I used a spit roaster with a lid on top, next time I’ll use my new Weber). Grab some (or heaps!) when they are still soft, cut them up and put them into a bolognase. Delicious. They keep soft for a couple of weeks, and leave the rest in the smoker till they are dried and they’ll keep for a year. The taste of your own mesquite smoked jalapenos is something that pretty much everyone, even non-chilli heads, would love.
