Tried some great sauces at the Austin Hot Sauce Festival yesterday. Pretty much every company had a fruited sauce (pineapple, mango, and peach usually), had a range from mild (hatch, bell, jalapeño) to hot (habanero, ghost, Carolina reaper), used various amounts of vinegar and garlic, and some had great spice blends or other products (e.g., chimichurri, marmalade). Tried a few unique ones including a peanut based one, a mint one, a peppered one, and some interesting citrus (mostly lemon) ones.
My favorites were from Fxcking Hot Sauces out of Dallas (Mesquite). They grow their own peppers, slow smoke the peppers themselves, and source spices and other ingredients locally. They also use a low amount of vinegar which really helps the other flavors shine. These aren’t large batch sauces and are totally worth the $10 a pop price tag. My two favorites were a thick verde sauce (Everede I’m Hustlin’) that had a great mix of sweet, tart, and tang with a spice that builds over time. Would go great on some fish tacos. The other winner for me was their sweet bbq/steak sauce blend (The Mad Cow) with habanero, serrano, and hatch chilies. A great smoky flavor and a lingering spicy bite that was amazing. Another thick sauce I would put on meat, eggs, or just about anything!
A link to their site for anyone interested:
by tanner5586