Bitter: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Sour/Tangy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sweet: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Umami: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Sour, earthy, spiced
Recommended: Yes
Texture: Medium-thick and mostly smooth
Ingredients: Water, Vinegar, Garlic, Harissa Spice Blend, Salt, Chili Powder
Smokin’ Ed Currie and his Puckerbutt Pepper Company are most well known for Currie’s Carolina Reaper and Pepper X as well as the extremely hot sauces he makes using both. I’ve enjoyed many of his sauces most of them very spicy but that’s not all that Smokin’ Ed and Puckerbutt make. Many of their sauces are available in mild, medium, and Pepper X editions so that you can enjoy them no matter your level of heat tolerance. This Mild Harissa Hot Sauce is an example of one of those. I don’t quite remember what caused me to buy this bottle at the time instead of one of the spicier one, it could have been it was an amazing sale or the only flavor they had in stock, but after having taken a walk on Puckerbutt’s wild side, let’s check out their mild side.
While I do enjoy Puckerbutt’s sauces one thing that I don’t like is how Smokin’ Ed tends to obfuscate the ingredients in his sauces. In this case the sauce details water, vinegar, and garlic but beyond that it’s “harissa spices” and “chili powder” without going any further as to what those spices and which peppers are used. Harissa is popular throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and the Levant though its believed to have originated in Tunisia. The actual spices and peppers used differ from region to region but ingredients such as preserved lemons, coriander seed, cumin, and carraway are common. In Tunisia the pepper used would be one called the bakouti, which is a long curved mild to medium heat chile similar to the Italian cowhorn pepper or the long hot which is used extensively in US Italian American cooking. Smokin’ Ed doesn’t say which chiles are in his blend in this sauce but it seems safe to say they’re milder capsicum annuum varieties. The sauce has a medium to medium-thick consistency and is mostly smooth though you do get some bits of spices in it from time to time. The aroma is more complex than many sauces with exotic spices coming through.
Puckerbutt Pepper Company’s Mild Harissa Hot Sauce is one of the sourest hot sauces I can remember trying. That sourness isn’t entirely from the vinegar, though there is a solid vinegar flavor here, but also has a fermented or preserved element to it. I believe this hot sauce does in fact use preserved lemons because the sour flavor reminds me very much of the taste of those. The spices are also at the forefront. Some of the smoky earthy cumin notes are there as well as something brighter which I believe are the coriander seeds. Carraway is a spice I’m not familiar with in the context of rye bread and sauerkraut so in the context of the harissa I can’t tell if it’s there, especially with the other strong flavors at play, but there is a funky tangy spice in there adding more depth and it could well be the carraway since it’s a common ingredient in harissa spice blends. With the sourness and strong spice profile the chile flavor takes a big back seat. There’s a hint of heat, similar to what you’d get from a typical sauce like Crystal, with no lingering burn. I’d say the chile flavor is closest to a cayenne or possibly a red jalapeno or serrano.
Since harissa is typically paired with middle eastern food I decided to try this first with a chicken shawarma wrap. The sauce blends well with the spices uses in the shawarma, and even moreso with the garlic sauce that that wrap came with. The super sour tangy nature of this also makes it perfect for sandwiches. I hadn’t had a cheesesteak in a bit so this sauce was the perfect excuse to get one and it works well. I also really enjoyed this sauce with scrambled eggs and bacon, the mild spice level is great for breakfast and the spices and sourness of the sauce is great for cutting through fatty and protein-rich meals.
I’m happy to recommend Puckerbutt’s Mild Harissa Hot Sauce. This one is great for the times when you’re in the mood for a lot of flavor without a lot of heat and for the times when you need something sour and tangy to help cut through rich dishes. This sauce is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.
by MagnusAlbusPater
1 Comment
Bitter: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Sour/Tangy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sweet: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Umami: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Sour, earthy, spiced
Recommended: Yes
Texture: Medium-thick and mostly smooth
Ingredients: Water, Vinegar, Garlic, Harissa Spice Blend, Salt, Chili Powder
Smokin’ Ed Currie and his Puckerbutt Pepper Company are most well known for Currie’s Carolina Reaper and Pepper X as well as the extremely hot sauces he makes using both. I’ve enjoyed many of his sauces most of them very spicy but that’s not all that Smokin’ Ed and Puckerbutt make. Many of their sauces are available in mild, medium, and Pepper X editions so that you can enjoy them no matter your level of heat tolerance. This Mild Harissa Hot Sauce is an example of one of those. I don’t quite remember what caused me to buy this bottle at the time instead of one of the spicier one, it could have been it was an amazing sale or the only flavor they had in stock, but after having taken a walk on Puckerbutt’s wild side, let’s check out their mild side.
While I do enjoy Puckerbutt’s sauces one thing that I don’t like is how Smokin’ Ed tends to obfuscate the ingredients in his sauces. In this case the sauce details water, vinegar, and garlic but beyond that it’s “harissa spices” and “chili powder” without going any further as to what those spices and which peppers are used. Harissa is popular throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and the Levant though its believed to have originated in Tunisia. The actual spices and peppers used differ from region to region but ingredients such as preserved lemons, coriander seed, cumin, and carraway are common. In Tunisia the pepper used would be one called the bakouti, which is a long curved mild to medium heat chile similar to the Italian cowhorn pepper or the long hot which is used extensively in US Italian American cooking. Smokin’ Ed doesn’t say which chiles are in his blend in this sauce but it seems safe to say they’re milder capsicum annuum varieties. The sauce has a medium to medium-thick consistency and is mostly smooth though you do get some bits of spices in it from time to time. The aroma is more complex than many sauces with exotic spices coming through.
Puckerbutt Pepper Company’s Mild Harissa Hot Sauce is one of the sourest hot sauces I can remember trying. That sourness isn’t entirely from the vinegar, though there is a solid vinegar flavor here, but also has a fermented or preserved element to it. I believe this hot sauce does in fact use preserved lemons because the sour flavor reminds me very much of the taste of those. The spices are also at the forefront. Some of the smoky earthy cumin notes are there as well as something brighter which I believe are the coriander seeds. Carraway is a spice I’m not familiar with in the context of rye bread and sauerkraut so in the context of the harissa I can’t tell if it’s there, especially with the other strong flavors at play, but there is a funky tangy spice in there adding more depth and it could well be the carraway since it’s a common ingredient in harissa spice blends. With the sourness and strong spice profile the chile flavor takes a big back seat. There’s a hint of heat, similar to what you’d get from a typical sauce like Crystal, with no lingering burn. I’d say the chile flavor is closest to a cayenne or possibly a red jalapeno or serrano.
Since harissa is typically paired with middle eastern food I decided to try this first with a chicken shawarma wrap. The sauce blends well with the spices uses in the shawarma, and even moreso with the garlic sauce that that wrap came with. The super sour tangy nature of this also makes it perfect for sandwiches. I hadn’t had a cheesesteak in a bit so this sauce was the perfect excuse to get one and it works well. I also really enjoyed this sauce with scrambled eggs and bacon, the mild spice level is great for breakfast and the spices and sourness of the sauce is great for cutting through fatty and protein-rich meals.
I’m happy to recommend Puckerbutt’s Mild Harissa Hot Sauce. This one is great for the times when you’re in the mood for a lot of flavor without a lot of heat and for the times when you need something sour and tangy to help cut through rich dishes. This sauce is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.