Ok, done.
I used Fresno peppers because I couldn’t find any red jalapeños. The habaneros and cayennes were from the garden, as were three small Carolina reapers. I was short on the cayennes, so I made up the difference with Fresnos. They have a nice fruitiness, and overlap jalapeños on the Scoville scale. (I was going to use some Tabascos, but honestly they’re nasty little bastards, all heat and no flavor.) I also substituted Grand Mariner for Triple Sec. Otherwise I followed the recipe as written. I used the AR KC bbq sauce. It’s pretty simple: prepare the peppers, then purée everything and simmer it for a while. Most of the prep time was spent cleaning the seeds out of the cayennes.
On first taste, as it was coming to a boil, the sauce was well unbalanced toward capsaicin hot. I added another third of a large red bell pepper, another splash of pineapple juice, and a couple more shots of Grand Marnier. I then brought it to a boil, turned the heat down, and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Final volume was about 40 ounces.
Verdict: This is a nice, flavorful hot sauce. Even with the Carolina reapers, it isn’t an extreme sauce by my standard. If you’re a pepperhead, this is about a 7. If you’re a novice, I think you’ll find it over the top. If you’re an extreme pepperhead, you’ll think it needs more Reapers. I’m not a fan of chipotles in adobo, but here they work well. And, this isn’t a thin sauce like a Louisiana or Mexican hot sauce, it’s more like a puréed salsa.
If you’ve made enough recipes from Amazing Ribs, you might agree with me that there is a general flavor profile that I’ll call "The Meathead taste". I characterize it as a balance of flavors, and complex but not busy. Here, the sweetness, heat, vegetable, and nuance flavors (lime, vanilla, balsamic, garlic, onion, etc) all work together. Kinda gourmet-y, but still down to earth.
Meathead adds a note at the end about personalization. Take it to heart. What Meathead likes might not be what you like. I could easily see someone wanting it more vinegary, or a lot hotter. I myself could take a lot more heat. (I might still toss a couple more Reapers in there.) Meathead says to use white vinegar, I think malt, apple cider, or red wine vinegar would work well. I’m going to let it stand a few days and then try a couple drops of sauce with a drop of each. (I’m not interested in making whole batches to find out!)
Is it my favorite hot sauce? Well, I like different things at different times. It depends what I’m putting it on, and how I want it to act. This will be good on eggs, on ramen, in soups and stews, and dare I say it, on bbq. I might pick something less complicated for pizza or spaghetti sauce. I’ve bought a lot of sauces that I’ve used one time and moved on. This one goes into the rotation.
I used Fresno peppers because I couldn’t find any red jalapeños. The habaneros and cayennes were from the garden, as were three small Carolina reapers. I was short on the cayennes, so I made up the difference with Fresnos. They have a nice fruitiness, and overlap jalapeños on the Scoville scale. (I was going to use some Tabascos, but honestly they’re nasty little bastards, all heat and no flavor.) I also substituted Grand Mariner for Triple Sec. Otherwise I followed the recipe as written. I used the AR KC bbq sauce. It’s pretty simple: prepare the peppers, then purée everything and simmer it for a while. Most of the prep time was spent cleaning the seeds out of the cayennes.
On first taste, as it was coming to a boil, the sauce was well unbalanced toward capsaicin hot. I added another third of a large red bell pepper, another splash of pineapple juice, and a couple more shots of Grand Marnier. I then brought it to a boil, turned the heat down, and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Final volume was about 40 ounces.
Verdict: This is a nice, flavorful hot sauce. Even with the Carolina reapers, it isn’t an extreme sauce by my standard. If you’re a pepperhead, this is about a 7. If you’re a novice, I think you’ll find it over the top. If you’re an extreme pepperhead, you’ll think it needs more Reapers. I’m not a fan of chipotles in adobo, but here they work well. And, this isn’t a thin sauce like a Louisiana or Mexican hot sauce, it’s more like a puréed salsa.
If you’ve made enough recipes from Amazing Ribs, you might agree with me that there is a general flavor profile that I’ll call "The Meathead taste". I characterize it as a balance of flavors, and complex but not busy. Here, the sweetness, heat, vegetable, and nuance flavors (lime, vanilla, balsamic, garlic, onion, etc) all work together. Kinda gourmet-y, but still down to earth.
Meathead adds a note at the end about personalization. Take it to heart. What Meathead likes might not be what you like. I could easily see someone wanting it more vinegary, or a lot hotter. I myself could take a lot more heat. (I might still toss a couple more Reapers in there.) Meathead says to use white vinegar, I think malt, apple cider, or red wine vinegar would work well. I’m going to let it stand a few days and then try a couple drops of sauce with a drop of each. (I’m not interested in making whole batches to find out!)
Is it my favorite hot sauce? Well, I like different things at different times. It depends what I’m putting it on, and how I want it to act. This will be good on eggs, on ramen, in soups and stews, and dare I say it, on bbq. I might pick something less complicated for pizza or spaghetti sauce. I’ve bought a lot of sauces that I’ve used one time and moved on. This one goes into the rotation.
Comment