saulrosenbaum.com / Feel The Burn

I’ve been cooking lately, and I’ve been on the hunt for decent low-carb, low-salt recipes that have a bit of heat, I’m all about the heat - there are all kinds of hot sauces on the market; some hot, some tasty — but surprisingly few that both have decent heat and a flavor.

I’m not a fan of those hot sauces that are so insanely hot that they cause prolonged physical pain, [my tolerance seems to be anything under 100,000 Scoville units] — I’ll list a few of them here to spare you the unbearable pain and suffering

Sauces I’ve determined are too-hot to eat:

• Dave’s Insanity — A reasonable nice smoky tast, but the heat buildup can ruin your night. [180,000 Scoville units].
• Not Cool Chocolate Habanero — I tasted the chocolate before the heat hit me, it was the last thing I tasted for 12 hours [225,000 Scoville units].
• Blair’s 2 A.M. or 3 A.M. — Nothing about this one is pleasant, pure heat; viciously overpowering. I wouldn’t lick this of Lucy Lui’s stomach, if she begged me [650,000 - 900,000 Scoville units].
• Da’ Bomb The Final Answer — Hot, they claim a 1,000,000 Scoville units but it didn’t seem as hot as Blair’s 2A.M.. It has an interesting aftertaste [this one is purely a food additive, don’t pour it on your nachos].
• Mad Dog 357 Hot Sauce — This stuff is hardcore nasty. Stupid heat and a vile taste [357,000 Scoville Units].

Sauces I’ll buy again:

• Mcilhenny Tabasco Chipote Sauce — Absolutely zero heat, but a thick smoky taste that’s equally great on eggs or chicken [2,000 - 2,500 Scoville Units].
• Tuong Ot Sriracha — Sometimes referred to as ‘Red Rooster Sauce’, this awesome sauce is what gives some Vietnamese food it’s kick [Scoville Units unknown].
• Dave’s Ginger Peach Hot Sauce — Very tasty, mild-heat, particularly good on vanilla ice cream [Scoville Units unknown].
• Crazy Jerry’s Mustard Gas - One of the best hot mustards I’ve ever tried - makes the typical Chinese restaurant’s mustard seem bland, excellent on sushi [125,000 Scoville Units].
• El Yucateco Chile Habanero Red - Awesome taste, reasonable heat — an excellent choice for a daily use hot sauce [3,400 Scoville Units].

Note: If your idea of hot sauce is Tabasco Sauce, please don’t try any of these, Tabasco sauce isn’t hot, it’s sweet, don’t even get me started on how thin and watery it is.

Photo Credit: Rui Moura