Top 5: Hot Sauces

Hey all, thought tonight might be a good time to count down my top five favorite hot sauces of all time. I'll also be categorizing them, because three great sauces that all do the same thing are not as good, in my opinion, as one good one of each of three different kinds of sauces. But, that's just me, I like variety in the heat options. I've also not tried all or even most of the hot sauces out there.

Those caveats on record, let's get started.

#5 Tapatio
Category: Cheap, Good Sauce

Tapatio is just another hot sauce that wouldn't be surprising on any table in any greasy spoon diner in America. Ask for hot sauce, and they'll bring you Tapatio, Tabasco, or Cholula. They're all perfectly good sauces, but Tapatio stands out in that, if you're buying your own sauces for home, it is less than half the price of it's competitors. Even the link I've included is a little pricier than what I get at my local grocery store. If you're starting your hot sauce collection, this is a great one to pick up first.

#4 Sriracha
Category: Asian Sauce

Sriracha is a great hot sauce that makes any Asian dish and many non-Asian dishes amazing. This is a hot sauce so good that the name of the hot sauce shows up on the names of restaurant entrees. The heat is there, the flavor is strong, and if you've never mixed in some ginger, or tried a sriracha-based spicy mayonaise, do yourself a favor.

#3 Melinda's XXXX Reserve
Category: Heat for Heat's Sake

Melinda's XXXX Reserve is a very hot sauce. It's not flavorless heat, but the heat to flavor ratio is probably the highest of anything on this list. So, why include it? This is a great hot sauce for when the flavor is right where you want it, but the heat could stand to go up a few clicks. While Melinda's makes some hotter sauces, this is about the high end of where my preferences land. If you try it, and want something more, Melinda makes some hotter ones that, while I haven't tried them, are probably great, I've really enjoyed Melinda's products. 

#2 Melinda's Fire Roasted Habanero & Garlic
Category: Garlic Hot Sauce

Yep, Melinda's makes the list twice. This was actually the first Melinda's sauce I ever tried, and while it doesn't have the heat of the XXXX, the flavor is something truly amazing. There's enough heat, plus a great flavor for fans of garlic. This isn't a "Say is that garlic I taste?" hot sauce. You will know there's garlic here, and in the best way.   

#1 Pain is Good: Louisiana Style
Category: All Around Excellent: Tops of the Tops

This is my favorite hot sauce ever. It goes on or in any dish, but the best I've found so far is to use this as a dipping sauce for fast food fries. If not for the lawsuit-happy, take out places would do well to start stocking this among their condiments. It has a slightly sweet flavor, with a lingering burn. It's a thicker sauce, so spreading it evenly over a breakfast dish isn't as easy as with the others on this list, but still, I recommend no hot sauce as highly as Pain is Good: Louisiana Style.


There's the list, then. Happy eating, all.