Hot sauce is a condiment which is both popular and notorious at the same time. People who love intensely hot food simply adore hot sauces, while those who prefer plain and simple meals consciously shy away from them. That being said, it is universal to the point of finding a spot on every table in just about every home in the world.

One of the most common impressions about hot sauce is that drizzling over food is the best way to enjoy it. Of course, all it takes is to grab a bottle of El Yucateco hot sauce and squeeze it over your burger or fries. However, not only does this mislead users, but also masks the true flavor of the sauce, particularly in case of certain food groups, such as rice or meat. Unknown to many, hot sauces can be used in different ways to impart both heat and flavor. While heat could be the primary objective, at times an extra delightful zing also serves as an incentive.

Optimizing the Impact of Hot Sauce

If you have been using various hot sauces the same way for all meals, it is time to consider a couple of new techniques. For example, if you have the El Yucateco at home in both red and green variants, try out the following cooking methods to maximize their impact –

Marinating Before Cooking

Prepare a marinade comprising of any El Yucateco hot sauce, lemon juice, salt, olive oil, herbs and other seasonings. Apply the mix to fish, meat, poultry or any other food group, and leave it for at least 30 minutes.

Using hot sauces in this manner ensures that the ingredients of the sauce seep into the food. As a result, the meat feels tender and well-flavored at the same time.

Basting/Glazing While Cooking

Usually basting entails applying oil/ butter on the surface of the food when it is being grilled or roasted. You can raise the bar by several notches when you add a few drops of El Yucateco hot sauce to the basting liquid and apply the same every few minutes. A word of caution while using this technique pertains to the sauce getting scorched during the cooking and tasting pungent. To this effect, basting the sauce mix midway or towards the end helps avoid bitter taste and ensures optimal flavor.

Glazing entails coating the food with a sticky layer of seasoning following the cooking cycle. Common glazing ingredients include maple syrup or honey, both of which can be combined with any hot sauce to create a hot-and-sweet mix. When applied on cooked food before serving, the contradictory flavors add a dash of color to the surface while tingling the taste buds.

Tweaking Dips, Dressings and Pickles

Every kitchen has dips, dressings and pickles to accompany snacks and fried foods. No matter how creamy and delicious these might be, serving them time and again gets boring and monotonous, unless you try something different. How about treating these as a base for creating a totally new accompaniment by simply stirring in a few drops of the El Yucateco hot sauce?

Imagine what would happen if you treat mayonnaise or yogurt as a base and squeeze a few drops of the spicy green El Yucateco hot sauce to create an interesting dip or dressing. Likewise, the red variant of El Yucateco in fermented foods spikes up the heat quotient and also acts as a preservative, particularly if it contains vinegar.

Additional Tip:

Consider using the number one selling hot-sauce brand in the US – our Habanero infused ‘King of flavor’ hot sauce – to experience the unforgettable blast of heat and flavor. Packed in sachets that you can easily carry in your pocket or bag, these aim to satisfy your taste-buds while flavoring your meals instantly, as they have been doing for users all over the globe for the past 65 years.

Is Hot Sauce Meant for a Specific Dish?

No, it isn’t. In fact, this condiment bears a versatile personality that can fire up and flavor any dish or meal. Its fiery taste holds universal appeal, since people the world over use their own versions of hot sauce to spice up their food. So, no matter where you travel to, make sure to sample the local version with your meals and compare it with the one that you normally use at home. For example, while trudging through the Mayan ruins, you might encounter a local version of a Habanero-based hot sauce, which might remind you strongly of the El Yucateco that you use at home.

Regardless of whether you happen to be a seasoned hot-sauce user or someone who is just starting out after plenty of hesitation, listed as follows are some suggestions that you can use on a daily basis –

One-pot Meals

In this era of eating on the run, one-pot meals serve the dual objective of saving time and satiating the senses. Most importantly, these carry plenty of scope for experimenting, depending on the flavors that you wish to incorporate. Surprise your family with a unique one-pot meal by –

• Selecting a hot sauce which complements the ingredients rather than clashing with them, for example a red El Yucateco hot sauce for pasta and meat, or one with black peppers to complement mayonnaise or cheese;
• Skipping too many seasonings and relying solely on the chosen hot sauce to lend its intense touch;
• Raising the bar for heat gradually, especially if your family is not used to the hot sensation that is signature of such a sauce;

Sandwiches and Finger Foods

An any-time anywhere snack, sandwiches can be usual or made interesting with a dash of hot sauce. Whether you use butter, mayonnaise, or cheese for your sandwich, pairing it with a delectable hot sauce could prove to be an exciting game-changer. You can go the traditional way by following age-old recipes of using hot sauce for sandwiches and burgers. Alternatively, you can get creative and whip up your own personalized spread by including a hot sauce in the list of ingredients. Taste the difference when you whip up some El Yucateco green hot sauce with cheese and use it for a cucumber sandwich. Likewise, a few drops of the same in coleslaw can completely alter the character of the filling.

A hot-sauce laced sandwich for breakfast instantly opens up your senses and wakes you up for an energetic day ahead. It serves as a great option for a light lunch which cheers you up despite the workload and is sufficiently filling without taking up too much time. Bite-sized coleslaw topped finger foods form the perfect snacks during short breaks, and balance the sweetness of cakes and other tea-time treats. For dinner, pair a spicy sandwich with veggies to add balance to a wholesome meal.

Soups, Salads and Tacos

Soups and hot sauces complement each other in more ways than one. A golden rule while picking a hot sauce for a soup entails paying close attention to the ingredients of both. For a soup which is inherently spicy, you may want to tone down the level of heat while still enhancing the flavor. In such a situation, a mild vinegar-based hot sauce works best. On the other hand, a creamy broth on a rainy day could use a really red hot El Yucateco addition to spread warmth while providing the necessary nutrients.

Salads require dressings, and this is where hot sauces come in. Mix different ingredients, including the hot-sauce variant, to create a dressing that adds zing to the salad. Adjust the quantity of sauce as per how hot you want the dressing to be, and transform your salad into a yummy side dish.

When you add hot sauces to tacos, they not only become more exotic but also more balanced. With tacos, you can get bold and add a mayo and hot-sauce mix, or simply stick to the conventional method of drizzling some on top.

Useful Hot-Sauce Facts

Being aware of some useful facts could ease your journey into the hot-sauce universe, and provide tips to identify which one works best for you. So, before you set out on a shopping spree, keep these pointers in mind –

• Hot sauces are just as much about flavor as they are about heat. The trick lies in figuring out the optimal quantity that you need to add for flavor/heat. Although it may take a few rounds of experimenting, the rewards would be well worth the effort once you grasp the formula;
• Not every hot sauce is born equal in terms of the degree of heat. How fiery the outcome turns out to be depends on the amount of capsaicin, which in turn varies from one type of sauce to another. So, to put your mouth and tummy on fire, choose hot sauces that contains red chili peppers, as these contain the maximum capsaicin. Likewise, jalapenos contain moderate amounts of this chemical and hence are more suitable for flavor than heat.
• While picking a hot sauce to complement meat, follow the same rule as you would to choose a wine. For example, fish is best complemented with a white wine, and a garlic based hot sauce that tastes just as light and delicate. Red meats, on the other hand, require something stronger, like red wine. Hence, a sweet-based sauce or a truly fiery concoction could provide the perfect flavors.

Vinegar is another ingredient that can sway the choice of variant for a particular dish. Knowledge of how each ingredient impacts the outcome develops over a period of time and proves useful while experimenting

Final Thoughts

Diverse that the world of hot sauces is, there is one for every occasion, climate, or a simple family meal. Once you begin to explore, there is no limit to the varieties in terms of heat, flavor and color. This is also the reason as to why there is no turning back. From spicing up a cocktail on a hot summer day to flavoring the main course and balancing the sweetness of the dessert, the versatile hot sauce does it all.

If you don’t cook but love to try a new dish frequently, store a couple of hot sauces, such as the El Yucateco variants and sachets, close at hand. These are readily available and are easy to use. And if you like to cook something different every time, try using an appropriate type and amaze yourself and everyone else every now and then with a unique and exotic culinary delight.