What are Good Hot Sauce Recipes for the Holidays?
There are so many varieties and options when it comes to hot sauce; more than I'll ever know. However, when I am looking for Hot Sauce ideas, I turn to the Hot Sauce Cookbook and my friend John Hollner, or you may know him as the Hot Sauce Sensei.
You may remember the black truffle hot sauce recipe of his that we posted for the Super Bowl earlier this year, The Philly Extra Special. This time, he came out with a new blueberry based hot sauce recipe playing on the theme of Red White and Blue. Red for the peppers, white for the White Truffle Sauce, and blue from the blueberries. Born earlier this year, for the 4th of July, we thought it would be appropriate to post it as a tribute to our Veterans. Thank you for your service! This is our hot sauce for Veteran's Day.
Are Truffles Good with Sweets?
Truffles work well with fruit, adding an umami depth that pairs well with sweetness, like truffle honey, or bittersweet, like berries, to create a fuller flavor. The umami that truffles offer can mimic or boost the flavor of meat, when paired with it, or it works well to enhance vegetarian dishes to mimic the flavor of meat. If you have ever had a blueberry or strawberry barbecue sauce and enjoyed it, you can see the potential of this pairing.
What Peppers Can I Substitute for Jalapeños? Why Should I Use Ripe Peppers?
This rojo (red), ripe pepper truffle hot sauce combines both red jalapeño peppers and red Serrano peppers, to give it more kick than sriracha style sauces that only contain jalapeño. Serranos are 3-5 times hotter than jalapeños (20-30,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)). If you can’t find ripe Serranos, you can use straight jalapeños or Fresno peppers (about the same heat as jalapeños, usually sold ripe) and add 1 habanero pod to bring some heat. The ripe peppers have more sugar than green peppers and also have similar tannins that the berries have, so that will help to round out the flavor of the sauce.
Playing with the theme, Sensei added some extra elements to build more layers of flavor. In honor of the battles fought to earn our freedom, this sauce includes smoked onions. If you don’t have them, you can swap in caramelized onion (see his blog on the topic) or 1/8 teaspoon of liquid smoke. Alternately, smoked salt gives another way to bring in those smoky notes to pair with the truffle. As a nod to the many wise generals and admirals in the US military (and for its affinity to mushrooms), he adds a touch of sage.
Keep an eye out for more hot sauce recipes in the future, and check out the 100+ pages of the Hot Sauce Sensei’s online hot sauce cookbook. His hot sauce blog offers more tips on making craft hot sauce and pairing the right hot sauce for every meal, including dessert!
For more on the Hot Sauce Sensei, visit https://linktr.ee/hotsaucesensei, follow him on social media, and use his discount on our truffle products.
