Dear Hot Sauce, I Love You. XOXO, the BA Test Kitchen
When people fall for hot sauces, they fall hard. In fact, they often leap into long-term monogamous relationships quite quickly, ditching any other flings with nary a hesitation. There's no one better to illustrate this point than Bon Appétit's very own test kitchen. Each member of the test kitchen has a hot sauce that they are absolutely devoted to. Here are their respective odes.
Matt Duckor1/6Is there anything that this wondrous red sauce, Cholula, does NOT improve? Eggs, health bowls, nachos, even peanut butter toast with lime and scallions. The thing about Cholula is that it doesn't just deliver heat—it gives everything great flavor. I buy three bottles at a time! —Allie Lewis Clapp, food editor
Matt Duckor2/6My favorite everyday, multi-purpose hot sauce is hands-down Louisiana Hot Sauce. Not too hot and full of flavor, its balance of heat and tang goes perfect on anything from egg sandwiches to mac and cheese to pizza. I always have a bottle in the fridge and it doesn’t hurt that it's inexpensive and in every supermarket. —Brad Leone, test kitchen manager
Alaina Sullivan3/6Tapatío hot sauce has slowly made its way to the top of my list of favorite condiments. The awesome diner by my old apartment had it tableside, and I'd put it on everything from poached eggs to turkey sandwiches. Now an omelet doesn't taste right without it. It's well-balanced—not too hot, with a bit of tang and sweetness. It's a great everyday hot sauce to ramp up almost any meal (tip: sprinkle over some homemade popcorn!). —Claire Saffitz, assistant food editor
Matt Duckor4/6There's hardly a bite that harissa won't improve. It's spicy and tangy and floral and wonderful. I put a dab on poached eggs, drag my toast through its peppery punch on the way toward runny yolks. It goes straight onto hash browns and coats the tips of my french fries. I swirl it into labneh and scoop it up with crackers and toasted pita. It replaces both mayo and mustard on a cold chicken sandwich. Dissolved into a bowl of soup, it warms all the way through. I dip pizza crusts into a puddle of it and savor the last bites. Carrots roasted with that fragrant paste perfume my kitchen and turn drab winter produce into a treat. —Alfia Muzio, ____ test kitchen contributor
Matt Duckor5/6Sambal oelek, my mouth waters just unscrewing your lid. Tart, sweet, and hot, sambal is my no. 1 spicy lover. I can’t have an egg without it. It makes a delectable meal out of leftover rice and avocado, and just a dab’ll do ya to punch up a brothy, noodly soup. (Psst! Smear some inside a grilled cheese.) Plus, since it’s thicker than most hot sauces, it stays where I put it: no dribbling down my chin, just straight into my mouth. —Dawn Perry, senior food editor
Matt Duckor6/6The first time I had Sichuan chile oil I think I was probably pouring it all over soup dumplings at my favorite spot in Chinatown. That fiery, garlicy, spicy, numbing flavor was so special and haunting that once I learned I could just make it myself (thanks, Matt Gross!) I found myself putting it on everything (and making fewer trips to Chinatown). So it's not hot sauce, and I'm totally OK with that, because it delivers the right amount of heat, delicate flavor and really does go with everything—unlike some other hot sauces that shall remain nameless. Eggs in the morning? Yup. Greens sautéed with the stuff will blow your mind. Drizzled over cold buckwheat noodles with a little scallion and it's like angels are singing. I finish my soups with it, mix it with vinegar to spoon over tofu, I once drizzled some onto roasted potatoes, and I mean... You get the idea. —Alison Roman, senior associate food editor
