Hot Sauce of the Month Feb 2017
Unholy Trinity by Irazu Volcanic Pepper Sauce: February 2017
February's HOT Hot Sauce of the Month is Unholy Trinity by Irazu Volcanic Pepper Sauces. It just made its debut last week at ZestFest in Texas, and it is potentially the hottest non-extract sauce on the market today.
Sauce Overview
Unholy Trinity is made up of 75% pure peppers, containing equal parts Carolina Reaper, Scorpion, and Ghost Pepper. It made a big splash at ZestFest in the Fiery Food Challenge, taking first place in the Ultra Hot Sauce category, second place for Pepper Blend, and first place for the People's Preference Award for Best Overall Hot Sauce. The People's Preference Award is especially telling because that's the one that is determined by the patrons of ZestFest who tried different sauces at all of the exhibitor's booths. 
Who Makes It
Irazu Volcanic Pepper Sauces are actually produced by the owners here at Hot Sauce Depot, husband-and-wife Rick and Dawn. They launched the Irazu line in late 2008/ early 2009. The sauces are made in Costa Rica because of the excellent, year-round favorable conditions. They cose the name "Irazu" after a volcano in Costa Rica that is located near to where the produce for the sauces is grown. No Irazu sauces contain capsaicin extract because Rick and Dawn want the main focus of their sauces to be on flavor, so their hottest sauces get their heat strictly from the type of pepper used.
What It Tastes Like
Unholy Trinity is one of those "hottest of the hot" sauces made for those who crave heat and flavor, so depending on your tolerance a little can go a long way here. Generally, I'm not a huge fan of the flavor of Carolina Reaper peppers although they pack an insane amount of heat, but the Scorpion and Ghost Peppers balance out the taste of the Reaper. So you get that extra burst of fire from the Reaper without too much of the bitter flavor. The heat experience is satisfying as well because you get different dimensions of heat from the different peppers. Depending on how much of each pepper you get in each bite (which does vary--because you can see the chunks of pepper in this sauce), you could start off by thinking, "hey, this isn't too hot" before it starts building to the point of making your eyes water.
Tip of the Month
When I was trying to think of a good tip for y'all for enjoying this sauce, Lindsey here at the warehouse said she likes it on breakfast tacos. However, she has a much higher heat tolerance than I do, so I personally wouldn't be able to just pour Unholy Trinity all over my taco or burrito. If you're tough like Lindsey, feel free to give that a try! But if you need to ingest your Unholy Trinity in smaller doses, try this variation below by cooking a small amount into your taco meat.
Unholy Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion chopped
- Unholy Trinity Hot Sauce (to taste)
- 1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce
- Either soft tortillas or hard taco shells
- Shredded cheese (taco blend or cheddar)
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 3/4 cup salsa
- 3/4 cup sour cream
Directions
1. Heat oven to 250°F. In medium skillet, brown ground beef with onion over medium heat. Sprinkle in Unholy Trinity based on your heat tolerance (at least 1 teaspoon). Stir frequently until beef is thoroughly cooked.
2. Stir in tomato sauce, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Put your taco shells or tortillas on an ungreased cookie sheet and warm in the oven at 250°F for about 5 minutes.
4. Assemble your tacos! Layer beef mixture, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. in each taco. Serve with salsa; top with sour cream.
5. Enjoy!
Thanks again for being a part of the club! See you next month!
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