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Hot Sauce of the Month May 2017

Ass Reaper Hot Sauce: May 2017

hotsauceofthemonthclub.jpgMay's Hot Sauce of the Month is the Ass Reaper, a super hot sauce made with Habanero peppers, Scotch Bonnet peppers, and pure pepper extract. Although it's got "Reaper" in the name, it's referring to the verb and not the infamous "Carolina Reaper Pepper," which is the current record-holder for World's Hottest Pepper. This sauce has been around since before the Carolina Reaper was even cultivated.

Sauce Overview
The Ass Reaper is an extremely hot sauce, but not intolerably so (as long as you don't chug it or something). It contains pepper extract, which dilutes the flavor in my opinion, but the Ass Reaper has actually been acclaimed by many for having a decent flavor on top of its solid heat. It also features a cute little skull and cape to round out the "Reaper" persona and add some collector's value. 

Ass Reaper Hot Sauce Who Makes It
Ass Reaper Hot Sauce is produced by the Figueroa brothers, two brothers who grew up in New Orleans and loved spicy foods. As adults, the Figueroa brothers had the opportunity to travel the world and learn about new cuisines and local flavor from their travels, which gave them the idea of turning their passion for delicious, spicy foods into a business. Today, the Figueroa Brothers produce several well-known brands of hot sauce, including Melinda’s, the Cheech, Ass in the Tub, and the Hottest F’n Sauces.

What It Tastes Like
Whether you like the sauce or not depends on how you feel about pepper extracts on the whole, but this one isn't as bitter as many other sauces that contain extract. It's made with two types of Habaneros, one of them being the Scotch Bonnet, which is one of my favorite peppers due to its slightly citrus taste. It's too hot for me to use as a condiment, it makes a great cooking sauce when you want to up the heat in a dish without influencing the flavor too much. I think this would be best used in a soup, stew, or chili.

Tip of the Month
Your best bet is to work this into a recipe that will benefit from the sauce’s heat and not rely on it for flavor, like the Beef Stew below.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 14- to 16-ounce can whole tomatoes, including juice
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons Ass Reaper Hot Sauce
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 15 1/2-ounce can hominy, rinsed

Directions

  1. Pat beef dry and season with salt and pepper.

  2. Heat oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown meat in 2 batches, transferring to a plate as browned.

  3. Return all meat to skillet. Add onion, garlic, and cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

  4. Puree tomatoes with juice, chiles, adobo sauce, and water in a blender or food processor and add to meat mixture.

  5. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender, about 1 1/4 hours.

  6. Add hominy and simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Season with salt.

  7. Enjoy!

Thanks again for being a part of the club! See you next month!

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