We Asked Southern Living Test Kitchen Pros Their Favorite Hot Sauce—And This Was Their Pick

Hint: it's Louisiana-style.

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Published on August 17, 2024

Southern Living Pepper Jelly-Glazed Chicken Wings — Photo:
Greg Dupree, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely

Southerners know that hot sauce is much more than a spicy condiment. It's lifestyle, a refrigerator staple, and even a handbag necessity (just ask Beyoncé, who's known to keep it in her bag).

I keep a small bottle of hot sauce in the center console of my car, right next to the emergency corn nuts and the tire pressure gauge—essentials are essentials, after all. So I asked 5 of our Southern Living Test Kitchen pros to name their favorite. The results were vast, but there was consensus.

After much discussion, a few iconic hot sauces came out on top: one clear winner, another in second, and two tied for an honorable mention.

Four bottles of Crystal Hot Sauce — Amazon

What Is The Best Hot Sauce?

"I really like Crystal as my altogether [favorite] hot sauce," says Tester/Developer Julia Levy. "It is a little thinner, but I really like the garlic in it." There is also a garlic-added version, which Levy recommends for an extra kick of heat in fried chicken brine.

The rest of the Test Kitchen agrees. While the Southern Living Test Kitchen mainly reaches for this vinegar-style (or "Louisiana-style") hot sauce when developing for Southern Living, but they also share where they branch out for thicker, chili-forward sauces, especially when dressing up their own eggs or dishes at home.

"There are specific sauces for specific purposes," says Tester/Developer Nicole Hopper, who firmly believes that there's a type of hot sauce for just about every different purpose you can think of. From thick, fermented Thai-style Sriracha sauces to Peri-Peri sauce, there are as many hot sauces as there are regional and world cuisines—and more.

First Place: Crystal

Not only did Crystal come out on top for our editors in a blind taste test, but it's our Test Kitchen's favorite too. "For vinegar style hot sauce, I prefer Crystal," says Hopper, who uses it to stir into soups and broths, like potlikker, or as a seasoning in chicken marinades.

It's also Levy's first choice for serving atop eggs, making it versatile for cooking as well as finishing a dish that's already hot and ready.

Second Place: Tabasco

"Tabasco is always a classic for a vinegary situation," says Test Kitchen Assistant Craig Ruff. "I generally add it to a mayo based dipping sauce like remoulade or comeback sauce. Or I add a few dashes to a pot of beans or soup to brighten things up."

Honorable Mentions: Valentina and Tabasco Family Reserve

Hopper swaps Crystal for Valentina if she's serving hot sauce with eggs. "It has a thicker consistency," she explains, "so it sits on top." Levy was quick to agree, adding that Valentina's consistency is chile-forward, adding rounded-out sweetness to the heat. "it's like Taco Bell sauce."

Tester/Developer Jasmine Smith occasionally splurges by breaking out a special bottle of special-fermented Diamond Reserve Tabasco that she was gifted. "It's a little darker red like Chipotle sauce, but it's aged and thicker," she explains. "It's well balanced and spicy, but you can taste the pepper flavor more and it has some sweetness to it."

You don't have to track down the special reserve bottle to enjoy the same notes—Smith recommends stirring a little bit of dark brown sugar into Tabasco's Family Reserve and cooking it down a bit mellow out and emulate the specialty flavor. I asked how she liked to enjoy such a fancy version of this Southern classic. "It's a very expensive egg," Smith said, adding that she tries to make the moment special. "I shared it with my dad."

How Our Test Kitchen Uses Hot Sauce

Whisked into a marinade, stirred into deviled egg filling, or sprinkled over buttery scrambled eggs, hot sauce is an endlessly versatile ingredient.

Eggs: While our talented recipe developers in the Test Kitchen have different backgrounds and tastes, there's one thing that they all agree hot sauce is great with: eggs. Thick hot sauces like Valentina (mentioned above) or Sriracha complement the texture of eggs, which tend to absorb thinner vinegar-style hot sauces like Crystal and Tabasco. but there's no right or wrong way to spice things up.
Chicken: Incorporate hot sauce into your buttermilk brine for fried chicken, stir it into a pepper jelly glaze, or simply drizzle overtop crispy chicken wings.
Pork barbecue: Sometimes all your pulled pork barbecue needs is a dash of hot sauce to tie it all together.
Gumbo: Louisiana-style hot sauce is simply always an essential ingredient.
Beans and greens: Whether it's collards and pintos, green beans, or chard, just a few dashes of hot sauce bring the heat and zing to all your favorite beans and greens.

More Recipes To Make With Hot Sauce

There's no such thing as keeping too many different types of hot sauce on hand—no matter which way you shake the bottle. Whether you're a culinary professional or a handbag hot sauce connoisseur, here are a few recipes to get started on your journey: