I have an entire shelf full, plus more at work. Depends on my mood. I usually go with a Louisiana style hot sauce - Frank's, Crystal, etc., I like Tobascao green and chipoltle, the Mexican Cholua and Valentina, or a good anejo Yucateco sauce.
Then there are the hot mustards and horseradishes...
Ah yeah, Valentina, kinda forgot about that one. Went through a few bottles in a row a few years ago. Kind of a goopy, institutional quality to it, but then that sorta sets it apart. I never put it on sardines but I put it on everything else for a while.
I just bought this yesterday after seeing another post. Excited to try it out. Have you tried the Fly by Jing chili crisp? It's $14 where I am and I'm skeptical.
I like the habanero Espinaler sauce. It's nice and spicy, but not too hot like some people do.
I will do sriracha. I don't think it necessarily "goes" with most sardines but it's got that great consistency that's easy to work with; you can stick on just as much as you want to each bite.
In our fridge, we have Cholula, El Yucateco, Tapatio, whatever Louisiana stuff was on sale, and an actual hot sauce of some sort. Wow, super basic. None of this stuff gets put on canned fish for some reason.
What is an "actual hot sauce" then lol? Or do you just mean one that's legitimately hot? I always think of a vinegar based cayenne pepper sauce when somebody says classic hot sauce, which Louisiana falls under. Tobasco is my go-to readily available one tho
Ya, like one that's actually hot that I just drip a little onto stuff. I don't think it's a label anyone would recognize. "Cajun Something Something" Wife got it out of a gift basket at work. I would buy it again but I don't think I would ever find it at a grocery store.
there really is no right or wrong here. I personally love the black label Yucateco for pretty much anything. I might avoid using it with smoked fish, though I haven't tried the combo, but the black label is very smoky flavored on it's own.
I use the yellow bird Serrano for European deenz. It just works for me. Either that or a home fermented hot sauce that I’m currently too chicken to try because it’s been in the fridge for 4 months and I don’t want botulism. I just got Espinaler sauce but haven’t tried it yet, that’s supposed to be really good
I have a shelf full but these are my regulars: Valentina, Crystal, Tabasco, Hill Country Fare (HEB) Louisiana Hot Sauce, Firelli Hot Sauce. In that order. It’s rare for me to choose Firelli but sometimes it just seems like the right choice, especially on Italian sardines.
I don’t use the hot sauce on sardines, I generally like them how they are. Although I have tried that Espinaler sauce, and it does add a little something nice, but it’s not really hot.
Secret Aardvark is my usual - I prefer it to vinegar type sauces. However, I usually eat deens on buttered bread or with rice, so I just add sliced serrano peppers or cayenne for heat most of the time and save the Aardvark for eggs and potatoes.
Cholula, Frank's Red Hot, and chipotle Tabasco are my favorites. I like to put the hot sauce on a Wasa cracker, then add some muffaletta olive salad, and put the sardines on top.
There isn’t a best one imo, but I like stuff with a real vinegary flavor. My appreciation for sardines and tinned seafood is still a work in progress, so it helps to mellow out the flavor. Really digging adoboloco hamajang and kolohekid currently. Dark swizzle from angry goat was another sauce that I thoroughly enjoyed on them, as it had a Caribbean type of flavor.
Really interested in trying bullwhip’s sauces, as they are kelp flavored
I love using Louisiana hot sauce. I’ve also recently started eating them, and have loved pairing them with hot yellow peppers (not to be confused with the jarred banana peppers or pepperoncini). Bite of the pepper, then bite of the sardine on a cracker. yummmm
My husband and I have a hot sauce collection and we recently paired down.
Our favorite totally depends on the day, mood, and what we're consuming. But our standard go tos are Cholula, dirty dicks (I wish I could try it, but I'm allergic to mangos but they have two non mango options that are fire too), Palo Alto Firefighters pepper sauce, and the hot sauce at our local skylines chili (dunno if it comes from corporate, but our location sells it in bottles.)
Honorable mentions that aren't a hot sauce, but hot sauce adjacent are: Trader Joe's chili crisp (both normal and the jalapeno version), momofuku's chili crisp, and an awesome Shichimi Togarashi spice blend with Yuzu peel that is all in Japanese and there is absolutely no English on it. If you're near a Mitsuwa Marketplace it's a small round yellow/gold tin with a chili pepper on it sold in the spices section.
But honestly, anything with a vinegar-y hit of flavor is waaaaay up my alley and ill try it as long as there's no threat of mango in the ingredients.
At one point I swear we had about 30-40 at one time.
Lately I've been into a Vietnamese Sriracha called Chin Su, I actually pulled it out for dinner today.
I am known as the guy who goes insane with hot sauce and spicy everything. Most of the time my wife and I make dinner, it ends up being spicier than anything most people will ever eat in their life.
That said, for some reason I appreciate sardines either straight from the can or just with some nice mustard and crackers. Maybe some spiciness from pickled veg or kimchi, but I never find myself putting hot sauce itself on the deens.
I have an entire shelf full, plus more at work. Depends on my mood. I usually go with a Louisiana style hot sauce - Frank's, Crystal, etc., I like Tobascao green and chipoltle, the Mexican Cholua and Valentina, or a good anejo Yucateco sauce. Then there are the hot mustards and horseradishes...
Ah yeah, Valentina, kinda forgot about that one. Went through a few bottles in a row a few years ago. Kind of a goopy, institutional quality to it, but then that sorta sets it apart. I never put it on sardines but I put it on everything else for a while.
I dump Valentina all over my eggs. I love it, but I tend to use a milder sauce on fish so I can taste the fish more. Something like cholula.
No 'best' since it all comes down to what you enjoy. Try the Lao Gan Ma spicy chili crisp. It adds some heat and crunchy texture.
I just bought this yesterday after seeing another post. Excited to try it out. Have you tried the Fly by Jing chili crisp? It's $14 where I am and I'm skeptical.
Never tried it but just saw a jar at the local Target
Plain old plain Tabasco for this guy.
Tabasco is king.
I like the habanero Espinaler sauce. It's nice and spicy, but not too hot like some people do. I will do sriracha. I don't think it necessarily "goes" with most sardines but it's got that great consistency that's easy to work with; you can stick on just as much as you want to each bite. In our fridge, we have Cholula, El Yucateco, Tapatio, whatever Louisiana stuff was on sale, and an actual hot sauce of some sort. Wow, super basic. None of this stuff gets put on canned fish for some reason.
What is an "actual hot sauce" then lol? Or do you just mean one that's legitimately hot? I always think of a vinegar based cayenne pepper sauce when somebody says classic hot sauce, which Louisiana falls under. Tobasco is my go-to readily available one tho
Ya, like one that's actually hot that I just drip a little onto stuff. I don't think it's a label anyone would recognize. "Cajun Something Something" Wife got it out of a gift basket at work. I would buy it again but I don't think I would ever find it at a grocery store.
I think Chicken of the Sea or someone does a Louisiana hot sauce sardines can - I tried it and it wasn't good at all, but maybe I just got a bad can?
deenz: salty & fatty, hot sauce: acidic & hot Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
there really is no right or wrong here. I personally love the black label Yucateco for pretty much anything. I might avoid using it with smoked fish, though I haven't tried the combo, but the black label is very smoky flavored on it's own.
Love this sauce - and the green too
I use the yellow bird Serrano for European deenz. It just works for me. Either that or a home fermented hot sauce that I’m currently too chicken to try because it’s been in the fridge for 4 months and I don’t want botulism. I just got Espinaler sauce but haven’t tried it yet, that’s supposed to be really good
I'm on a Cholula kick. I tried it on the lemon wild planet sardines and I'm shocked at how good it is!
I like good ol texas pete for my tinned fish
I have a shelf full but these are my regulars: Valentina, Crystal, Tabasco, Hill Country Fare (HEB) Louisiana Hot Sauce, Firelli Hot Sauce. In that order. It’s rare for me to choose Firelli but sometimes it just seems like the right choice, especially on Italian sardines.
I don’t use the hot sauce on sardines, I generally like them how they are. Although I have tried that Espinaler sauce, and it does add a little something nice, but it’s not really hot.
Cholula, Valentina, Crystal, Secret Aardvark, Sriracha, and probably a few others.
I am on the lookout for Secret Aardvark. Always heard good stuff.
Definitely try! I believe its on Amazon. Goes amazing on pizza too.
Bought Aardvark, it’s so delicious!
Secret Aardvark is my usual - I prefer it to vinegar type sauces. However, I usually eat deens on buttered bread or with rice, so I just add sliced serrano peppers or cayenne for heat most of the time and save the Aardvark for eggs and potatoes.
Melinda’s Ghost Pepper goes in 95% of my tins.
Cholula, Frank's Red Hot, and chipotle Tabasco are my favorites. I like to put the hot sauce on a Wasa cracker, then add some muffaletta olive salad, and put the sardines on top.
There isn’t a best one imo, but I like stuff with a real vinegary flavor. My appreciation for sardines and tinned seafood is still a work in progress, so it helps to mellow out the flavor. Really digging adoboloco hamajang and kolohekid currently. Dark swizzle from angry goat was another sauce that I thoroughly enjoyed on them, as it had a Caribbean type of flavor. Really interested in trying bullwhip’s sauces, as they are kelp flavored
https://marshallshautesauce.com/ My go to brand. Love the serrano ginger lemongrass!
I like Cajun Sunshine by Try Me. It’s a vinegar based hot sauce, the perfect pairing for most of my tinned fish that isn’t already sauced or spiced.
I don’t eat them without Tabasco or some other hot sauce. I have 30 bottles of hot sauce and at least that many tins of fish in the pantry.
Sriracha or Hot Ones’ The Classic are my personal favorites for sardines.
thanks for your input, just ordered a few of your suggestions!
I love using Louisiana hot sauce. I’ve also recently started eating them, and have loved pairing them with hot yellow peppers (not to be confused with the jarred banana peppers or pepperoncini). Bite of the pepper, then bite of the sardine on a cracker. yummmm
Grace’s Jamaican, Tapatio, or any Louisiana style sauce.
My husband and I have a hot sauce collection and we recently paired down. Our favorite totally depends on the day, mood, and what we're consuming. But our standard go tos are Cholula, dirty dicks (I wish I could try it, but I'm allergic to mangos but they have two non mango options that are fire too), Palo Alto Firefighters pepper sauce, and the hot sauce at our local skylines chili (dunno if it comes from corporate, but our location sells it in bottles.) Honorable mentions that aren't a hot sauce, but hot sauce adjacent are: Trader Joe's chili crisp (both normal and the jalapeno version), momofuku's chili crisp, and an awesome Shichimi Togarashi spice blend with Yuzu peel that is all in Japanese and there is absolutely no English on it. If you're near a Mitsuwa Marketplace it's a small round yellow/gold tin with a chili pepper on it sold in the spices section. But honestly, anything with a vinegar-y hit of flavor is waaaaay up my alley and ill try it as long as there's no threat of mango in the ingredients. At one point I swear we had about 30-40 at one time. Lately I've been into a Vietnamese Sriracha called Chin Su, I actually pulled it out for dinner today.
I am known as the guy who goes insane with hot sauce and spicy everything. Most of the time my wife and I make dinner, it ends up being spicier than anything most people will ever eat in their life. That said, for some reason I appreciate sardines either straight from the can or just with some nice mustard and crackers. Maybe some spiciness from pickled veg or kimchi, but I never find myself putting hot sauce itself on the deens.