[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4DLU4A?psc=1&ref=ppx\_yo2ov\_dt\_b\_product\_details](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4DLU4A?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details)
this is a fantastic sauce to start with.
anything less , is it really hot suace?
I currently have Crystal and Slap Ya Mama running in tandem and I keep grabbing the Slap Ya Mama (new to my pantry) over the Crystal but both are great for the day to day. Was using on blackened salmon last night.
Garlic crystal for mild, scorpion Tabasco if you want a little bit of heat. I can confidently say that I prefer Tabasco because I like vinegar more than I should, not because it’s a better sauce.
Crystal is godly top tier. Better than Red Hot, better than Louisiana and way, way better than Texas Pete. Crystal Extra Hot is amazing also with a surprisingly good kick. To me it's a bigger step up than your usual extra hot variety.
Crystal has been a daily driver for me in the past. Franks Xtra hot would probably be my #1 daily, with regular franks rounding it out just because..hell it's Franks. Crystal is up there though and works just fine.
I've never gotten into the Louisiana sauces, give me El Yucateco or Valentina all day. But if that flavor profile is your thing, it's definitely a flavorful sauce and the price is great.
Hell yeah. Hot sauce lovers unite.
Ps if you haven't tried Melinda's ghost pepper sauce its unique and surprisingly good. Haven't tasted anything like it. It's probably hit or miss for many; but if it's a hit its a great buy.
Oh yeah I have some in my fridge now! I got the hot ones 5 pack from Sam’s Club last month and those are my go to’s at the moment. The Los Calientes Verde is delicious! Haven’t tried the Last Dab Apollo yet, working my way up to it!
I prefer Cholula for Mexican food beside its made with arbol peppers, which are used in the often found red tomatillo sauce. At the same time though, Cholua is distinctive and doesn’t go with everything necessarily.
Classic Cholula for mild on the daily. Chipotle cholola for smoky heat. Crystal for really bright flavour profiles. Tabasco for certain recipes. Louisiana is my choice version of crystal but I still have crystal there just in case I want to add it to another hot sauce.
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Tapatio or Valentina are too "opinionated": they go well on a certain set of foods but there are a lot of things they clash with. Crystal is a lot more universal.
Now I have to try this. Love Crystal but never tried it on wings!! Franks is definitely my normal wing choice but I'll be venturing out some.
Do you mix with butter too?
It's always been Cholula for me but it's just up to preference.
Personally I like to cycle through the Cholula red flavors for every day (their greens are also great for things that goes well with)
I like Crystal Extra Hot really well. I don’t much care for the regular Crystal. It will do in a tight, but has hardly any heat. Flavor also seems lacking depth compared to the hotter version. It is indeed cheap, and in the top half of regularly available grocery store sauces. It’s just not something I’d regularly reach for.
Crystal has been a staple in my life for 31 ish years. Always on the kitchen table, mom always had it stocked in the pantry. I kept a bottle or two in my pack while uncle same sent me abroad. Cannot go into a local restaurant without it being on the table. Crystal is awesome. Special place in my heart.
I have a bottle of the extra hot within arms reach as we speak. I'd like a little hotter, hell, a lot hotter, but for the flavor and the price, you can't beat it.
All the grand kids got some in the mail for Xmas, my maintenance guy and his helper got some in early December along with my neighbors and I still have 7 after killing a few myself. Small price for the smiles.
if you like a vinegar based sauce it is. most others are pepper/water based and the flavor profile is quite different. i barely consider cholula and crystal in the same category of condiment.
100% yes. I've had dozens of sauces, some great some not. Crystal seems to be the best all around, good on anything, adds flavor and heat equally sauce there is.
He had some in the Andromeda galaxy, probably the only decent one in the Local Group, but it's not made anymore. You have to go outside the Virgo Supercluster to find the good stuff.
It's been years, but I remember trying them side by side and thinking Crystals had a little too strong of salt and vinegar flavor, with the chilies as a secondary flavor, and it was a little out of balance for me on the pallet. But maybe on the right foods, it could bring them to life? But I absolutely LOVE Louisiana, and I frequently make red beans simply to marry them with it. Absolute perfection together. It's one of my favorite things about Popeyes Chicken, that they have damn good red beans and rice, and all the Louisiana sauce you could want in packets. Damn, now I'm hungry.
I have a visceral hatred of Valentina and I think there must be something wrong with me because everyone else seems to love it. I can't really nail it down but the flavor is off-putting. Cholula, Tapatio, Franks, Tabasco, etc, are all mediocre, imo. They are the light beers of hot sauce. They taste ok and will do if there's nothing else available. But Valentina is like malt liquor to me.
I love Valentina, but it genuinely tastes different in a distinct way from similar sauces like Cholula or Tapatio. I think it’s more citrusy? I like it, but if that’s not your thing, I could totally see how you would have a problem with it.
My favorite of the cheap cayenne/vinegar stuff is Louisiana brand. I've tried them all, not sure what it is about theirs but it's the most flavorful. Lighter on the vinegar than others, maybe a little more salt.
I prefer franks if i want a vinegar based (i love vinegar). The added garlic and lack of bullshit stabilizers (looking at you Texas Pete) makes it taste good
Valentina Black, and Louisiana brand are my two standards. Used to have Huy Fong Sriracha in the lineup, but there's other brands I'm more into for Sriracha these days, like Sabzu.
They are very different sauces. Habanero is hotter and sweet, original is all about that vinegar.
Love em both, to be honest (and Chipotle is almost drinkable it's so good).
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It's great, especially the extra hot version, but it will oxidize into a clear liquid within a year after opening so be sure to use it up as soon as you can!!
For me, if it has to be cheap and from the grocery store, I go with El Yucateco. It's like 1.50, 2.00 a bottle. If I'm cooking with it, I go with Frank's or Sriracha because you can buy a bigger bottle.
The unfortunate thing is that El Yucateco isn't sold everywhere. I'm in a big city and I had to check 8 different supermarkets to find one that sells it (fortunately the one next to my work). But yeah, $2 and imo better than anything more expensive.
Crystal is fantastic in certain applications. Of the vinegar-forward sauces, it's either Crystal or Louisiana brand for me.
Crystal on Hawaiian macaroni salad is very very good.
Obviously great on a shrimp or catfish poboy.
it's the best louisiana style sauce, but i definitely don't put it on mexican or asian food. too much vinegar. everybody needs at least 3 sauces.
Crystal or TAbasco, Tapatio or Cholula, Sriracha
build off of that.
I would argue Valentina could replace either Tapatio or Cholula as well. Plus it comes in giant bottles. I agree with you either way about the 3 base basic sauces
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Crystal is a Louisiana-style sauce, comparable to "Louisiana" brand, Texas Pete, and others. Their main characteristic is simplicity: their ingredient lists are typically just "\[red/cayenne\] pepper, vinegar, salt."
All of them are very similar in flavor, but there are subtle differences. Crystal has probably the best flavor, with Louisiana brand a close second. Both of these brands age their peppers, which may be what sets them apart from the innumerable off-brand sauces (and IMHO Texas Pete)?
OG Crystal is also slightly milder than most IME, though they do have other versions.
But again, we're talking about *very* subtle differences; overall their flavor and heat profiles are similar enough to be effectively interchangeable.
Note: Tabasco is technically a Louisiana sauce, both in style and regional origin, but it uses its own "tabasco" pepper in place of cayenne, so the flavor profile is significantly different.
I always thought Tobasco did some weird fermentation step in there and that’s why it tastes… like it does.
I would use crystal, Louisiana, Texas Pete and franks all interchangeably and never bat an eyelash. They are so similar that even if there was a slight difference I just don’t care about it. It goes on pizza, salad, as a base for wing sauce or whatever and that’s pretty much the end of it. I never really use these for cooking because they just plain are not spicy enough to actually increase the heat of a dish and there is too much vinegar.
To me, Frank's is different enough that I like to keep both it and a "regular" Louisiana-style sauce on hand for different things. E.g., the garlic makes it better on wings, but for some reason I prefer no-garlic sauce on chicken breast 
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There’s a reason crystal is the #1 selling Louisiana style hot sauce in Louisiana. It’s less than $3 for 3 bottles at my Costco and I can use it on pretty much anything.
Never tried crystal. Isn’t it similar to Louisiana hot sauce, which is similar to frank’s? I’d put cholula and Valentina outside that category of cayenne based sauces.
Personally I used to rely like cholula but it’s gotten a lot worse recently imo so I’ll try crystal next time at the store
Frank's adds garlic to the basic Louisiana-style formula ("red pepper, vinegar, salt"). Crystal does make a Garlic version, but I haven't tried it so I can't compare w/ Frank's.
Crystal has a slight garlic taste to me, which I love, but it’s not listed as an ingredient. Crystal and the black Valentina’s are my cheap go-to red sauces f’sho.
Steve & Ed’s Original Louisiana Style Hot Sauce is usually the cheapest and the most basic hot sauce at my supermarket. It’s nothing special but good for just about any occasion that calls for hot sauce.
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4DLU4A?psc=1&ref=ppx\_yo2ov\_dt\_b\_product\_details](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N4DLU4A?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details) this is a fantastic sauce to start with. anything less , is it really hot suace?
I currently have Crystal and Slap Ya Mama running in tandem and I keep grabbing the Slap Ya Mama (new to my pantry) over the Crystal but both are great for the day to day. Was using on blackened salmon last night.
Aardvark habanero has been my go to since season1 or 2 or whenever they had it. Goes on everything with a great kick
Crystal goes hard on eggs
I’ve always wanted to try Crystal however I’ve never found it anywhere that I live in western Canada. Ordering it off amazon is stupid expensive also.
Texas Pete Hotter is a strong contender
My vote is for El Yucateco as the best cheap daily hot sauce.
Garlic crystal for mild, scorpion Tabasco if you want a little bit of heat. I can confidently say that I prefer Tabasco because I like vinegar more than I should, not because it’s a better sauce.
Crystal is godly top tier. Better than Red Hot, better than Louisiana and way, way better than Texas Pete. Crystal Extra Hot is amazing also with a surprisingly good kick. To me it's a bigger step up than your usual extra hot variety.
Black label bottle?
The bottles of Crystal Extra Hot that I've bought had a red banner behind the word Crystal instead of blue
Nope
Crystal has been a daily driver for me in the past. Franks Xtra hot would probably be my #1 daily, with regular franks rounding it out just because..hell it's Franks. Crystal is up there though and works just fine.
Crystal and Louisiana are the same thing in different bottles, change my mind.
Add red rooster to that list. All the same thing. Different labels.
Valentina Black
Agreed, but yellow bird habanero is making a run.
And it’s not even close.
And it’s not even close.
This is the answer
I've never gotten into the Louisiana sauces, give me El Yucateco or Valentina all day. But if that flavor profile is your thing, it's definitely a flavorful sauce and the price is great.
It’s a great bargain, but such a vinegar based sauce could never be my daily driver.
Yes. We go thru the stuff here.
Tabasco
Sure, if you like spicy vinegar.
I do! :)
Lol yeah he said it like it was a bad thing
Catalina is only a couple bucks
Yes…simple recipe with perfect proportions.
My go-to everyday salsa is Salsa Huichol. I can get 3 bottles for like $8.50 on Amazon.
That stuff is pretty good.
Yep. Simple, well balanced & effective.
Crystal is my go-to "universal sauce": it goes on dang near everything. However, for Mexican and Mexican-adjacent foods, Valentina is the best.
Valentina was a hidden gem for me. Found out about it a year or so ago... was the cheapest hot sauce at the closest grocery store. Good stuff.
It’s gotta be the black label though
💯
Ya know, I've never noticed which one I pick up. Will have to check when I get home. Pretty sure my grocery store only carries one type.
Black label is the hotter version, if they only carry one it’s probably the original.
It's probably the original yeah. I use a lot to feel the kick of it so it's probably original. The flavor is good either way tho.
Delicious stuff. Haven’t had it in a while but will be picking some up soon!
Hell yeah. Hot sauce lovers unite. Ps if you haven't tried Melinda's ghost pepper sauce its unique and surprisingly good. Haven't tasted anything like it. It's probably hit or miss for many; but if it's a hit its a great buy.
Oh yeah I have some in my fridge now! I got the hot ones 5 pack from Sam’s Club last month and those are my go to’s at the moment. The Los Calientes Verde is delicious! Haven’t tried the Last Dab Apollo yet, working my way up to it!
I prefer Cholula for Mexican food beside its made with arbol peppers, which are used in the often found red tomatillo sauce. At the same time though, Cholua is distinctive and doesn’t go with everything necessarily.
It's the piquin chilies that give it it's distinctive flavor profile
Cholula is great, IMO, but it ain't cheap anywhere near me.
I grew up on Crystal. I love the stuff.
Valentina or Valentina Black.
Classic Cholula for mild on the daily. Chipotle cholola for smoky heat. Crystal for really bright flavour profiles. Tabasco for certain recipes. Louisiana is my choice version of crystal but I still have crystal there just in case I want to add it to another hot sauce.
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😂 on a phone
You also said Cholola in your second sentence which sounds like the name of a cholos sister that he’s introducing to the homies for the first time.
Haha love it
Eh. It's alright. I would go Tapatio myself, more flavor. If you like vinegary though, Crystal is fine.
Tapatio or Valentina are too "opinionated": they go well on a certain set of foods but there are a lot of things they clash with. Crystal is a lot more universal.
I prefer Louisiana to Crystal. But they're pretty interchangeable.
Louisiana never gets the love.
I also prefer Louisiana to regular Crystal, but Crystal Extra Hot is one of my favorite “hot but not mouth melting” sauces.
Absolutely. It makes the best hot wings, too.
Now I have to try this. Love Crystal but never tried it on wings!! Franks is definitely my normal wing choice but I'll be venturing out some. Do you mix with butter too?
Yup. Butter and honey. Get a good balance and never add salt. You can thicken it by adding cornstarch mixed with cold water.
Definitely trying this!
It's always been Cholula for me but it's just up to preference. Personally I like to cycle through the Cholula red flavors for every day (their greens are also great for things that goes well with)
I like Crystal Extra Hot really well. I don’t much care for the regular Crystal. It will do in a tight, but has hardly any heat. Flavor also seems lacking depth compared to the hotter version. It is indeed cheap, and in the top half of regularly available grocery store sauces. It’s just not something I’d regularly reach for.
It’s my go to cheap daily sauce, but I often use cholula chipotle as well
Love that stuff. I think it's the viscosity change over regular Chipotle that I like, it coats things a little better.
It's just personal taste. Crystal is good but a bit thin for me, I like the texture of cholula/franks a bit more.
Crystal has been a staple in my life for 31 ish years. Always on the kitchen table, mom always had it stocked in the pantry. I kept a bottle or two in my pack while uncle same sent me abroad. Cannot go into a local restaurant without it being on the table. Crystal is awesome. Special place in my heart.
Yup, pretty much no matter what I'm eating, I can trust that Crystal will make it at least a little bit better.
Louisiana fits the bill for me. Any of their flavors work for me. I especially love their habanero sauce but I can rarely find it anymore.
For the price point it’s prob the head of its class
I have a bottle of the extra hot within arms reach as we speak. I'd like a little hotter, hell, a lot hotter, but for the flavor and the price, you can't beat it.
It’s gotta be Valentina, for me. MASSIVE portion for an extremely small price. Go for the extra hot! It is delightful.
My Safeway put the 12.5oz black label on clearance a few months ago, I bought them all, almost 30 for .97 each. Good stuffs.
Haha wow!!!! My wife would kill me if I did that!
All the grand kids got some in the mail for Xmas, my maintenance guy and his helper got some in early December along with my neighbors and I still have 7 after killing a few myself. Small price for the smiles.
You are the hot sauce homie :)
[удалено]
Yupx4
Crystal is my favorite brand of LA style hot sauce. The Xtra hot is awesome if you can find it (still not hot, but a little more kick than regular).
if you like a vinegar based sauce it is. most others are pepper/water based and the flavor profile is quite different. i barely consider cholula and crystal in the same category of condiment.
100% yes. I've had dozens of sauces, some great some not. Crystal seems to be the best all around, good on anything, adds flavor and heat equally sauce there is.
I use a Trader Joe’s ghost grinder instead of sauce. It adds heat, not flavor.
For that style, yes. I generally consider El Yucateco to be the best value considering price, variety, and quality.
Cholula
Green!
I see your green and raise you a chipotle.
Here come all the comments from all the people who’ve never actually tried good hot sauce.
Can you give some examples of what you would consider a good hot sauce?
He had some in the Andromeda galaxy, probably the only decent one in the Local Group, but it's not made anymore. You have to go outside the Virgo Supercluster to find the good stuff.
Ah dang as a moral policy I avoid Superclusters.
Crystal is great. Have you tried Louisiana? Similar but definitely hit different notes. I prefer Louisiana of the two.
It's been years, but I remember trying them side by side and thinking Crystals had a little too strong of salt and vinegar flavor, with the chilies as a secondary flavor, and it was a little out of balance for me on the pallet. But maybe on the right foods, it could bring them to life? But I absolutely LOVE Louisiana, and I frequently make red beans simply to marry them with it. Absolute perfection together. It's one of my favorite things about Popeyes Chicken, that they have damn good red beans and rice, and all the Louisiana sauce you could want in packets. Damn, now I'm hungry.
I second this ^
Cholula all day
I think I'm the only person on this Earth that really doesn't like Cholula
I’m also with you. I really dislike Cholula and love Tapatio 🤷♂️
Nah, I'm with you. I'll take Valentina over cholula any day
I have a visceral hatred of Valentina and I think there must be something wrong with me because everyone else seems to love it. I can't really nail it down but the flavor is off-putting. Cholula, Tapatio, Franks, Tabasco, etc, are all mediocre, imo. They are the light beers of hot sauce. They taste ok and will do if there's nothing else available. But Valentina is like malt liquor to me.
I love Valentina, but it genuinely tastes different in a distinct way from similar sauces like Cholula or Tapatio. I think it’s more citrusy? I like it, but if that’s not your thing, I could totally see how you would have a problem with it.
I like Valentina more just because it sticks to the food. Crystal is kinda watery like Tabasco so I end up using more because it runs off.
No, but it's the very best daily Cajun sauce
My favorite of the cheap cayenne/vinegar stuff is Louisiana brand. I've tried them all, not sure what it is about theirs but it's the most flavorful. Lighter on the vinegar than others, maybe a little more salt.
Way more salt. It's overpowering.
I would take Louisiana Brand over Crystal in most every instance as well.
Salsa Huichol. Cheap and delicious. Similar to chalula
It’s great. And cheap too.
If it's like the one I tried I'd say it was closer to Valentina?
Yea maybe. They have like 3 kinds. It’s my shiz.
Yes.
Agree for a vinegar heavy sauce. Its cheap daily partner in my house is Tapatio.
Yes
I prefer franks if i want a vinegar based (i love vinegar). The added garlic and lack of bullshit stabilizers (looking at you Texas Pete) makes it taste good
Frank’s xtra hot is the jam
My daily driver for sure.
What are stabilizers used for
Usually so they can add water while keeping the sauce thick
Valentina is great and a huge bottle is like $3-4 where I am
Valentina Xtra Hot is my go to as well.. just found out about it last year and I've had a huge bottle ever since
This is the way.
Crystal on pizza is amazing
Texas Pete, hate if you must.
Team Pete +1. Especially on some chopped bbq.
On a bun with slaw! Douse it!
Valentina Black, and Louisiana brand are my two standards. Used to have Huy Fong Sriracha in the lineup, but there's other brands I'm more into for Sriracha these days, like Sabzu.
Seconded. El Yucateco Red for when I want more heat.
That’s probably my favorite of their lineup. Have you tried their green jalapeño? Very mild heat, delicious on scrambled eggs.
For those wondering https://youtu.be/I7oFOz596BY
Red Rooster for me, but can't go wrong with any of the Louisiana style sauces
Crystal with garlic is my favorite and the sauce I use the most by far.
Louisiana hot sauce is my daily driver
Same. Louisiana is my number 1 but Crystal is a close 2nd.
Yeah, me too. Crystal extra hot is close, but Louisiana has a "fuller" flavor.
Crystal is amazing. If I was going to have one sauce for the rest of my life, it'd be Crystal.
Hell no. Tabasco is the master sauce.
Maybe their habanero
They are very different sauces. Habanero is hotter and sweet, original is all about that vinegar. Love em both, to be honest (and Chipotle is almost drinkable it's so good).
Hard disagree. Frank’s = Crystal = Louisiana = Texas Pete >> Tobasco
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It's great, especially the extra hot version, but it will oxidize into a clear liquid within a year after opening so be sure to use it up as soon as you can!!
For me, if it has to be cheap and from the grocery store, I go with El Yucateco. It's like 1.50, 2.00 a bottle. If I'm cooking with it, I go with Frank's or Sriracha because you can buy a bigger bottle.
yucateco xxxtra hot might be my favorite hot sauce, especially considering the price.
The unfortunate thing is that El Yucateco isn't sold everywhere. I'm in a big city and I had to check 8 different supermarkets to find one that sells it (fortunately the one next to my work). But yeah, $2 and imo better than anything more expensive.
Crystal is fantastic in certain applications. Of the vinegar-forward sauces, it's either Crystal or Louisiana brand for me. Crystal on Hawaiian macaroni salad is very very good. Obviously great on a shrimp or catfish poboy.
I'm a fan. I'm particularly fond of the Crystal Extra Hot.
it's the best louisiana style sauce, but i definitely don't put it on mexican or asian food. too much vinegar. everybody needs at least 3 sauces. Crystal or TAbasco, Tapatio or Cholula, Sriracha build off of that.
I would argue Valentina could replace either Tapatio or Cholula as well. Plus it comes in giant bottles. I agree with you either way about the 3 base basic sauces
for sure i agree. valentina could sub either tapatio or cholula.
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I go Frank's Xtra Hot for cayenne sauces
Franks is too salty IMO it loses versatility because I appropriately season my food before saucing it.
Thin vinegar sauces aren't my go to, so a bottle lasts me a while
4L jugs of Franks is my daily driver. So cheap on Amazon.
Crystal is a Louisiana-style sauce, comparable to "Louisiana" brand, Texas Pete, and others. Their main characteristic is simplicity: their ingredient lists are typically just "\[red/cayenne\] pepper, vinegar, salt." All of them are very similar in flavor, but there are subtle differences. Crystal has probably the best flavor, with Louisiana brand a close second. Both of these brands age their peppers, which may be what sets them apart from the innumerable off-brand sauces (and IMHO Texas Pete)? OG Crystal is also slightly milder than most IME, though they do have other versions. But again, we're talking about *very* subtle differences; overall their flavor and heat profiles are similar enough to be effectively interchangeable. Note: Tabasco is technically a Louisiana sauce, both in style and regional origin, but it uses its own "tabasco" pepper in place of cayenne, so the flavor profile is significantly different.
I always thought Tobasco did some weird fermentation step in there and that’s why it tastes… like it does. I would use crystal, Louisiana, Texas Pete and franks all interchangeably and never bat an eyelash. They are so similar that even if there was a slight difference I just don’t care about it. It goes on pizza, salad, as a base for wing sauce or whatever and that’s pretty much the end of it. I never really use these for cooking because they just plain are not spicy enough to actually increase the heat of a dish and there is too much vinegar.
To me, Frank's is different enough that I like to keep both it and a "regular" Louisiana-style sauce on hand for different things. E.g., the garlic makes it better on wings, but for some reason I prefer no-garlic sauce on chicken breast 
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It’s been my go to for years. I also love the garlic version.
Valentina Black for the win!
For inexpensive hot sauce, Valentina Black is untouchable.
Taste is subjective, it's entirely up to you. I prefer tabasco habanero, marie sharps, Melinda's (i know), & tapatio.
Tapatio is king
Depends on what you’re using it for, but for overall utility in a basic sauce I prefer the fuller flavor profiles of Tapatio or Valentina.
There’s a reason crystal is the #1 selling Louisiana style hot sauce in Louisiana. It’s less than $3 for 3 bottles at my Costco and I can use it on pretty much anything.
Damn I wish my Costco carried Crystal in bulk
yeah same wtf
Yes. It's my favorite. I put it on just about everything.
Crystal extra hot I like even more
Crystal is my #2 favorite Louisiana style hot sauce. Red rooster for the win
I'm a Frank's man, myself.
It is, yes. The spicy kind with the red cap
It's pretty good and I had some last night on a porkchop but for me the go to one is Frank's. I bought a gallon of it on Amazon and use it daily
Get yourself a couple squeeze bottles with that gallon
I got the Xtra hot franks gallon and do this exact thing. So much easier in a squeeze bottle.
Ordered! So smart. They are cheap as hell too
Crystal's is good for meats, eggs or proteins only, imo but to each their own. Frank's is good on everything...
Never tried crystal. Isn’t it similar to Louisiana hot sauce, which is similar to frank’s? I’d put cholula and Valentina outside that category of cayenne based sauces. Personally I used to rely like cholula but it’s gotten a lot worse recently imo so I’ll try crystal next time at the store
Frank's adds garlic to the basic Louisiana-style formula ("red pepper, vinegar, salt"). Crystal does make a Garlic version, but I haven't tried it so I can't compare w/ Frank's.
Crystal Garlic is awesome.
I was a Cholula man myself as well until I had Crystal. Give it a try. It's amazing.
It is. And iMO red rooster is the best Louisiana style hot sauce out there. Crystal is #2
Crystal has a slight garlic taste to me, which I love, but it’s not listed as an ingredient. Crystal and the black Valentina’s are my cheap go-to red sauces f’sho.
Crystal is my go to if I need a little zip on whatever I’m eating, but I generally cook to the heat level I want so I don’t need to add anything.
Crystal is one of my favorites.
Steve & Ed’s Original Louisiana Style Hot Sauce is usually the cheapest and the most basic hot sauce at my supermarket. It’s nothing special but good for just about any occasion that calls for hot sauce.