A few weeks ago on the Good Food Pittsburgh podcast, I casually mentioned to Emily that I’d helped organize a “hot sauce tasting” party that weekend.
I brought it up on the pretense of recommending one of the sauces, but, as it turns out, a hot sauce party is an intriguing idea. We spent some time discussing logistics of the event, and how I’m definitely not crazy. It’s a perfectly normal thing to do.
We asked if any listeners would be interested in learning how one throws a hot sauce tasting – and you were! We received quite a few messages so we decided to dedicate an entire post to throwing a hot sauce party.
For up-to-date information on Pittsburgh’s food scene (plus information on hot sauce parties), make sure you’re subscribed to Good Food Pittsburgh Radio wherever you get your podcasts!
How to Throw the Ultimate Hot Sauce Party
Warning: Please use hot sauce responsibly. Enjoy the sauces one drop at a time. Avoid if you have heart, acid reflux, or respiratory problems. Keep sauces away from eyes, pets, and children.
Step one: Procure the lineup of sauces
The party was inspired by the show “Hot Ones” on Youtube, where celebrities are interviewed while eating wings that get increasingly spicy. If you’ve never seen the show, catch up before hosting the party.
Our lineup of sauces were half from the show, and half from different spots around Pittsburgh. Reyna Foods in the Strip District has an extensive selection of hot sauces.
Here are the highlights, in order of least to most spicy:
Secret Aardvark Habanero Sauce
Secret Aardvark Habanero Sauce
Dirty Dick’s Hot Sauce
El Yucateco Red Salsa Picante
Hot Ones – Fiery Chipotle
Pain is Good Louisiana Style Hot Sauce
Pain is Good Louisiana Style Hot Sauce
Hot Ones The Last Dab
Da Bomb Beyond Insanity Hot Sauce
Da Bomb Beyond Insanity Hot Sauce
Trader Joe’s Habanero Hot Sauce
Dave’s Gourmet Ghost Pepper
Dave’s Gourmet Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
Step two: Order your wings
Local spots like Quaker Steak & Lube and Sidelines Bar & Grill have good deals on bulk wings. Expect to order 8-10 wings per person.
Step three: Buy milk, vanilla ice cream, moist towelettes
Dairy cuts the heat and is great to drink one your mouth starts burning. The moist towelettes help ensure no one gets hot sauce in their eyes.
Royal Moist Wet Wipe Towelettes
Step four: Turn on “Hot Ones” on a tv/computer that your guests will see
It’s fun to watch the celebrities going through the same pain as you.
Step five: Warn everyone to not touch their eyes and wash their hands before going to the bathroom
Trust us on this one.
Step six: Go one hot sauce at a time. Have everyone grab a wing, and then pass around the bottle to put a drop on the wing
Starting around “Pain is Good” things get really spicy.
Step seven: Check the person next to you to make sure they actually put on the sauce
Step eight: Countdown and take a bite (good luck!)
After: Make sure everyone washes their hands!
Please be safe!
If you have a hot sauce party, please tag us in your pictures so we can see! @goodfoodpgh, #goodfoodpgh
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[…] BleacherReport hosted a Hot Sauce Challenge. They sent a box to all of their employees with 5 different hot sauces and everyone on the call had to join a zoom call and try each of the sauces. If you made it through all 5 hot sauces you win. Ultimate Hot Sauce Party […]