Hot 48+ Sauce Band

I actually don’t know how many hot sauces I have precisely in our soul food kitchen. A lot. And I need every single one.

First come the various homemade bbq sauces, ranging from mild to tangy to, I wouldn’t say hot, but on the spicy side. My inventory indicates 9 of those.

Then, a handful of homemade habanero sauces, all pretty fuckin’ hot. I can’t serve these straight up to my Israeli clientele, so they become the basis for various other sauces: 4

Because of the generous plenty of fresh peppers in our walk-in, I sometimes need to preserve some confit style. At the moment: Thai, habanero, and jalapeno confit, with the excess olive oil siphoned off to serve as infused oils in cooking. 5 total here.

There’s a modest collection of various ground peppers, ranging from sweet paprika to cajun to cayenne. I count 17 (okay, this is starting to become embarrassing).

I’ve got a few oddball mixes like homemade horseradish, schug, and sweet chili sauce, mostly for balance depending on guest preference and umami balance: 8

I suppose, while we’re at it, I should ‘fess up to the handful of different dried chilis I have lying around, ready to be resuscitated: Guajillo, Ancho, Arbol, Chipotle

Like I said, I need every fuckin’ one. Take even one away, and I’m absolutely positive I’ll be needing that precise sauce tomorrow. And don’t even get me started on the number of different salts in the cupboard.