January 22nd is National Hot Sauce Day!

Here at My Silly Little Gang we love the flavor that Tabañero Hot Sauce has added to our dishes. From beans to tacos to rice Tabañero has added that extra touch to give our dishes a delicious hot & spicy flavor. We had never tried Tabañero before we were sent a bottle, but after trying it we have chosen it as a favorite for our house.

Now that I’m on my weight loss diet there aren’t a lot of things I can add to give my meals a better flavor without packing on the calories. With only 1 calorie per tsp. and 100% all natural ingredients I love adding it to chopped cucumbers for an amazing twist on this yummy veggie! 

On January 22nd, National Hot Sauce day sets the stage to heat up kitchens across the country by celebrating the flavorful diverse & ever growing world of hot sauces. This year, Tabañero Hot Sauce celebrates the auspicious holiday encouraging folks to break out of bland and turn up the heat to honor one of the most popular of condiments.

 As part of the planned celebrations, Tabañero will be offering a collection of unique online and onsite hot sauce experiences including giveaways (a year’s supply of Tabañero Hot Sauce), special anniversary recipes and a “Tabañero Takeover” in Los Angeles. The “Tabañero Takeover” will include a hot sauce “trade in” (where fans can turn in a bottle of their current hot sauce for a bottle of all-natural Tabañero Hot Sauce) as well as onsite giveaways, complimentary Tabañero-inspired foods and cocktails and much more.

 “Tabañero Hot Sauce is all about getting rid of the bland whether that bland relates to one’s food or one’s everyday routine,” said Kevin Peake, co-founder of Tabañero Hot Sauce.  “National Hot Sauce Day is a great opportunity for us to bring together hot sauce aficionados in celebrating the best of the condiments.” 

 National Hot Sauce Day takes place on January 22nd, 2015.  For more information on the Tabañero Hot Sauce including: events, recipes and giveaways, head to www.Tabanero.com.

 About Tabañero Hot Sauce

Released to the market in early 2011 and described as a passion project by co-founder Kevin Peake, who explains how he and his team sold Tabañero out of the back of their cars for the first year. Tabañero Hot Sauce is firmly rooted in its humble beginnings and is committed to giving back a portion of its proceeds to the Tabasco region of Mexico where their journey began.  Tabañero is a very unique hot sauce made from all-natural ingredients from Tabasco, Mexico, situated on the exotic Yucatán Peninsula. Taking a clue from the Mayans (who occupied the Yucatán Peninsula thousands of years ago and were one of the first civilizations to use peppers to flavor their native cuisine) the Tabañero Hot Sauce team, in 2007, began to utilize the fertile crops of the area to design the first recipe of the future award-winning hot sauce.

 Today Tabañero Hot Sauce is available online and is distributed throughout the US by both Sysco and US FOODS and can be found in restaurants, specialty stores and now H-E-B Grocery stores across Texas.  Products include:  Tabañero Hot Sauce in 5oz, 8oz and one gallon sizes.  Tabañero has also expanded its product line to include a unique and all-natural (gluten free) Tabañero Bloody Mary Mix sold in a 32oz bottle.  More products are expected to debut in 2015 along with a specialty Tabañero cookbook created by resident Chef Blue Lieberman.

Awards include:  US FOOD “2012 Rookie of the Year”

You can connect with Tabañero on their website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram!

Here is a recipe with it’s picture for Crispy Tabañero Beer Battered Calamari with a Tabañero Cocktail Sauce from the Tabañero website:

The following recipe is part of our 5 Part Recipe Series with Chef Isaiah from Coogie’s in Malibu. Today Chef Isaiah has prepared a delicious appetizer with a smoking hot Cocktail Sauce to complement it…

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. – Calamari (tubes and tentacles)
• 2 cups – All-Purpose White Flour
• 1 tbsp. – Onion Powder
• 1½ tbsp. – Garlic Powder
• 2 tbsp. – Sea Salt
• ½ cup – Potato Starch
• ¼ cup & 1 tbsp. – Tabanero hot sauce
• 13 oz. – Beer (Corona or pale ale beer preferred)
• 32 oz. – Canola or Corn Oil (at least, depending on frying pan size)

Cocktail Sauce: 

• ½ cup – Ketchup
• 2 tbsp. – Prepared Horseradish
• 3 tbsp. – Tabanero Hot Sauce
• 2 tbsp. – Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 1tsp. – Black Pepper

Instructions: 

1. Slice calamari tubes into ½ “ thick rings and lay flat on a dry surface along with tentacles. Pat
calamari dry.

2. Combine ½ cup all-purpose flour, onion powder, ½ tbsp. garlic powder, and 1 tbsp. sea salt in
a medium-mixing bowl. Mix well and set aside (this will be your dusting powder).

3. Combine 1½ cups all-purpose flour, potato starch, 1 tbsp. sea salt, 1 tbsp. garlic powder, ¼
cup and 1 tbsp. Tabanero hot sauce. Slowly whisk in beer (corona preferred), until batter is
thick enough to coat your finger, and slowly drip off. The thicker the batter, the thicker the
fried crust. Thin out the batter for a thinner, lighter crust.

4. Add canola or corn oil to a frying pan to fill ½” deep and heat oil on a medium/high flame. If
(even light amounts) of smoke rise from the top of the oil, it is too hot and the flame should
be adjusted accordingly. Then wait 5 minutes. Oil should be in the area of 350 degrees.

5. Lay down a thick layer of paper towels to pat excess oil from calamari after frying.

6. Position dusting powder and batter near frying pan. Place 7-10 pieces of calamari in dusting
powder and then dip in beer batter and immediately add to hot oil. Fry until each piece is
golden brown and then remove from oil with tongs and place calamari on paper towels.

7. Repeat until all calamari is fried to a golden brown. To spice up the plate, slice some fresh Serrano chilies and chopped cilantro and toss with
fried calamari.

8. Mix ketchup, horseradish, 3 tbsp. Tabanero hot sauce, lemon juice and black pepper in a medium sized bowl. Serve with Calamari and…. Enjoy!