Slow burn, smoky sweet…
When you pick up a bottle of Pepper Palace Ghost Pepper Sauce, expect a sauce that sticks around. Not on your shelf – we’re sure you’ll find as many uses for it as we did – but on the palate. That ghost pepper heat lingers, and with it a smoky sweet tang that’s as good on eggs as it is on steaks. Though, you may be surprised – the heat here is not as hot as you may expect for something labeled with the name of a super-hot chili.
What’s in Pepper Palace Ghost Pepper Sauce?
It’s a short list of all-natural ingredients:
- Vinegar
- Tomato paste
- Habanero peppers
- Salt
- Lemon juice
- Garlic
- Onion
- Ghost pepper
- Black pepper
What surprised us was the inclusion of habanero peppers, in fact in a higher slot than the ghost. It’s not an inclusion used without reason – in fact that habanero sweetness is a big part of the flavor profile as it’s the only ingredient above that could bring this undertone to life.
Vinegar gets top billing, but this is not a Louisiana hot sauce by any means, the vinegar tang is not the overwhelming take-away, and that’s a very good thing. It’s a sauce with some thickness that’s as much an ingredient as it is a flavor enhancer.
The flavor: Smoky, tangy, and sweet
Pepper Palace’s Ghost Pepper Sauce has a surprisingly complex flavor profile. It starts off with a vinegar tang, followed by a hint of earthiness, then slowly rolls into a smoky sweetness, and finally into a lingering heat. It’s easy to see how (and why) the habanero plays such an important role in this hot sauce’s flavor. That smoky sweetness is the great take-away from the eating experience, along with, of course, the heat. And there the ghost pepper is the star pepper.
The heat: Hot, but not as hot as you may expect
Like any good ghost pepper hot sauce, Pepper Palace’s offering has a heat that just won’t quit. It lingers long after the flavor dissipates, a constant reminder of the ghost’s fiery flavor and staying power.
But, overall, this is not the hottest ghost pepper sauce we’ve ever tasted. In fact, it’s more in line with a habanero hot sauce level heat than ghost pepper heat. Don’t get us wrong, it’s plenty hot for most people, but if you’re looking for an extreme hot sauce, this is not it.
Usability: Very versatile for an extra hot sauce
We’re finding all sorts of tasty uses for this sauce. It’s actually graduated from the pantry cabinet to the kitchen counter – a locale in our home that’s high praise. We’re talking a “daily driver” hot sauce position, not a specialty sauce. We’ve tried it on eggs, steaks, and burgers as well as in soups and hummus and it works very well in every use case. With its sweetness, we can also see it working with grilled chicken and pork. You’ll find a bottle of this sauce soon gone with as much as you’ll use it, even when a few dashes will typically do.
Overall: A delicious daily driver
Don’t let the ghost scare you off. Pepper Palace’s Ghost Pepper Sauce is just as tasty as it is fiery. It won’t win heat awards, but hot sauces should be as much about flavor as they are about spiciness. This sauce balances it very well.