When a city’s restaurant scene really starts to take-off, like clearly Edmonton’s has, it often begats a rise in quality of locally made food products produced by small scale vendors at city farmers markets. I’ve recently discovered a perfect example of this; beautiful locally made hot sauces.
Here’s a couple Edmonton market vendors making killer hot sauces you can take home and are worthy of seeking out.
Original Redhead Condiments
Stuart Whyte started Original Redhead in Vancouver, but moved his operation to Edmonton because of our famously beautiful weather, one would assume. Vancouver’s loss is our gain, and in this case winning hurts so good.
Heat without flavour is just a waste of capsation, but Original Redhead manages to balance firery burn with potent flavours perfectly. His lineup is ever-expanding, but currently includes a mix of fermented and fresh sauces to suit just about any true pepperhead. Here’s a few to get you started.
Original Red Head, features fermented Thai chilies, garlic, and white wine vinegar. It’s got a no-nonesense kick to it, but also a beautiful fresh flavour and a touch of sweetness. Whyte says it’s “Like Sriracha, but better”. I’ve added this sauce to a batch of Thai meatballs and even doused homemade croutons with it. I’d imagine this sauce would make for some pretty wicked hot wings too.
175 ml- $12.00
Jalapeno and Leek has a slightly lower heat level, and a well rounded flavour. It’s slight sourness, from the fermentation process, gives it a brightness that would be great atop tacos or mixed into mayonaise for dipping.
250 ml- $11.00
Habanero Tarragon- This one is for the “no pain, no gain” type of hot sauce conneseur. Habanero’s lend some fruity characteristics to compliment the tarragon, and goes well with the gallon of milk required to slow the burn.
Original Redhead also boasts an assortment of Salsas including Roja (red), verde (green), and a fermented verde with incredible depth.
175 ml- $12.00
Fuge Fine Meats
Fuge may be more well-known for owner Steve Furgiuele’s fantastic fresh sausages and cured meat products, but the hot sauces, made with local produce from Doef’s, are no slouch either.
Fuge sauces are a bit lower on the Scoville scale than many other straight-up hot sauces, but pack a whollop for the tastebuds. You’ll use these more as a cooking sauce than a hotsauce, or for a marinade. After using these 2 sauces judiciously in the last while, I can vouch for the fact both are outstanding on roasted cauliflower. Just mix equal parts either harissa or ajvar with olive oil or melted butter, coat the cauliflower with it, and roast on a baking sheet at 475 degrees until slightly charred.
Furgiuele has plenty of suggestions on ways to use both sauces, including spreading it on sandwiches, pizza, or spicing up your hollandaise. In a pinch, mixing a spoonful into mayonaise or sour cream makes a pretty delicious spread or dip as well.
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Harissa– This North African hot paste is chock full of peppers, spices, and garlic. It’s got a deep and mulit-layerd flavour.
240 ml $10.00
Ajvar- Packed with chilis, eggplant, bell pepper, and garlic, the Ajvar packs a bit more heat and a whole lot of deep roasted flavour.
240 ml $10.00
Baconhound is written by Phil Wilson and is an Edmonton food blog focusing on the best restaurants, products, and vendors that Edmonton has to offer.