La Perrona – Chiltepin Roasted Hot Sauce

While not yet a staple on the shelves of American supermarkets, according to their website this is the best selling brand of chiltepin sauces in Mexico.

Made proudly in Tijuana, the brand has four varieties – a classic red, a green, a black, and the subject of this review, a roasted variety. This is the style known in Mexico as a Salsa Tatemada, or charred salsa.

Giving the chiltepin peppers some char does wonders for improving the depth of flavor. While I found the red variety of this sauce tasty if not particularly groundbreaking, this roasted variety grabbed my attention from the first taste as something new and exciting.

Charred habanero sauces are fairly common, with El Yucateco XXXHot Mayan Recipe being one of the most widely available (and delicious) in the US, but this is the first time I recall finding a charred chiltepin sauce.

The chiltepin pepper in and of itself doesn’t have the same level of familiarity as the cayenne, jalapeno, and habanero, but it’s a delightfully savory little pepper, that due to its small size and narrow region where it can be grown successfully is more expensive than many of the more common peppers.

In addition to the charred chiltepins this sauce also includes ground sesame, which is a marvelous foil that really increases the umami taste and likely what also threw me for a bit of a loop on the first taste. There’s a strong vinegar and salty kick, the flavor of the charred chiltepins, and that sesame coming in almost like a bit of tahini mixed in that makes this read as something more than just a typical Mexican table sauce.

It is absolutely delicious on tacos and nachos, but it’s not limited to Mexican cuisine. I tried some on some pork souvlaki as well as some grilled chicken and it’s a perfect match with anything meaty.

The texture is thin and smooth, so it’s easy to apply to anything, and I could see it also being a great marinade for meats for a summer backyard BBQ.

This may not be everywhere in the USA yet, but if you see this flavor, I heartily recommend picking it up.

Ingredients: Water, acetic acid, chiltepin peppers, sesame, iodized salt, garlic, onion, citric acid, xanthan gum, spices, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, sodium metasulfite.

Heat Level: 2/10. There’s enough heat to tell it’s a hot sauce, but this will be easily accessible to anyone.