Lately I've been enjoying using hot powders in my food more than hot sauce. I'm not sure if it's just a phase I'm going through or not but as of now it's my preference when eating and cooking. Any others out there with similar tastes or preferences? Also another benefit of a powder over a sauce is you get the pure flavor of the pepper over a sauce. What do you guys/gals think on the topic ?
Powder or Sauce ?
- Thread starter SavinaRed
- Start date
I use powder 75% to sauce at 25% best guess. For me powders are awesome to cook with without adding a ton of complexity or unwanted flavors from a sauce but still get a very nice level of preferred heat. Sauces are good post food but unless wings I find it rare that I like to add sauce while cooking anything.
Powders are equally good after the fact to me.
Powders are equally good after the fact to me.
Powders are convenient, sauces are well married and deeper flavor I found. I use both.
Powder. More peppers in less space.
I use sauces as a condiment ,Powders for cooking.
Each has their place...
Powders for cooking I usually use blends of different ones to get what I want...
Each has their place...
Powders for cooking I usually use blends of different ones to get what I want...
I'm about half and half. I'll use powders in seasonings on stuff prior to cook and then a bit of sauce into the broth or gravy. There's powder and sauce on the table, and I find myself adding powders to wet dishes (soups, pastas in sauce, etc) and sauces to dry ones (grilled chops, tacos, sammys).
At the moment I'm at a loss to identify a single dish that we cook that doesn't get one or the other. Maybe french toast, but I don't eat that much.
At the moment I'm at a loss to identify a single dish that we cook that doesn't get one or the other. Maybe french toast, but I don't eat that much.
80 to 90 % powder here , 
This is where I'm at too. Powders are also easier to make. I have almost full pint-sized mason jars of several varieties. Makes it easier to fine-tune a blend and then you have a better idea of what works together in a sauce.SmokenFire said:I'm about half and half. I'll use powders in seasonings on stuff prior to cook and then a bit of sauce into the broth or gravy. There's powder and sauce on the table, and I find myself adding powders to wet dishes (soups, pastas in sauce, etc) and sauces to dry ones (grilled chops, tacos, sammys).
At the moment I'm at a loss to identify a single dish that we cook that doesn't get one or the other. Maybe french toast, but I don't eat that much.
i use powder most of the time on my food. I add it on to my dinner most nights. I use hot sauce too but mostly powders. The smoked ones are my favorite. We did make some insane hot wing sauce at work the other day and make some wings with it and added smoked powder. Bad idea lol, i shit fire and pissed fire the next morning.
I eat a lot of pizza, powder rules... curries too. For sandwiches like burgers, or pitas, I like a good flavored sauce. Depends on the meal or mood for me. I can also put hot sauce on pizza.
Tacos = sauce
Eggs = sauce
....so on......
Fries powder and sauce.... lol
Tacos = sauce
Eggs = sauce
....so on......
Fries powder and sauce.... lol
I find powder to be more "universal", meaning I can trow some powder into any food and it will be good, whereas sauces have a broader impact on flavor and so different sauces go well with different foods. In spite of all that, I use more sauce than powder since I make my own sauces but haven't gotten around making my own powder yet, and my sauces tend to go really well with the foods I usually consume. Right now im wanting badly to start making my own powders, thay may change things up, though I thing the "humectifying" power of sauces will always be welcome with some foods.
Mabuse said:
If you are making your own sauces then perhaps you might have left overs from the production of sauce - tailings from your food mill or mesh strainer that doesn't get into the final sauce - those left overs can be dried and ground and they make excellent powders and bases for other blends.
That sounds interesting. I don't have a food mill, i process the sauce in the pot im cooking it with a minipimer, and up until now I haven't used a mesh strainer either, but lately I was considering using one because some skinks (along with the pepper seeds and seed coats from fruits) always survive the blending. Knowing there's a use for those skins gives me another good reason to do so. The only thing keeping my from trying to powder right now is I don't know how to dehydrate without peppper spraying my family (I already did that once, and it was fun, but not to be repeated). I'll have to build one of those diy dehydrators soon.SmokenFire said:
I prefer to use both . But that depends on the meal . Spaghetti or some soup I prefer just powder . Now tacos, veggies, chops and more traditional meals I like a nice medium smoked powder with some fermented sauce on top .I can no longer eat store bought sauces. I have been ruined by all my amazing sauce making amigos . Kinda like the powders that just have the taste of the powder the fermented sauces are much in the same to me .
For sure SR. Knowing how much to add to get just the right smoky presence, but not overpower the true chile flavor balanced with a bit of cumin and salt, maybe a touch of oregano - that is a never ending quest my friend. 
so when you make your powders you add cumin, oregano and salt to make a blend.SmokenFire said:For sure SR. Knowing how much to add to get just the right smoky presence, but not overpower the true chile flavor balanced with a bit of cumin and salt, maybe a touch of oregano - that is a never ending quest my friend.