Búfalo Salsa Picante Clásica Hot Sauce
I admit to feeling a bit of disdain for self aggrandizing chile-heads who swagger in the incomparable might of their own heat tolerance by posting smug little reviews of "ultra" hot sauce with a short, simple "meh….not hot….disappointed", even when the "not hot" hot sauce has been well regarded by many trusted and objective hot sauce enthusiasts as a true throat scorcher. And yet, as I gather my thoughts about having unceremoniously finished off a bottle of Búfalo Clásica, I feel myself edging dangerously close to critical smugness myself.
Búfalo Clásica hot sauce is not hot. Granted, it is made with the mild guajjillo chile and is considered a "mild" hot sauce, but my take on it is that it is so very "not hot" that I had to check the label and list of ingredients a few times while eating it just to confirm that I wasn't actually eating ketchup.
Búfalo Clásica is a very popular Mexican hot sauce produced by Herdez Group who says that their hot sauces emphasizes flavor rather than heat. This is an accurate statement on both counts. It IS a good tasting ketch…..uh, hot sauce.
Distinctively packaged in a bottle design reminiscent of a typical ketchup bottle (hmm…) Búfalo Clásica is a deep dark red, thick paste hot sauce with a rich, tangy, and fairly sweet pepper fruit flavor. The "natural flavoring" on the ingredient list is said to include a zesty hint of lime, but I was unable to detect this in my taste testing.
Because it is far more mild than many other Mexican style hot sauces such as Tapatío or Cholula , Búfalo Clásica is a safe bet for anyone wanting to enjoy the delicious flavor of an authentic Mexican hot sauce but can do without the burn sensation associated with spicy food consumption. Additionally, though there are no tomatoes in this sauce, I think it would actually pair well with just about anything that a more mature, robust ketchup could complement, including french fries, hamburgers, eggs, hash-browns, etc. and it might even do well as a uniquely flavorful, pepper fruit infused steak sauce. And of course as a classic Mexican hot sauce this would also be a perfect way to add a sweet, tangy, and non-imposing flavor boost to your favorite Mexican dishes.
(Smug comment alert:) But basically this is pretty much a tasty Mexican ketchup, and I heartily recommend it as such. If you can't find it in stock at your local grocery store you can purchase it online by clicking here, or via the Amazon Affiliate link below.
To find out more about Búfalo Clásica or any other Herdez Group products including recipe ideas, go online to www.herdeztraditions.com.
