"Inner Beauty" knockoff discussion thread

[Dakki]

Okay, so after hearing how great the stuff is in this thread, I went and made a batch based on Chris Amirault's recipe here.

It turned out milder than I thought it would be really - the heat only comes in at the end, and goes away cleanly and quickly (based on spoon-tasting) instead of hanging in the mouth as I expect the heat in a habanero-based sauce to do. Flavor and aroma are fairly complex for a hot sauce. It reminds me a little bit of the mango-chile based hot candies sold in Mexico (if you dipped the candy in a mustard vinaigrette, I mean) but the vinegar and mustard content sort of precludes using it for confection or as a potato chip dip. I think the flavors are also too strong for use with seafood.

The sauce inspired some pondering about coming up with my own fruit-based, spice-heavy hot sauce recipe - peach, papaya and tamarind immediately suggest themselves as the fruit base, and I think the mustard and vinegar content would be lowered in my own sauce.

So, what does one do with it? A marinade for pork chops or grilled chicken is what I've come up with so far. What do the fans use it in?

[janeer]

It's good on hot dogs and other sausages, sandwiches, in salad dressing. I'm actually not that huge a fan--I've just eaten a lot of it because, back in the day, it's all there was, and I lived in the neighborhood and went to CS's restaurants. Probably you should buy a bottle to try (order online) to see what it should be like--it's should be hotter than you describe--and think about how you'd tweak it from there.

[Chris Amirault]

I'm glad that people like the recipe! I use it on a number of things here at work; indeed, most school food is improved markedly by the liberal application of it. At home, it's my go-to for fried chicken and any smoked or grilled meats.

[FoodMuse]

Hey Chris,

Thanks for working out this recipe! I changed it a bit to taste, but it is terrific. I brought bottles of it to a food blogger swap in Brooklyn and it gave me an advantage because so many people wanted it. I got my pick of the other items being swappped. I'm a huge fan of Chris Schlesinger's restaurant East Coast grill in Massachusetts. I go whenever I go back home.

OK, it's time for me to make another batch.

[Chris Amirault]

Happy to do it. Be careful, especially, with the spices. I've made batches that were the equivalent of clove cigarettes.

[Dakki]

Rediscovered the jar in the fridge after what, ten months?

Allowing it to rest has changed the character of the sauce considerably. The "souped-up mustard" quality I noticed in the fresh sauce is gone, as is much of the vinegar harshness. What remains is a sweet, fruity, moderately hot sauce, with enough aroma from the spices to stay interesting. I'm liking it much better this time around.

[FoodMuse]

I love it on fried plantains. Wait until they are mostly black, peel, slice on an angle and shallow fry in 1/2--1 inch of veg oil. When one side is brown flip and fry the other. Hit them with fresh lime juice, kosher salt and your Beauty.

Thanks for reviving the thread. It is time I made a batch.