Tijuana Flats Hot Sauces, Ranked From Worst To Best
When a burning urge for a delicious Tex-Mex meal starts pummeling your appetite, heading to your nearest Tijuana Flats restaurant will give you everything you need to swing a few punches back. Unfortunately, not everyone around the country has the luxury of having one of these establishments close by — the only five states with Tijuana Flats locations are Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, Virginia, and Illinois — but if you are able to get yourself to one, rest assured you'll have a lovely selection of Mexican-inspired dishes to try. And, you can't visit any Tijuana Flats location without noticing the unique line of hot sauces the brand offers.
Tijuana Flats founder Brian Wheeler didn't just want to crank out great cuisine. He wanted to get involved in the best hot sauce game, as well, so he launched a line of hot sauces called "Smack My A** & Call Me Sally." It's an in-your-face name with six different options, all varying in spice levels. Now, even though the name is super intriguing, not all six of the hot sauces are deserving of such an awesome label. Some of these sauces definitely up your Tex-Mex game — and others hinder it. These are the Tijuana Flats hot sauces ranked worst to first.
6. Bangin' Chicken Sauce
Now, even though this particular Tijuana Flats hot sauce is called Bangin' Chicken Sauce, you can pretty much pour it on anything that warrants a little kick of heat. The main pepper used in this hot sauce is cayenne, which doesn't pack the overwhelming wallop of a habanero or ghost pepper. Sometimes keeping things simple works wonders. However, in this case, we wish the sauce had a little bit more to offer the food we poured it over.
This "Bangin' Chicken Sauce" reality doesn't pack any sort of bang like the name implies. There was a mellow heat that lived on our tongue for a little bit after each bite of food, but there was also a heavy hit of vinegar on the palate, as well. The vinegar really strips any of the substantial heat away from the cayenne pepper flavor, and it will absolutely leave any spice enthusiast disappointed. If you're looking for a sauce that is more heat-forward, skip this one for sure.
5. Red Habanero Hot Sauce
According to this product description, the young man on the label with his pants down is named Chet, and because of his mischievous behavior someone taught him a lesson by putting a few drops of this Red Habanero Hot Sauce in his moonshine liquor. The story goes that Chet was in so much pain after he took a sip he dropped straight to his knees and screamed, "Well smack my a** and call me Sally." Pretty wild story for a hot sauce that really doesn't warrant a tale so amusing.
The heat for this sauce comes from, obviously, the habanero pepper. Now, habaneros can pack one heck of a fiery punch, and they work really well when paired with ingredients that can bring out the flavor of the pepper and not just the pain. That's where this sauce goes wrong. It's a wicked lightning strike of heat without any real flavor accompanying it. We believe a hot sauce is infinitely better if it goes deeper than just straight tongue-scorching pain, and that's where this misses the mark.
4. The Second Slapping Jalapeno Hot Sauce
Well, this guy Chet who adorns the label of Tijauna Flats bottles was up to no good again, so his wife slipped some of this stuff in his moonshine (this guy drinks a lot of moonshine), and Chet paid a hefty price for his misdeeds. Chet got a hearty kick of jalapeño peppers, vinegar, and salt into that grain alcohol. No one would recommend putting The Second Slapping Jalapeno Sauce into any kind of alcohol, but depending on how you feel about jalapeno peppers, it might be what you want poured over a meal.
Jalapeño peppers are by no means even close to the hottest peppers out there, so if you're looking for a sauce that really singes your mouth, you're better off looking elsewhere. However, what this sauce lacks in heat it makes up for in a pleasant flavor that we found offers a great balance of spice and vinegar. It really tantalizes the taste buds and leaves you wanting more. One jalapeño-loving customer praised this sauce online, saying, "This one is my jalapeño sauce of choice."
3. Don't Be A Chicken Sh**
Have you ever been with someone who was absolutely terrified to do something, and the only thing you want to say to them is, "C'mon! Don't be a chicken sh**"? Well, now you can tempt all your hot sauce-hesitant buddies with the "Don't Be A Chicken Sh**" sauce at Tijuana Flats. This name has an ability to shame even the most wary hot sauce imbiber into taking a taste. And, even though this sauce does pack a punch, it does have a really great flavor that cuts through the heat.
The ingredients in this sauce are pretty straight forward. The heat comes from cayenne peppers, but the peppers operate alongside vinegar, salt, garlic, and various spices. The vinegar here plays a backseat role, which is great because it never overwhelms the rest of the ingredients. The cayenne, when paired with the garlic and spices, really puts on a show that's not overly hot but definitely wakes up the tongue with a burst of various taste sensations. One Tijuana Flats customer raved about it, saying they finally found "an all-purpose, go-to option that is not a super heater."
2. Smack My Sweet A** and Call Me Sally Hot Sauce
The combination of sweet and heat rarely misses the mark. A solid roundhouse kick of spice can help really bring flavors out of a dish, but when you complement with sweetness to offset the burn, you get a really special taste sensation. This is exactly what makes the Smack My Sweet A** and Call Me Sally hot sauce a wonderful addition to any Tex-Mex dish, but we'd pair this with plenty of other savory meals.
The very first ingredient listed in this hot sauce is sugar, and we found, that's a great thing. The heat that rides alongside is from chili peppers, which makes for a burn level that is totally manageable. Lots of satisfied customers touted the great balance of flavors, saying, "This sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and spice," and, "This is the perfect balance ... Just right!" Treat your taste buds to this tasty twofer.
1. The Slap Heard Around The World
When your mouth is in need of a serious "scorched Earth" feeling, there's only one Tijuana Flats hot sauce that'll get your tongue to the level of inferno. That's The Slap Heard Around The World sauce. According to the product description, this is ranked as the 18th hottest sauce in the world, and it's been featured on "The Today Show" and "Live with Regis and Kathy Lee." This Tijuana Flats sauce is serious, and once it hits your tongue, you know that nothing about this flavor is ready to play around.
The wallop of heat here comes from a healthy dose of capsaicin, which is the chemical compound found in peppers that contains all the heat. It is definitely not for the faint of heart. However, those who do enjoy the onslaught will also find it really welcoming because the sauce also contains molasses and soy sauce, which add a sweet umami sensation to cut through the scorch enough to give the sauce a real complexity. This is one powerhouse of a sauce that'll bend you over, smack your a**, and call you Sally.