AZ Gunslinger: Savior of Camp Meals

The Erem team tends to have a lot of meals al fresco, running the gamut from backpacking breakfasts on-the-go to relaxed dinners by a fire after a long day hiking. Whatever the trip style, at a certain point you really get your travel kitchen kit dialed in with all of your necessary and favorite items. One of our camp kitchen luxuries (aka not necessary to survival but 100% necessary for belly happiness) is hot sauce. I mean, what other seasoning do you really even need if you’ve got a solid hot sauce in your tool belt? Eggs, pasta, soup, backpacker meals, tuna packets, practically everything you eat (especially the things you burn or that come from a freeze dried packet) can be drastically improved with a hardy dash of something spicy. Thing is you need to choose the right one, and this is not a choice to be made lightly. It’s got to have rich flavor, natural ingredients are a necessity, and it doesn’t hurt if it’s got a catchy name and was born in the desert.

Arizona Gunslinger Hot sauce is our go-to sprucer-upper of meals from scramble breakfasts to luxuriating suppers. This marketplace feature has been around since 1985 and is a bit of an Arizona icon. It’s got a solid kick of heat but it’s smoothed out perfectly by it’s rich flavor. Their slogan “It’s got the heat you can eat'' is pretty spot on. The parent company is based in Mesa, AZ and have quite a following around the Phoenix area. In fact, their hot sauce was chosen as one of the Five Favorite hot sauces by the Phoenix Times, and if any city knows hot, it’s Phoenix. Matter of fact if you’re feeling extra bold, track down Zesty Zzeeks in PHX after hiking Pass Mountain in Usery Park. Then zan put your taste buds to the test by ordering wings tossed in Arzona Gunslinger’s Mega Diablo Extra Hot Pepper Sauce (if you do, drop us a line to let us know how it goes!)

Finally, our flavor pick has to be the OG original Red Pepper sauce, although if we’re being honest we’re kind of into all the varieties. But the OG compliments pretty much anything and is crafted with only natural ingredients. Our favorite part -- the 20% pepper solids in this recipe is more than any other hot sauce on the market. So proceed cautiously with one drop at a time, and prepare yourself for becoming a bit of a hot sauce snob after trying it out…