The Fast Food Chain That Offers The Spiciest Sauce
If you're a fan of spicy condiments, then you probably already know that there are plenty of options out there for you to heap on your hamburgers, pour on your pasta, or squeeze onto your sandwiches. For instance, you could go for a tasty sriracha mayo or you could opt for a sweet and spicy hot honey such as Aldi's popular offering.
For those who are after hot sauce to pour on their burgers or wings next time they're out for fast food, however, there's one chain restaurant you won't want to miss out on — Zaxby's. Daily Meal taste-tested 12 fast food sauces to find which option brings the most heat. Zaxby's, a chicken chain which is particularly popular in the Southern United States, was the winner.
The sauce in question that won the roundup is Zaxby's nuclear sauce. The company shows three flame images on the menu to warn customers of how spicy it is and it doesn't disappoint. The sauce will fire up your chicken meal and get your eyes watering and nose running in no time.
What makes nuclear sauce so spicy?
While Zaxby's keeps a tight reign on its proprietary sauce recipes, that's not to say that it's a total mystery what goes in them. Some fans of the sauce have managed to track down the ingredients, and what mainly stands out as bringing on the heat in this sauce is extractives of capsicum. Capsicum extracts contain something called capsaicin, which is what makes peppers hot. The more capsaicin that's in the sauce, the spicier it will be.
While the capsicum extracts are likely what's to blame for bringing on the most heat in the sauce, there are other ingredients that may contribute as well. Paprika, which while only containing 100 to 1000 Scoville Heat Units, still helps to bring on the heat and adds flavor.
Zaxby's nuclear sauce doesn't just taste like, well, heat. It also has plenty of other flavors that make it such a great choice for pouring on your chicken wings. Some fans report that it tastes sort of like buffalo chicken sauce but with extra jalapeño added to it. The sauce's garlic and onion powder may also help add additional flavor. Plus, it has sweet elements to it, thanks to a combination of corn syrup and sugar, which help to balance out the heat and create a tangy flavor.