Old Bay Hot Sauce Review

McCormick Old Bay Hot Sauce

UPDATE: Video support available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyTS20i_5KE

I've been given to understand, from some of the other labels I've seen, that this is meant to be a Limited Edition type sauce, but my bottle has no such markings. Indeed, I think this would be a huge mistake for McCormick to not keep this out there. For me, and for many other chileheads, I imagine, this is a long time coming, one of those things that's such a natural one wonders why it took this long. The big question is whether or not alleviates the need for adding in a Louisiana style sauce to things flavored with the Old Bay powdered seasoning, which naturally this sauce is heavily based on and which I've spent a lot of time doing.

In one respect, to that last point, I have long come to terms with them being separate and having them that way allows me to modify the ratio as I wish on things like boils and so on. Here, it is combined for the user, which may or may not be a good thing. For me, it's fine, though I will note that overuse of this sauce generates the same problem as does the powder, which is a quite strong celery seed flavor coming through. This can be overly bitter in excessive and if it's not a flavor you enjoy, this sauce should probably be skipped. Like the Old Bay powder seasoning, it is quite prominent.

Heat-wise, given that this is essentially a modified Cayenne sauce, it is fairly minimal, about what you would anticipate from most Louisiana-style sauces. The genius of Old Bay is that it translates across two distinct regional cuisines styles, that of the Cajun/Louisiana as well as the upper East Coast. It is also a mass market sauce, so cost is generally pretty minimal, but I've oddly found that accessibility is quite streaky. 

What this really *ahem* boils down to is how much you eat the kind of things where this sauce would go. If you're a celery seed fan, rejoice, as you can make this a ubiquitous sauce. For me, I like Old Bay on seafood generally (a bowl of clam chowder or seafood chowder, for instance, is not complete without a healthy dose of both Old Bay AND a Louisiana-style sauce, as far as I'm concerned), but on very little else. I will try it out on my quarterly Wing Thing (on the FOH video series), but I disliked it on chicken strips, so I'm not expecting it to be a favorable experience. Even mac & cheese, which should be a pretty natural fit, was merely ok with the addition of this and that particular application is one of my diehards for a Louisiana-style.

Bottom line: If you're a fan of the Old Bay seasoning or the flavor of celery seed, this is a must. If you're like me and also like Old Bay in combination with a Louisiana-style sauce on seafood, worth a go. 

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 7
            Flexibility: 4
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10

Overall: 5