Dawson's Shawarma
Note: This sauce appears on Season 13 of The Hot Ones.
Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKcwMmMFxcQ
I debate a lot amongst myself about whether The Hot Ones show, which clearly has a monumental impact, is a good or bad thing overall for the chilehead community. Certainly, in terms of exposure, especially on an international level, and creating a dynamic where a lot of companies feel they need to cater to a spicier-loving crowd, it is a positive. However, on the negative side, most of that "catering" stuff (including almost all of the Hot Ones tie-in products) is frankly commercial crap as an ode to cynical consumerism and the companies behind this clearly don't care about the actual community itself, and with all the increased exposure and attention comes an overlap of other trends, so we start to see a proliferation of "stunt" videos or attempts at it, which seem unenjoyable at best, and in some cases, have included trips to a hospital.
There is also the intangible, which is where this sauce comes in, that pushes the show, as a whole, into the positive for me, and it's the choice of sauces appearing on-screen. One fine day, I assume once the show concludes, we will find out how the sauces make it onto the show, but I will say that, as someone who almost never watches the actual show, it has exposed me to a number of makers and sauces that I otherwise would never have experienced. That aspect speaks rather directly to me, as food explorer and lover of experimentalism in flavor, which is why I both have decided to do as many show sauces as possible and always look with interest upon the sauces of the newest seasons when those videos come out (full list in a separate TOC at right). I will also say that because of this activity of mine that the show has inspired, it has changed my mind a bit on a few sauces, which is mostly confirmation that it is good practice to try and keep an open mind.
That aside, we have this sauce. Truth be told, shawarma is one of my most very favorite foods, but it is also one that I don't often have, unless I have some spare time, because, for the places around me, at least, it is not fast. Indeed, I was well due since I had not had any since the pandy and when I saw the title of this, I got excited and knew immediately what I had to do (and also what will be in the video for this, which should be posted in December 2023). Before I got to that, though, I had to put it through its paces. It's not characterized as strictly a shawarma sauce, but rather as a hot sauce and here, it is used as a wing sauce. So, run it through its paces I did.
Heat-wise, we're only dealing with Cayenne. It was in the 2 slot on the show for the season it was on and indeed, the heat is quite mild. The silkiness of the sauce from the olive oil, somewhat of a departure from the usual tahini that often is part of shawarma sauces at restaurants, gives it a very nice lush texture, rich, but not overbearingly so, given that olive oil is one of the lighter ones. There is also a solid amount of garlic in here, along with some of the usual suspects of shawarma. Usually spices of shawarma are an entire laundry list, which I won't detail here, as I also find it varies somewhat, but the general impression, though, again, not super forcefully, is one of the overall dynamic of shawarma. This is what is meant to happen, that you get an overall dynamic "whole is greater than sum of its parts" with shawarma, rather than isolating individual spices.
It is a beautifully designed sauce and a medium to medium-thick pour, which, again, is also right on the money. It is quite nice on pizza and I think it has a nice enough balance of garlic that I would at least attempt it on some Italian foods, such as spaghetti. It is thick enough to work somewhat well as a gravy, which is how I used it on chicken tendies and it was magnificent. There are usually three main types of meat used for shawarma, namely beef, chicken, and lamb. I found this worked exceedingly well on chicken, and I would guess pork also, but I didn't like it with burgers and don't think it works super well with red meat, which would also cut out the lamb. A lot of restaurant shawarma sauces follow somewhat of a similar pattern and I believe this is because with that many spices, the sauce really has to fit the application, another way in which this sauce is consistent with those.
Bottom line: This sauce reminds me a bit of some of the sauces from Torchbearer in its creamy, silky, garlicky nature, though it does pour easier, but it is a sauce that needs to be in the "right" application for best results. Definitely a great deal of fun to experiment with and is utterly delicious, definitely one of the better show sauces.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 1
Flavor: 10
Flexibility: 7
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10
Overall: 7
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