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What is Crystal? It's referred to in several recipes in the Margaritaville cookbook, and I have no idea what this is. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance

Well, supposing it's not meth , post a sample recipe. We can figure it out.

Well, for instance, in the recipe for Crab Cakes, the ingredients listed are:

1 lb fresh crab meat
2 T butter
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded & diced
2 celery ribs, diced
2 t dried basil
2 t dried thyme
2 t dried tarragon
1/2 t cayenne
1/2 T Creole mustard
2 1/2 T mayonnaise
1 T Worcestershire
1/2 T Crystal
Salt and pepper to taste
4 T butter
2 c all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 c. bread crumbs

surfpirate wrote:Try this .......... http://crystalhotsauce.com/crystalRecipes.php

Gotta be. Thanks, sp.

Ok now I feel silly. That makes so much sense. I simply hadn't heard of that brand before. Adding the words "hot sauce" to Crystal sure would have been helpful, Jimmy

Yup! Only the greatest hotsauce ever. I use it all the time.

I once knew a working mom* named Crystal. Now she was hot.

*dancer

That's a major pet peeve of mine, when recipes refer to something by a regional brand name, instead of what the ingredient is. How tough would it be to say 1 T hot sauce (such as Crystal or ______)? A lot of "famous" chefs are guilty of this....grrrrrrrrrr.

Haha, well I suppose I'm just not hip enough to get all of the "chef" references out there in cookbook land. Oh well. Thankfully you all were able to help me. Now I can make crab cakes. Just hope they turn out as well as the crab cake sandwich I had at the Margaritaville Hotel in Pensacola last month. So delicious!

Brown Eyed Girl wrote:That's a major pet peeve of mine, when recipes refer to something by a regional brand name, instead of what the ingredient is. How tough would it be to say 1 T hot sauce (such as Crystal or ______)? A lot of "famous" chefs are guilty of this....grrrrrrrrrr.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa.. there is a major difference between Crystal and texas pete or whatever generic sauce you might be thinking of.

Sanjuro's tequila wrote:

Brown Eyed Girl wrote:That's a major pet peeve of mine, when recipes refer to something by a regional brand name, instead of what the ingredient is. How tough would it be to say 1 T hot sauce (such as Crystal or ______)? A lot of "famous" chefs are guilty of this....grrrrrrrrrr.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa.. there is a major difference between Crystal and texas pete or whatever generic sauce you might be thinking of.

Then you specify the heat of the hot sauce the recipe calls for. What's the point of only specifying the name "Crystal" when it's not available nationwide??? Crystal out here is ice cream or dairy...I'm thinking that wouldn't do so well in a crab cake.

Hmmmmm, wonder how those crab cakes would be with methamphetamine?

tikitatas wrote:Hmmmmm, wonder how those crab cakes would be with methamphetamine?

I'd ask the Meth-heads in Modesto...but I'm pretty sure meth is the ONLY thing they know how to cook.

Brown Eyed Girl wrote:

tikitatas wrote:Hmmmmm, wonder how those crab cakes would be with methamphetamine?

I'd ask the Meth-heads in Modesto...but I'm pretty sure meth is the ONLY thing they know how to cook.

XO <3 you, Kath!

Brown Eyed Girl wrote:That's a major pet peeve of mine, when recipes refer to something by a regional brand name, instead of what the ingredient is. How tough would it be to say 1 T hot sauce (such as Crystal or ______)? A lot of "famous" chefs are guilty of this....grrrrrrrrrr.

Same with me, Kath.. That annoys the heck out of me. List 'substitutes' or such things.

BTW - this made me look up different hot sauces.. seems they all have ABOUT the same ingredients.

Crystal Hot Sauce:
The ingredient list on the product's packaging is: aged red cayenne peppers, distilled vinegar and salt.

Texas Pete® Hot Sauce is made from specially grown, select red cayenne peppers that are aged for two years. The aging process is important as it softens the skin and enhances the extraction of the natural capsicum from the pepper. The seeds and skin are removed and processed into a pure natural pulp. The pulp is placed in a vacuum tank where all impurities are removed. Then, the pure natural pepper pulp is specially blended with the rest of the ingredients under the watchful eye of quality assurance technicians. No artificial colors or ingredients are ever used in the manufacture of Texas Pete® Hot Sauce. Made of Peppers, Vinegar, Salt, Xanthan Gum, and Benzoate of Soda (to Preserve Freshness and Flavor)

TABASCO® brand pepper sauce is made with three simple ingredients: fully-aged red pepper, high grain all-natural vinegar, and a small amount of salt mined right on Avery Island. It's pure pepper sauce—no additives whatsoever.

Many of you miss the point.. the right and specific ingrediant is absolutely crucial. No ordinary hot sauce will do. Like anything else, if you substitute, you get an inferior product. Its why most of us who care will take the time to order in the right stuff for recipes when called for.

Sanjuro's tequila wrote:Many of you miss the point.. the right and specific ingredient is absolutely crucial. No ordinary hot sauce will do. Like anything else, if you substitute, you get an inferior product. Its why most of us who care will take the time to order in the right stuff for recipes when called for.

So can you send me a bottle so I can test it?? (No Crystal's here).. Trust me, I don't use inferior products, but try to find a very close substitute in my area.

Looooooooooooooooooooooooove Crystal! And loved seeing they carry the huge bottles at Shoppers Food Warehouse in Manassas!

When it comes to recipes, and much to Sanjuro's point, I'll specify a brand if I've found it delivers the best results. Think about making a top-shelf margarita.