12/6/07 | Pico Pica Hot Sauce
[ Currently Eating: Fajitas For Breakfast ]
Sorry for the later post this week – we’ve been dealing with a feeble internet connection lately. It was too frustrating to try and make blog posts when submitting the form could send 2 hours of work into Nowhereland. When it finally got fixed, I realized I didn’t have anything lined up to talk about.
So I turned to an old standby: Pico Pica Hot Sauce.
I don’t mean that I’ve written about this before, but I’ve been meaning to make a post about it for a year or so now. I call it a standby because we always have a bottle of this sitting in the fridge. My parents always had a bottle of this in their fridge. Actually, it seems like it was the same particular bottle for about 10 years…
Although it’s currrently distributed by Juanita’s Foods, it has been in production since 1937. According to the website, it was “one of the original bottled Mexican hot sauces in Southern California.” I believe that Juanita’s is also the number one seller of Menudo (not the band, the stomach pieces) in the U.S. as well.
What I always liked about Pico Pica’s hot sauce was that it IS an old standby. I originally got into it in the 80s after I discovered it tasted remarkably like Taco Bell hot sauce. It’s a little less watery and thin than I remember Taco Bell’s being, but not as thick as some other hot sauces. It’s a blended hot sauce made primarily of red chile peppers, tomatoes and spices.
On the heat scale, it’s not unbearably hot – I can take a lot more heat than this. But it’s pleasant to eat when you’re just hungry but want to add some zing to a bland burrito. It has a mild afterburn, but I wouldn’t call it mild hot sauce. The flavor has a fairly strong cumin or chile powder scent, and a bit of a “raw” taste to it that I suspect some people might not like. I think compared to Tapatio it’s milder and less of a cumin taste to it. But I haven’t tried them side by side.
What I like about it is that it doesn’t have as much of a vinegar taste like some other hot sauces – I mean I dig dashes of Tabasco for certain things like eggs and breakfast skillets, but if you want something to pour liberally on top of your meal then I like Pico Pica better.
An interesting anecdote about the Pico Pica hot sauce – I’m not Latino / Hispanic, I’m Asian. Not Cajun either. So I probably don’t know a thing about hot sauce (and I’m not talking about the Sriracha variety) … I only know Pico Pica because I grew up with it in the fridge. I only later noticed on the bottle that it was supposed to be some sort of “authentic” hot sauce made from the 30s. But I always thought it wasn’t really an authentic hot sauce. Whatever “authentic” means.
But in the “Cheap Eats college years” I used to hang with a bunch of friends, most of whom were Hispanic. One night at around 3 in the morning, after they had bulldozed their way through beer after beer (not me, I didn’t drink if you can believe that) we crashed at one of the guys house’s and were just sitting around vegging out. Talk turned from girls, to food, to archaic Greek pronunciation, back to girls, and then to Mexican food and hot sauce. You know how that happens. They were all calling out their favorites, and I felt like participating too. So in my bravest voice, I shouted out “Yeah, and how about that Pico Pica!”
A bit of silence after that – I thought I’d committed some sort of Pico Pica Faux Pas. Like telling someone that Panda Express is real Chinese Food. But actually, I think they were more curious how the Asian kid knew what that was. “How do you know about Pico Pica? That’s great stuff.” Nods of approval all around. I think I got a little more respect after that. I still didn’t get to sit shotgun, but I was offered beer more often (which I turned down, of course). I was a little surprised that they actually used it too. I’m not saying that every Hispanic or Latino household uses it, but at least a few probably do.
Hmm… I just re-read what I wrote above and decided it sounds kinda dumb. But I’ll keep it here anyway – true stories never come out on paper the way you picture it in your head.
Back to Pico Pica – a 7 ounce bottle seems to last forever. My parent’s bottle in the fridge went a little faster after I discovered it. The label above says to use it on eggs, tacos, soups, meats and fish. I can honestly say that I’ve tried all those except for soup – I suspect you’d just dash it in while cooking.
As for price, one reason I didn’t write about this earlier is that I couldn’t seem to find it on sale – it was usually between $2 and $3 which I guess isn’t terribly expensive because it (for most folks) lasts a long time. But it wasn’t really cheap. However, the other day I saw it on clearance at the market for a dollar a bottle. I bought three – and I wish I’d bought more. Because this truly is the old time hot sauce standby for me.
Ok, now let the Pico Pica naysaying begin…
Price: $1.00 for 7 oz bottle
Found At: Albertsons
Cheap Eats Score: 8/10
December 7th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
No naysaying will be forthcoming from me! One can never have enough hot sauces.
I’m not familiar with it. Tapatio is our all-around go-to sauce (to the tune of about 1/2 gallon per year). But my brother and I are heading down to the Mexican bodegas in Chicago after Christmas on our yearly visit, and I will surely pick some up if I find it.
Your story isn’t dumb at all, it’s really very sweet and funny.
But dude, put some sauce in your soup already. Sheesh.
December 8th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
LOL!! Your story really cracked me up! I am a bit of a hot sauce fiend but had not seen or heard of Pico Pica. I will add it to my current collection because on your description of flavors, it does sound different from Tapatio. My collection in the refrigerator includes: Tabasco, Tabasco chipotle, Crystal pepper sauce, Tapatio, Red Rooster, Frank’s hot sauce, and five other random Louisiana pepper sauces. I was in a phase of trying a bunch of them out. Anyway, thanks for the Pico Pica tip and great laugh!!
December 10th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
I read this blog regularly, but this is my first comment. I am always looking for a new hot sauce to try, Tapatio is usually the go to sauce. Funny, the night before you posted this, I bought a bottle of the Pico-Pica. I like it a lot. I had a good laugh the next day when I saw you had posted it just after I bought some. Keep up the good work!! I love this blog!!
December 11th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Ok, I don’t care what it says on the bottle, hot sauce does NOT belong in the refridgerator. Weak! Loved the article though. I’m a huge hot sauce fan. At any given time there’s 7 or 8 bottles of assorted types on my countertop. Tabasco Chipotle, Red Devil, Frank’s Red Hot, Red Rooster, Tapatio…man, I’m getting hungry!
January 8th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
I really wanted to comment on the pasta casserole but I couldn’t find where to comment. I was going to comment that I’ve always told my friends that the meals that you prepare at homes are much more cheaper than eating out. Imagine that! A delicious pasta casserole for $3 bucks which I’m sure can serve about 8 people. I have a recipe at my blog that I called Lasagna on a budget. You can check it out when you get the chance.
February 13th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Not sure why I googled Pica Pica, just bored I guess. I use this all the time. It is my favorite and now is the favorite of my (6) kids as well. I had it when I was a kid and then found it again after 20 years. My son came home from college and I gave him 6 bottles as a Christmas present. I would buy it on line if Albertsons stopped selling it.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I can’t find Pico Pica in the Chicago area lately — it seems to have disappeared. So I’ve fallen back on my other staple, Tapatio. But they are different, and Pico Pica is good for those fast bean burritos and the occasional hot dog with cheese. I might have to order some from Amazon for $2.95/7 oz plus shipping.
September 1st, 2008 at 8:34 am
Different foods taste better with different sauces and I always have a bunch of hot sauces on hand. But I must say that Pico Pico is by far my favoriite. Since moving to TN, I have to order it, usually from Mexgrocer.com. It’s more expensive than typical Mexicn sauces and I find myself using it much more liberally because it tastes so good. It does not have any vinegar which l think makes it taste so much better on most foods but also requires it to be refrigerated, if opened and stored for an extended period.
January 11th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
I just ate one of those new Johnsonville chili cheese hot dogs they sell and put it in a bun with sourkraut and Pico Pica! So good!! You get 6 sausages in a pack and this is my favorite hot sauce with them so far. Pico Pica is great hot sauce and retails here in southern WA state for under $1.40. When I bought my bottle like 5 months ago the shelf was fully stocked. Lame for such a delectable hot sauce as this. Mexican over LA any day!! This stuff should be flying off the shelves. If you like like Taco Bell type sauce review Gringo Bandito sometime (it’s made by Dexter Holland of the band The Offspring, really great sauce as well.)
April 19th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Pico Pica is by far the best off-the-shelf sauce you can buy! I have been using it for years. Anyone know the recipe?
I have used Tapitio, tabasco, Trappeys, etc. They are good for the most part,but for authentic “California Style” mexican I will take Pico Pica any day. If you haven’t tried it you are missing out. The sauce used to be made down the street in Harbor City, CA. Then Juanita foods bought them out. But they didn’t change anything from what I can tell. I found a huge bottle (15.5 oz.) of the sauce in our local supermarket (Stater Brothers). Gotta get some more.. Enjoy!
August 30th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Pico Pica is getting hard to find in my home town (OKC). The flavor of this sauce grows on you over time. I’ve been using it for 30 years now. The first 10…didn’t really notice it so much. Now, I can’t get enough. Warning: it is possible to put too much on peach ice cream…but impossible on anything else!
February 26th, 2010 at 11:29 am
I won’t pile on more accolades for P.P. Sauce – we have quite a handful here already. I do, however, as an eternally-cursed heat-seeking chilehead, enjoy hearing about people venturing away from the vinegar-based Louisiana style sauces and giving it a go with a new brand or style they may be unfamiliar with. One of the reasons I love stopping into my Hispanic supermarket now and again is to grab a handful of sauces from Latin America and the Carribbean, always at good prices, and then you have something to look forward to the next time your sunnysides are staring up at you. Or whatever you enjoy it with. Look for El Yucateco (Mexican) there’s a green, a red, a XXX and a Chipotle. You won’t be disappointed. If you like Tapatio, give Valentina a try, also avail. in a 32 oz, which is what I like to keep on my kitchen table. It’s easy to find and gets used plenty. Good luck out there and keep it on fire!!