Quick answer: Nick gave El Yucateco Salsa Kutbil-ik a 3 out of 5 verdict. Aroma 4.5, flavor 4, heat only 2 for hardened habanero fans. A good middle-of-the-road intro to habanero, and affordable.
I’ll start right off the bat as admitting I am not a huge fan of mass-produced sauces. They tend to have an overly processed taste (or lack of) with poor consistency and no discernable aroma. But every now and then I buy a sauce I know is mass-produced (I live in Wisconsin-the Bland Hole of the Flavor Universe) and WHOA! Surprise, surprise, surprise. This sauce is just that case.
Salsa Kutbil-ik de Chile Habanero is El Yucateco’s hottest in their garden of habanero sauces. The first thing I do with every new sauce I try is pour it on a spoon, right out of the bottle, and taste it. A good habanero sauce will have three characteristics:
1-A clean, citrus-y, almost smoky-earthy aroma.
2-Flavor that tastes like fresh habanero, not vinegar.
3-Heat that starts at the tip of the tongue, and slowly flows all the way to the back of the throat. This sauce hits two out of three.
Salsa Kutbil-ik smells like I just picked a habbie right out of my garden. Fresh, very fresh. Doesn’t smell like a mass-produced sauce. Doesn’t pour like one, either; very smooth and constant.
The flavor of the sauce right out of the bottle took me right to the Yucatan-very fresh, very full, and it just coats the tongue with the flavor of a just-picked habbie. If it weren’t for the salt and “spices” it would taste like a slice of the real thing.
The heat? Here’s where I was taken back to reality. The heat hits you right away, and then”¦completely disappears. I mean, it completely disappeared. This is a habanero sauce?
Any good hot sauce can be applied to any type of cuisine. I decided to use this sauce with something obviously non-Mexican, pepperoni pizza. I made the pizza at my job (I work at a bar/restaurant), brought it home, threw the sauce on, and then reheated it. Remember what I said about the aroma and flavor about this sauce? It wasn’t there anymore. But here’s the thing: the heat was. So I took some left over pizza, reheated it, and then put the sauce on. Result: flavor’s back, aroma’s back, and the heat again stood out (if only for a couple of minutes). Acceptable, considering the cost of this four ounce bottle. This is a finishing sauce, not a cooking sauce.
Overall, this is a good, middle of the road kind of sauce. If I had a friend that was just wandering in to the Wonderful World of Habanero, this just fits the bill. Not too hot, not too dull, and enough flavor to keep around the house.
My Five Star Scales:
Aroma: 4 ½. Literal garden fresh smell with a hint of vinegar.
Flavor: 4. It’s almost all there, but still missing something.
Heat: 2. That’s stretching it, too. For hardened habbie-heads, this sauce is child’s play.
Verdict: 3. I’d buy this sauce again, not only for its flavor, but also for its affordability. If this sauce was a car, it would be a Cadillac.
Until next time, treat every meal like it’s your last, and make it a full one!
Frequently asked questions
How hot is El Yucateco Kutbil-ik?
Nick rated heat 2 out of 5 and said that was stretching it for hardened habanero heads.
Is Kutbil-ik worth buying?
He would buy it again for flavor and affordability, especially as an intro habanero sauce.
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24 responses to “Review: El Yucateco Salsa Kutbil-ik de Chile Habanero Hot Sauce”
El Yucateco is my favorite everyday sauce. I first had it in the late 70’s at the ‘Fourth Street Grill’. Mark Miller was the Chef. He served El Yucateco as a condiment for a grilled skewer of beef hearts. I have been hooked since. I purchase it for $1.69 at our local Mexican Market. You can’t beat that.!!!!
El Yucateco has some pretty good stuff!
Look for Salsa Habanera from Castillo. Up here it is a sleeper sauce that can only be found in Latin food markets. But if you like the El Yucateco Line up you should really enjoy this!
Great Review!
I liked the review Louie. I also like the way that everyone seems to have their own style of reviewing while still covering all aspects of each sauce or product. Good job!
I love this sauce. It only costs $1.75 out here in LA and I can’t get enought of it. I’ve been through at least 7 bottles of this. Don’t thing the heat’s there do ya…do what I do, use 1/4 to 1/2 of the bottle on a burrito and then tell me what you think of the heat 😉
Where are you getting that Jonathan?
And what number do you give it on your heat scale? 11,600 SU’s sounds pretty mild to me.
This is what Sweatnspice says…. 9?
El Yucateco Chile Habanero XXXtra Hot Sauce
From a recipe inherited from the ancient Mayan civiliza Chile Habañero tion of Yucatan, we rescued this special edition hot sauce.
Heat Scale: 9
Scoville Units: 11600
Ingredients: Habanero pepper, vinegar, tomato, salt, spices and 0.1% of sodium benzoate as perservative.
Does 15,000 SU make a 10? lol
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I would put this in the realm of about Muerte. Has enough heat to be noticed but not enough to really get your attention. This is one of those sauces where the scoville scale is hardly an exact science.
Just enjoy it!
But Muarte is supposed to be twice as hot as original Blair’s death sauce. It’s not…..what’s up with that?
Is Original Death sauce 30,000 as it claims? I’d say both were right about where your talking Anthony. Probably 15-20
I have been wrong before….lol
This stuff is $1.49 at the little Mexican market/carneceria here in Paso. Love it! Try the chipotle, it’s good too.
I did a little research. It was not the ‘Fourth Street Grill’. It was the ‘Santa Fe Bar and Grill’. It was a couple of blocks and a cross the street from the “The Berkeley Square”. My mind was a little hazy from the 70’s. The Berkeley Square had a lot of local groups. “Pearl Harbor and the Explosions, Flipper, and The Dead Kennedys. We would go eat a killer meal by Mark Miller and then go dance it off at the Square. Damn I am old!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I prefer the “green” variety of this sauce and it’s one of my favorites to be honest. It’s a great “finishing sauce” as you said that you can virtually add to anything. I swear, it’s still to this day my favorite thing to load up on Mac & Cheese.
[…] I’ll start right off the bat as admitting I am not a huge fan of mass-produced sauces. They tend to have an overly processed taste (or lack of) with poor consistency and no discernable aroma. But every now and then I buy a sauce I know … …more […]
I just cant accept this review, this is one of the best sauces out there for its ease of use, price, consitancy, moderate heat, excellent flavor, and quality. Its got a fruity accent and its excellent on nearly any type of cuisine.
Daniel, We live in the same area, where do you purchase it? I’d like to try this sauce.
I love this brand of sauce! I use it all the time. I buy it in our local grocery store for $1.69. I have a question though. Is the red supposed to be hotter than the green? The heat scale seems to be identical to me.
My second biggest burn as a kid was this stuff.
its damn good and damn cheap in CA.
The one shown above, the Mayan recipe is the hottest i believe.
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Just head to your local carniceria. They should have it there.
Dont be looking at Ralph’s or ALbertson’s b/c they wont have it there. ANy respectable Mexican market will.
That makes sense…..Thanks Clint!
I love this sauce for everyday use. Get it at most Mexican food markets.
My dad just triked me into eating a sppofull of this sauce 🙁 It was soooooooo hot i had to sit with my mouth under a tap for about 10 minutes 😛
I really like this yellow hot sauce, and I prefer it now over their green or red. To me, it’s not any hotter than the others, but it has a smooth, fruity, but not too sweet taste, that was surprising. With the color being yellow, I was expecting it to be harse, but it was actually very mellow tasting. It goes great with grilled chicken or shrimp skewers.
Im mexican, living in Los Cabos, and Im a really chile lover…You’ve tried torta ahogada Hot chili sauce? ??? “Kutbil ik” the hotter bottled sauce that I’ve tried!!!! I suposed yo don’t have it fresh like us