NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Two-time finalist for James Beard “Best Chef: South,” Chef Isaac Toups exemplifies the new guard of Cajun chefs. Owner of Toups’ Meatery and Toups South in New Orleans and author of critically-acclaimed cookbook Chasing the Gator – Isaac Toups & the New Cajun Cooking (Little, Brown and Company), Toups continues to expand his culinary horizons with the launch of his brand new hot sauce line and has just unveiled his first two in the collection: Smokey Green and Louisiana Liquid Snake.
“It was a natural step for me,” says Toups. “My customers are always asking me for my ‘secret sauce’ and now I’m able to give it to them. Both sauces are versatile enough to use in recipes or on top of dishes and will add a new depth of flavor to home cooking.”
Available for purchase at both restaurants and online, each sauce encompasses the intense flavor Toups puts into every dish. Smokey Green is big, bold and bodacious. The verde hot sauce is a unique blend of jalapeños, poblanos, garlic, smoked paprika and dashi – a freeze dried Asian fish stock that adds a natural umami to the sauce. Perfect for cooking, the sauce lends a smokiness and acidity with just the right amount of heat. Use it in gumbo to add a smoky, bright flavor.
Louisiana Liquid Snake is the quintessential hot hot sauce; red in color and big in flavor. Using red wine vinegar, lots of garlic, salt, sugar and cayenne pepper, this snake sauce definitely has a bite! Toups says, “A little bit goes a long way. This sauce packs some serious heat and is not for the faint of heart.” Add to collard greens and dirty rice for an added kick.
Priced at $10 per bottle or 2 for $18; Toups’ hot sauces can be purchased online at https://toupsmeatery.bigcartel.com/products or at both New Orleans restaurants: Toups Meatery, 845 North Carrollton Ave. and Toups South, 1504 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. Just in time for the holidays, guests can purchase a gift package featuring two sauces and a signed copy of his book, Chasing the Gator – Isaac Toups & the New Cajun Cooking (Little, Brown and Company), named one of the best cookbooks by both The New York Times and Southern Living, for $50. Gift packages are limited so buy early.