Think Outside the Sauce

Two Hives Hot Honey

Tara Chapman took a Groupon beekeeping class and fell hard for the bees. Hard enough to leave a decadelong government career, including work in intelligence and time in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and build a new career around honey and Central Texas plants.

When Chapman started developing a hot honey, she kept the local focus going with chile pequin, the tiny, notoriously fiery pepper native to Texas. She infuses dried pequins into raw honey, creating a condiment that hits with floral sweetness first, then settles into a slow burn. Chapman compares it to the grownup version of the Red Hots she loved as a kid.

At around a 7 to 7.5 on her personal heat scale, the honey delivers a quick hit of heat without overpowering whatever it’s drizzled over. That balance makes it especially useful as a finishing condiment. Try it on pizza or fried chicken, spoon it onto a buttery biscuit, or follow Chapman’s lead and pour it over vanilla ice cream with pecans. The cold creaminess takes the edge off the chile.

Where to Find It: 

Antonelli’s Cheese Shop, Radius Butcher & Grocery, and online

Fredericksburg Farms Hot Bavarian Mustard

Mustard doesn’t usually get much attention in the spicy condiment department, but Fredericksburg Farms’ Hot Bavarian Mustard has tons of bite. The coarse-ground sauce is tangy and grainy, with a savory mustard seed flavor and a warming horseradish kick. It lands around a 5 on a 10-point heat scale, fiery enough to notice without leaving your face in ruins.

The recipe started with a local German businesswoman who told the Fredericksburg Farms family she couldn’t find the hot, German-style mustard she missed from home. The family, which has been making food products for 20 years, decided to fill the gap. The result is a mustard that brings zippy acidity alongside the heat, making it especially good with fatty foods. Think pastrami, sausages, or Reubens, where the sharpness cuts through the richness rather than simply adding more fire. 

Where to Find It: 

Central Market, the Texas Capitol Gift Shop, and online

Torcatha Spìosrach Barbecue Sauce 

David McCulley knows a thing or two about fire. His father, Randy, began developing the family barbecue sauce more than 40 years ago, and McCulley spent more than a decade making it from scratch while cooking for crews at San Antonio fire stations. The firefighters became an unusually honest tasting panel, asking for more until McCulley finally bottled the family recipe as Torcatha.

Torcatha nods to the McCulley family name and its Scottish Gaelic roots, while Spìosrach means “spicy” in the language. The hotter version grew from McCulley’s desire to turn up the original at customers’ request. Black pepper brings the first wave of heat, followed by a slower cayenne burn. McCulley rates it a 7 out of 10, though the intensity fades fairly quickly.

The flavor is still firmly barbecue, with tomato tang, savory depth, a touch of sweetness, and a lingering chile kick. Thick and rich, Spìosrach is built for dunking and spreading, whether it’s spooned alongside sausage, used as a dip for fries, chicken tenders, or onion rings, or spread on a sandwich. It brings enough barbecue flavor to evoke the smoker, even when there isn’t a rack of ribs anywhere nearby.

Where to Find It: 

Central Market and online

Hot Glitter Chili Crisp

Hot Glitter started seven years ago, when Scott Davis began making chili crisp as holiday gifts for friends and coworkers. Molly Strehl joined the tradition about two years later, and the co-owners eventually found themselves making four or five batches a year after friends kept asking for more. In October 2025, Molly applied to the Tiny Farmers Market on a whim, and they sold out in 90 minutes.

What sets Hot Glitter apart is its crunch. The texture falls somewhere between chili crisp and salsa macha, with peanuts, pistachios, pepitas, fried garlic, and shallots packing every bite with a nutty, savory bite. Four dried chiles bring a lingering, approachable heat that lands around 3 to 5 on the 10-point scale, while two types of Sichuan peppercorns add citrusy brightness and a gentle, tongue-numbing mala. It’s zingy enough to wake up a bite without overwhelming it.

Hot Glitter isn’t just a noodle topper. Spoon it over fried eggs, breakfast tacos, pizza, fried rice, or a charcuterie board with whipped goat cheese. At a pop-up with Swivel, the duo discovered another winning combination: vanilla soft serve. The cold creaminess mellows the chile, while the Sichuan pepper adds a little mischief. It’s a good reminder that Hot Glitter works best when treated less like a sauce and more like a crunchy seasoning.

Where to Find It: 

Little Tipsy, Maybe A Pop-Up Shop, and Ollie’s Market in San Marcos

Natalie Paramore started making Soiree Sauce in her kitchen after college. While cooking for her food blog, she found jarred pestos disappointingly flat. Her solution was less Italian and more Tex-Mex. She swapped basil for cilantro, added jalapeños, and made something bright, garlicky, and herbaceous, with a little kick. When a friend asked for 100 jars for her wedding, Paramore peeled every clove of garlic by hand, leaving her fingers smelling like garlic for days.

The Cilantro Jalapeño Pesto lands around a 3 to 4 on the heat scale. Paramore keeps the jalapeños in check, letting the fresh cilantro lead while garlic and chile fill in the background. It’s fresh and savory rather than rich, equally at home on tacos, eggs, grilled meats, or roasted vegetables. It’s less a traditional pesto than a shortcut to adding fresh, savory heat to just about anything.

One of its most popular applications is also the easiest: no-prep guacamole. Mash a few spoonfuls into a ripe avocado, grab some chips, and call it a snack. The pesto handles the cilantro, jalapeño, and garlic, so there’s nothing to chop and barely anything to clean up.

Where to Find It: 

Central Market and Tiny Grocer