Ingredients: vinegar, serrano pepper, tomatillo, garlic, red onions, cilantro, salt
I’m no stranger to Hank Sauce. The Florida-born and New Jersey-raised hot sauce company makes a number of delicious high value pseudo-Louisiana style super tangy hot sauces. I’ve reviewed several of those before including Camouflage, Hank’s Heat, and Skedatil. All of those sauces are based on the “Hank Base” which includes aged peppers, distilled vinegar, and salt and all include wine as an ingredient as well, something you don’t often see in hot sauces. This sauce, Fish Whistle, is a different take. The first green sauce I’ve tried from Hank Sauce this sauce is a collaboration between Hank Sauce and The Qualified Captain, which is apparently a social media page highlighting foolish boaters.
Hank Sauce Fish Whistle has a clean and simple ingredients list. Green serrano peppers, vinegar, tomatillo, garlic, red onion, cilantro, and salt – it reads like any Mexican salsa verde recipe you’ll find online. That’s not a bad thing as salsa verde is always delicious and there’s nothing wrong with going for a classic, especially as the bottle suggests pairings of eggs and seafood, places salsa verde often shines. This sauce is chunkier than other Hank Sauce sauces that I’ve tried before which have been mostly smooth, and has a medium consistency. The tart aroma of the tomatillos and the vinegar come to the forefront when you open the bottle as well as a hint of serrano chile.
The salsa verde vibes continue with the flavor which is tangy, bright, and fresh. The green serrano peppers are grassy, fresh, and bright. The tangy vinegar and tangy-sour-sweet tomatillo add more brightness while the pungent onions and garlic add their earthy flavors to the mix. The cilantro flavor isn’t strong but there’s enough to add a bit of freshness to the sauce, and thankfully doesn’t have the dull cooked cilantro flavor that plagues many hot sauces. There’s a subtle sweetness in this sauce that I believe is most likely from the tomatillos or perhaps the onions, it helps round out the overall flavors. Even with serranos being hotter than jalapenos this sauce is still very mild, though that makes it nice for pairing with more delicate proteins.
While Hank Sauce recommends this to go with fish tacos, my favorite local taco place doesn’t carry those, but they do have excellent shrimp tacos and this sauce goes very well with them. I also really enjoyed this with some air-fried frozen fried shrimp that I’d picked up on a Publix BOGO a while back, this fresh tangy zing of Fish Whistle really lightening up the flavor of the heavy breading. Since this sauce is so tangy it’s also a good pairing for fatty sandwiches. I thought it was solid with eggs, though I’m more of a red sauce guy when it comes to those.
Hank Sauce Fish Whistle gets my recommendation. It’s a pretty straightforward sauce that doesn’t break any new ground but it does what it does very well and passes my test for verde sauces in that it tastes fresh and vibrant. This sauce is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.
skitzoandro
I like the short and sweet ingredient list, but red onion scares me. It can easily overpower almost anything.
Bleemus2
How can it have salt and contain zero grams of sodium?
Bleemus2
How can it have salt and contain zero grams of sodium?
Baddog789
You didn’t try it on a T Rex or a boat anchor? Fail. Thanks for the review.
rushmc1
Looks interesting. Too bad it has no heat, so I’ll never buy it.
6 Comments
Bitter: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Sour/Tangy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰
Sweet: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Umami: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Tangy, fresh, bright
Texture: Medium with some chunks
Recommended: Yes
Ingredients: vinegar, serrano pepper, tomatillo, garlic, red onions, cilantro, salt
I’m no stranger to Hank Sauce. The Florida-born and New Jersey-raised hot sauce company makes a number of delicious high value pseudo-Louisiana style super tangy hot sauces. I’ve reviewed several of those before including Camouflage, Hank’s Heat, and Skedatil. All of those sauces are based on the “Hank Base” which includes aged peppers, distilled vinegar, and salt and all include wine as an ingredient as well, something you don’t often see in hot sauces. This sauce, Fish Whistle, is a different take. The first green sauce I’ve tried from Hank Sauce this sauce is a collaboration between Hank Sauce and The Qualified Captain, which is apparently a social media page highlighting foolish boaters.
Hank Sauce Fish Whistle has a clean and simple ingredients list. Green serrano peppers, vinegar, tomatillo, garlic, red onion, cilantro, and salt – it reads like any Mexican salsa verde recipe you’ll find online. That’s not a bad thing as salsa verde is always delicious and there’s nothing wrong with going for a classic, especially as the bottle suggests pairings of eggs and seafood, places salsa verde often shines. This sauce is chunkier than other Hank Sauce sauces that I’ve tried before which have been mostly smooth, and has a medium consistency. The tart aroma of the tomatillos and the vinegar come to the forefront when you open the bottle as well as a hint of serrano chile.
The salsa verde vibes continue with the flavor which is tangy, bright, and fresh. The green serrano peppers are grassy, fresh, and bright. The tangy vinegar and tangy-sour-sweet tomatillo add more brightness while the pungent onions and garlic add their earthy flavors to the mix. The cilantro flavor isn’t strong but there’s enough to add a bit of freshness to the sauce, and thankfully doesn’t have the dull cooked cilantro flavor that plagues many hot sauces. There’s a subtle sweetness in this sauce that I believe is most likely from the tomatillos or perhaps the onions, it helps round out the overall flavors. Even with serranos being hotter than jalapenos this sauce is still very mild, though that makes it nice for pairing with more delicate proteins.
While Hank Sauce recommends this to go with fish tacos, my favorite local taco place doesn’t carry those, but they do have excellent shrimp tacos and this sauce goes very well with them. I also really enjoyed this with some air-fried frozen fried shrimp that I’d picked up on a Publix BOGO a while back, this fresh tangy zing of Fish Whistle really lightening up the flavor of the heavy breading. Since this sauce is so tangy it’s also a good pairing for fatty sandwiches. I thought it was solid with eggs, though I’m more of a red sauce guy when it comes to those.
Hank Sauce Fish Whistle gets my recommendation. It’s a pretty straightforward sauce that doesn’t break any new ground but it does what it does very well and passes my test for verde sauces in that it tastes fresh and vibrant. This sauce is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.
I like the short and sweet ingredient list, but red onion scares me. It can easily overpower almost anything.
How can it have salt and contain zero grams of sodium?
How can it have salt and contain zero grams of sodium?
You didn’t try it on a T Rex or a boat anchor? Fail. Thanks for the review.
Looks interesting. Too bad it has no heat, so I’ll never buy it.