There’s one cure for this interminably cold winter that still seems to be gripping New York City, and it’s not whining about the weather’s refusal to change. Instead, burn off the doldrums with heat this weekend at the two-day second annual New York City Hot Sauce Expo. It’s not just any heat either: The expo features samples of Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper, the newly dubbed hottest pepper in the world. Plus, you can try 45 artisanal hot sauces from around the country, which will compete for prizes in 13 categories, such as fruit-based, all-natural, best label artwork and spicy salsa.
Before you go all Homer at the chili cook-off and start hallucinating on those peppers, here are five things to make sure not to miss:
Taste the sauce that started it all
Steve Seabury is a hot-sauce maker, but the reason he became a co-producer of the event in the first place is because he got tired of traveling to other hot-sauce shows around the country. “I’m watching all these markets and I’m like why isn’t there one in New York City?” he says. “I just wanted to stay home for a weekend. To me, New York City is the best city, and we’re a foodie city.”
Pay tribute to his vision by testing his High River Sauces.
Seabury recommends the Foo Foo Mama Choo, described as “an assortment of spices combined with the secrets of the Far West to the valleys of the Southeast.” It’s got ginger, but it’s also got heat, because it contains some of that beastly Carolina Reaper.
Tantalize your tongue with expert recommendations
Seabury has tried his fair share of sauces, so we asked him for which ones he’s most looking forward to at the convention. His recommendations: NW Elixirs, Heartbreaking Dawns, CaJohns and Lucky Dog.
Blast away brunch at the Bloody Mary Mix Down Championship (Sunday)
Organizers spent the past six weeks judging hundreds of competitors from the five boroughs to bring the top Bloody Mary mixologists to face off at the expo. The winner of the best mix walks away with a $250 cash prize, the Screaming Mimi Award and gets their recipe featured in the 2015 Stoli vodka cookbook.
Check out the spicy pizza-eating contest (Saturday)
You won’t see Midwestern tourists in this Grimaldi’s pizza line. Competitors on Saturday will have 10 minutes to try to eat a whole Grimaldi’s pizza adorned with some of the hottest toppings on earth, including the Carolina Reaper, ghost and scorpion peppers. Last year, one guy finished a whole pizza in seven minutes.
The Carolina Reaper eating contest (Sunday)
Since the Guinness Book of World Records just certified this as the hottest pepper ever, the expo wanted to set their own record this weekend and see how many someone could eat in one sitting. Guinness officials will be on hand to watch iron-stomached competitors try to set the record for downing the most Carolina Reapers in one minute.
If you’re not as brave/batcrap bonkers as to eat a bunch of them at once, you can just taste a pepper at the expo, too. Be warned: Seabury describes the heat as “having a herd of elephants run 100 yards and hit you as hard as they can.”