The definition
Hot salt is sea salt infused with hot peppers. It is used dry, pressed from a grinder, where you would otherwise use hot sauce. It is not a seasoning blend. The peppers are infused into the salt crystal instead of being mixed in as powder, so each grain carries the salt and the heat together.
How it is made
The salt is sea salt: solar-evaporated, non-iodized, washed in brine and screened to size.
The peppers are Carolina Reaper, Trinidad Scorpion and Ghost, grown with organic methods, then dried and crushed.
The peppers are infused into the salt. The finished Hot Salt is filled by our family into stainless steel push grinders that are manufactured to our spec. The equipment is used for Hot Salt and nothing else. We do one thing.
How hot it is, and how to dose it
Each press puts out about 33 mg of salt, so the heat goes on in small steps. Start with one press, taste, and add another if you want more. Three Kings is the everyday level. Hotter Stuff is the next step up. Taste it on food, not dry off your palm.
“1-2 pumps of Hotter Stuff gives me what 6 pumps of 3 Kings does.”
Chris H.
What people put it on
These counts come from our 1,470 customer reviews.
- Everything named in 216 reviews
- Eggs named in 67 reviews
- Steak named in 54 reviews
- Coffee named in 17 reviews
Reviewers also name watermelon, popcorn, pizza, salads, fish tacos and the rim of a margarita glass.
“I literally put it on everything watermelon, salads, gumbo, fish tacos, steak yes literally everything.”
Junior M.
Hot salt vs hot sauce
Hot sauce is peppers, vinegar and water in a bottle. It adds liquid and acidity, and the heat lands where it is poured. Hot salt adds no liquid and no vinegar, and it spreads evenly across the plate, one press at a time. Hot sauce is still the better tool for wings, marinades and anything you dip.
See the full hot salt vs hot sauce comparison ›Who makes it
Firecracker Farm is a small family-run business in Palm City, Florida that makes hot salt: sea salt infused with hot peppers, sold in a refillable stainless steel push grinder. People use it where they would reach for hot sauce, but it is dry, so the heat spreads through the whole plate instead of landing in one bite.
Read our story ›
Hot salt questions, answered
Hot salt is sea salt infused with hot peppers. It is used dry, pressed from a grinder, where you would reach for hot sauce, so the heat spreads through the whole plate instead of landing in one bite.
Chili salt and seasoned salt are usually blends, with pepper powder or other spices mixed in with the salt. In hot salt the peppers are infused into the salt crystal, so every grain carries both. Firecracker Farm Three Kings has two ingredients: sea salt and peppers.
The peppers are three of the hottest there are, but you control the dose. Each press is about 33 mg of salt, so start with one press and add from there. Three Kings is the everyday level and Hotter Stuff is the next step up.
No. Hot salt is shelf stable and needs no refrigeration. Salt does not go off.
Directly from Firecracker Farm, at shop.firecracker.farm.
Shop Three Kings Hot Salt ›
Start with one press
Three Kings Hot Salt Pusher + 50 g refill, $59
Rated 4.85 out of 5 across 1,470 customer reviews.