Wings are a popular bar food, and many restaurants pride themselves on serving wings doused in spicy hot sauces. Quaker Steak and Lube is well known for its extensive selection of sauces ranging from mild to extremely hot. But just how spicy are their hottest wings? Let’s take a look at Quaker Steak and Lube’s wing sauces and find out which ones bring the most heat.
An Overview of Quaker Steak and Lube’s Wing Sauces
Quaker Steak and Lube offers over 20 signature wing sauces, with flavor profiles ranging from sweet and tangy to fiery and intense. Their sauces are given creative names like Atomic, Golden Garlic, and Paramedic. Heat levels range from “Sweet” and “Mild” on the low end to “Hot,” “Suicide,” and “Armageddon” at the top of the scoville scale. The specific spice level of each sauce is not publicly available, but the names give an indication of the intensity.
In terms of flavor, some of their most popular sauces include:
- Atomic – A hot and tangy buffalo style sauce
- Honey BBQ – Sweet and smoky
- Garlic Parm – Garlicky with Parmesan cheese
- Sweet Thai Chili – Sweet with a kick of chili peppers
- Wildfire BBQ – Smoky and spicy
But for sheer spiciness, their hottest wing sauces are the ones with names like “Suicide” and “Armageddon.” The name alone gives you a sense of the intensity of the heat.
Judging Spiciness – The Scoville Scale
When it comes to determining how spicy Quaker Steak and Lube’s hottest wings really are, we need a standardized scale for measuring spiciness. The most common method is the Scoville scale.
Developed in the early 1900s by a chemist named Wilbur Scoville, this scale measures the concentration of capsaicin, the compound responsible for spiciness in chili peppers. The higher the scoville rating, the hotter the pepper or sauce.
On the Scoville scale:
- A rating of 0-100 is generally not considered spicy
- 100-500 is lightly spicy
- 500-2,500 is moderately hot with some tongue tingling
- 2,500-10,000 starts getting painfully hot for most people
- Above 10,000 is brutal, eye-watering, mouth-burning heat
For reference, a jalapeno pepper registers around 5,000 scovilles. A habanero chili comes in at a blistering 200,000 to 300,000 scovilles. The current world record holder for hottest pepper is the Carolina Reaper at over 2 million scovilles!
Analyzing Quaker Steak and Lube’s Hottest Wings
Quaker Steak and Lube does not publish scoville ratings for its sauces. However, we can make some educated guesses based on the sauce names and customer reviews.
Their hottest sauce in terms of name alone is Armageddon Wing Sauce. With a name like that, you know it’s going to bring some serious heat. Reviews describe it as “hot as hell” and “not for the faint of heart.” It’s likely somewhere in the 10,000 to 100,000 scoville range.
Next is their Suicide sauce. One reviewer said “I pride myself on being able to handle hot foods, but Suicide sauce put me over the edge.” Estimating around 50,000 to 100,000 scovilles.
Other ultra-spicy contenders are:
- Triple Atomic – Maybe around 20,000 scovilles
- Some Like It Hot – Up to 50,000 scovilles
- Pyro Fury – Up to 75,000 scovilles
Of course, this is just speculation without actual lab testing. But based on customer reactions, these are most likely Quaker Steak and Lube’s hottest wing sauces.
Trying the Hottest Wings
I decided to take on the challenge and ordered a dozen of Quaker Steak and Lube’s Armageddon wings to experience the heat myself. Here’s my reaction:
The first thing I noticed was the smell – you could sense the heat coming off these wings from across the table. My lips were tingling before I even took a bite. The sauce was a deep reddish brown, with specks of chili pepper visible throughout. I cautiously took a nibble, and…FIRE! My mouth was instant lava. In an instant, my lips and tongue were buzzing and I broke out into a sweat. The heat kept building, an intense burn that lit up my mouth. After a few brave chews I had to reach for a glass of milk to put out the flames.
There was definite tasty and smoky flavor underneath the overwhelming heat, but my palate was toast after just two wings. This sauce lives up to its Armageddon name. I rated these at easily over 25,000 scovilles, beyond my personal heat tolerance. While I love spicy food, the Armageddon wings at Quaker Steak and Lube are strictly for hardcore chili-heads only!
Other Perspectives on Quaker Steak and Lube’s Hot Wings
Don’t just take my word for it – here’s what other daring reviewers have reported from trying Quaker Steak and Lube’s hottest wings:
“I attempted the Armageddon wings challenge of eating 6 wings in 6 minutes. I got three wings in before my mouth was so hot I couldn’t go on. My face was dripping sweat and my lips went numb. I couldn’t finish the rest of the wings. These have to be one of the spiciest wing sauces out there!” – John from Ohio
“I’m no stranger to hot sauce, but Quaker Steak and Lube’s Triple Atomic wings lit me up big time. The heat kept intensifying with every bite until my nose was running and my eyes were watering. I needed a breather halfway through the order. These are hotter than many salsas I’ve tried.” – Mary from Pennsylvania
“My buddy ordered the Suicide wings and I was cocky enough to steal one off his plate. Big mistake – that sauce immediately torched my tongue something fierce. I drained two glasses of milk but my mouth still felt like I ate a raw Carolina Reaper pepper. Don’t underestimate the heat of Quaker Steak and Lube’s super-hot sauces!” – James from Michigan
Heat Tolerance Varies
From these reviews, it’s clear that Quaker Steak and Lube’s hottest wing sauces pack some serious punch. But everyone’s heat tolerance is a bit different. The spiciness you perceive can depend on:
- Your individual sensitivity to capsaicin and other compounds
- If you’re used to eating fiery hot sauce or chili peppers
- How much sauce you eat – more sauce means more heat
- If you eat the sauce on its own or with food
- Your mood and physiological state when eating
The scoville rating gives a scientific measure of spiciness, but your personal experience may vary. Just because something measures super-hot on the scale doesn’t mean it’s going to melt your face off if you try it. But it’s safe to say Quaker Steak and Lube’s Armageddon, Suicide, and Triple Atomic sauces are not for spice novices!
Tips for Enduring Hot Wings
If you want to attempt Quaker Steak and Lube’s hottest wings, here are some tips to survive the heat:
- Build up your tolerance gradually – don’t jump straight to the hottest options
- Order them on the side to control sauce amount
- Have plenty of cool dairy products like milk, yogurt, or ice cream available to counteract the burn
- Bread or french fries can help absorb some of the heat
- Go slowly – don’t rush into eating extra hot wings
- Keep your mouth moist by sipping water or other beverages
- Be prepared for lingering spiciness even after you stop eating
It’s also fine to simply admit “nope, that’s too hot for me!” There’s no award for torturing your taste buds.
The Bottom Line – Truly Hot Wings
When it comes to sheer scoville heat units, Quaker Steak and Lube appears to offer some of the spiciest wings available from a national restaurant chain. Sauces like Armageddon, Suicide, and Triple Atomic should not be tackled by anyone with a mild palate. These hot wings mean serious business. If you’re the competitive type who craves the hottest of the hot, Quaker Steak and Lube will put your heat endurance to the test.
However, remember that spiciness is subjective! The experience will vary person to person. If you think you can handle the heat, approach with caution. Have plenty of cooling items on hand. And be prepared to feel the burn!
