Official Hot Sauce Making Thread

As we all know many of us home brewers are into making our own foodstuffs, cheese, jerky, raising chickens, gardening etc. Are there any of you out there that are into making your own hot sauce?

I got a real nice food processor/blender base for Christmas and I had about 1lb of cayenne peppers I had harvested and dried from my garden laying around so I decided to try making a hot sauce.

Took about ~1/4lb of peppers, destemmed and loosely crushed them into the bowl
Crushed and added an entire bulb of garlic
Threw in a tablespoon of kosher salt
Added about 2 cups of distilled white vinegar and let the processor rip!

Not too complicated for a first hot sauce attempt, and its pretty tasty. It could use some time to age, but I tried some with my eggs for breakfast and it had a great kick and garlic flavor that I like. A new obsession, here I come.

What about you guys? Recipes, hints, tips, experiences? Post em here

half pound habanero (green) pepers (dried)
half pound habanero (red) pepers (dried)
Olive oil (to change consistancy to a sauce)
a little ground red peper
distilled viniger

This will likely you want to cry the first time but afte that youll find yourself waking up in the middle of the night thinking about the taste and find your mouth watering and not you eyes... after that you might never go back... thats if you like really hot... its good if you add about half a cup of bufflo sauce to it too

Cheers

My Father in law makes my insanely hot sauce. He runs habaneros through a juicer and puts the juice aside. He then takes the pulp from the juicer and dehydrates it. This dried pulp goes into a coffee grinder and is ground to dust. Then the dust goes back into the juice to make his "base sauce" which he then cuts lightly with vinegar or carrot juice and some salt. Nobody can be anywhere near the house the week he does sauce making but he can't smell much anymore...

Gas-tight goggles.

I recommend that you let all of the ingredients steep in the vinegar for a few weeks untill the flavors have really begun to meld together, then spin it in the blender...I've had some really tasty concoctions come out this way. Also, a bit of toasted cumin goes really nice in most hot sauces, as does a bit of the canned chipotles you find in the grocery store. They'll take the place of oil in emulsifying the sauce.

I've done the hot sauce thing. best thing is to let it site in vinigar for months. add garlic, onion, puree the peppers cook it down & bottle

A friend of mine grows jolokias specifically for making hot sauce. To my knowledge, the only ingredients are dried, pulverized, homegrown jolokias and white vinegar. Hottest damn sauce EVER. However, a small dab goes a long way, and it actually has a great fruit/sweet flavor when applied correctly (VERY lightly).

Jolokias...They rub it on fences to scare away elephants! JHC!

I got to get me some o dat der stuff!

I LOVE pepper products. I'm an official hot sauce reviewer and have been for about 4 years now and I can say, being a vetern of over 2,000 sauces sampled, there are so many different styles and combos out there that it's almost limitless as to what you can create.

As a pepper grower (biggest crop was 213 plants out of 27 different varieties) I found it best to dehydrate the peppers for later use or freeze them whole for use in sauces (currently have about 10 pounds worth in the basement fridge). Here's a rough estimate of a green sauce I just did:

Blend finely:
1 bottle's worth of plain vinegar
3 cloves of garlic
3 tomatillos
3 ripe cherry tomatoes
a splash of homebrewed APA
a splash of good tequila
10 unripened Fataliis
15 unripened Asain Birdseyes
10 unripened Serranos
5 unripened Bhut Jolokias
1 Ripened Bhut Jolokia
5 unripened Scotch Bonnets
1 ripened Scotch Bonnet

Boil until pH is 4 (for shelf stability), then throw in 3 strands of Kashmir Saffron and a light sprinkling of Jurrasic Sea Salt and boil for another 5 minutes. Cool and bottle. Let sit for 3 weeks for flavors to meld together, consume.

Question: can these sauces marinate in a jar/container in a warm environment or should they be refrigerated?

WriterWriter said:

Question: can these sauces marinate in a jar/container in a warm environment or should they be refrigerated?

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It depends on a few factors but mainly 2. Did you cook it and if so was the pH around 4? 4 is considered your safe zone where nothing really grows in it and cooking it helps to kill what's already in there.

Other factors are ingredients. Did you use vinegar (that also extends shelf and 98% of sauces have a decent amount in there), is there fruit (primarly fruit based sauces have a slightly shorter shelf life).

When it comes to home made sauces, as a rule I always refridgerate when they haven't been opened yet. Professional store baught sauces can sit on the shelf if still sealed. But in both cases, you should always refriderate after opening. Plus I've found that colder sauces have a better taste.

Any suggestions for a good jalapeno hot sauce? I tend to slather sauces onto stuff, and I find jalapeno sauce has the perfect spicy/flavor combo. I lurve that stuff Tabasco puts out, but I'd love to make it in bulk for cheaper.

Has anybody played with a pepper mash as in a Tabasco style sauce? I've done a little research, but mostly just found other people playing with ideas. Some have used yeast, others take a more sauerkraut-ish approach with lactic acid bacteria - even using sauerkraut juice as a starter of sorts. This lets them get the acidity needed without adding vinegar - they claim the lactic acid gives it a smoother flavor.

I know it's possible to buy pepper mash, but that takes some of the fun out of it.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f56/hot-sauce-bbq-sauce-109214/

That's a good discussion. I am hoping to make hot sauce for the first time this summer.

imaguitargod said:

It depends on a few factors but mainly 2. Did you cook it and if so was the pH around 4? 4 is considered your safe zone where nothing really grows in it and cooking it helps to kill what's already in there.

Other factors are ingredients. Did you use vinegar (that also extends shelf and 98% of sauces have a decent amount in there), is there fruit (primarly fruit based sauces have a slightly shorter shelf life).

When it comes to home made sauces, as a rule I always refridgerate when they haven't been opened yet. Professional store baught sauces can sit on the shelf if still sealed. But in both cases, you should always refriderate after opening. Plus I've found that colder sauces have a better taste.

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After I am done cooking it to a boil I immediately can it and then add again to boiling water bath to make sure they get/stay hot enough to seal properly and then store in the basement. I have never had any spoilage or gotten sick and have aged them there for years at a time.
Most sauces I make are pure peppers sauces, just hot peppers; vinegar and salt, but sometimes add onion, garlic, maybe carrots, whatever, but for the most part we just like pure pepper.
I have made a green jalapeno sauce using unripe peppers and a red jalapeno using ripe peppers, there is a different taste to me but both good.

EvilTOJ said:

Any suggestions for a good jalapeno hot sauce? I tend to slather sauces onto stuff, and I find jalapeno sauce has the perfect spicy/flavor combo. I lurve that stuff Tabasco puts out, but I'd love to make it in bulk for cheaper.

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Keep in mind green Jalapenos are unripened and they taste a heck of alot better when ripened (sweeter and hotter).

For a green Jalapeno sauce Just use the recipe I posted previously, take out the beer, add more tiquila, and use about 10-12 Jalapenos.

imaguitargod said:

Keep in mind green Jalapenos are unripened and they taste a heck of alot better when ripened (sweeter and hotter).

For a green Jalapeno sauce Just use the recipe I posted previously, take out the beer, add more tiquila, and use about 10-12 Jalapenos.

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I went back and re-read you process and it seems you strain nothing or are you just leaving out what would maybe be obvious? Doesn't it come out more like a salsa then a sauce?
In another thread I explained in great detail my process and my goal is to get a consistency of the stuff you buy in shaker bottles like Tabasco, but I also make it thicker for wing sauce but still strain out everything. Not saying I haven’t made stuff like you describe for putting on tacos and stuff but I wouldn't call it a sauce.

Of course I am not being a critic, I just love discussing this topic and learning from others. I grow all my hot peppers too and most all from seed.

So how about something like a homemade HopSauce? Maybe a nice American Hops with lime, cilantro, and jalapenos?

Hophead75 said:

So how about something like a homemade HopSauce? Maybe a nice American Hops with lime, cilantro, and jalapenos?

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Not me but I am sure some people might like it.

1) Don't like cilantro
2) Don't like highly hoppped beer

Fresh cilantro to me is like putting mint on my food, don't like it. I love mexican food though but once in a while I order something that has it and if possible I will pick it off.

Hophead75 said:

So how about something like a homemade HopSauce? Maybe a nice American Hops with lime, cilantro, and jalapenos?

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Have you ever actually put a hop in your mouth? It will make your tongue numb.

i tried to grow a habanero plant last year -- it only produced one pepper last year, but it's already getting fluffy and leafy for this year, so fingers crossed.

i have the best luck growing rainbow (bird) and datil peppers, and i LOVE datil peppers so that's OK with me.

Datil pepper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

usually i just split them and toss into vinegar and add some salt -- sometimes i combine vinegars. (chinese black, apple cider, white).

there is a tasty old fashioned datil sauce recipe that i've used with great results that involves cooking ketchup, sugar, vinegar and spices with the datils but now i can't find it?

it was online for years, from W.A. Pursley at Molasses Junction.

for some reason it seems to have disappeared. maybe because there are so many commercial datil pepper sauce makers now?? i dunno. weird.

jgln said:

I went back and re-read you process and it seems you strain nothing or are you just leaving out what would maybe be obvious? Doesn't it come out more like a salsa then a sauce?
In another thread I explained in great detail my process and my goal is to get a consistency of the stuff you buy in shaker bottles like Tabasco, but I also make it thicker for wing sauce but still strain out everything. Not saying I haven’t made stuff like you describe for putting on tacos and stuff but I wouldn't call it a sauce.

Of course I am not being a critic, I just love discussing this topic and learning from others. I grow all my hot peppers too and most all from seed.

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Tobasco is something like 80% vinegar....blllagghhh.

imaguitargod said:

Tobasco is something like 80% vinegar....blllagghhh.

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Oh well, guess that didn't answer my question but it looks like vinegar makes up most of your liquid too. Thanks for sharing.

I use it also because for one I need something acidic to help preserve it, I need a liquid because I cook it and peppers have little juice and I do like the flavor it adds. Like I said, I also make a thick version for wing sauce but I also make one that can go into small bottles and still be able to get it out. I like all kind of hot sauces including Tabasco.

jgln said:

Oh well, guess that didn't answer my question but it looks like vinegar makes up most of your liquid too. Thanks for sharing.

I use it also because for one I need something acidic to help preserve it, I need a liquid because I cook it and peppers have little juice and I do like the flavor it adds. Like I said, I also make a thick version for wing sauce but I also make one that can go into small bottles and still be able to get it out. I like all kind of hot sauces including Tabasco.

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Well, it sort of answered your question. You wanted your sauce like Tobasco, to get it to that point your have to use a ton of vinegar.

As for the sauce I listed it's really not that much vinegar (It's a small bottle, I think they are 20 ounces or something, I'd have to look it up) and most of it is boiled off when I cook the sauce

Also, look into juicing the peppers and combine the juice with the vinegar.

I got this recipe from another site, but it is great. Also I prefer to use mangoes not peaches:

INGREDIENTS:

* 12 habanero peppers, seeded and chopped
* 8 cloves of garlic
* 1 (15.5 ounce) can sliced peaches in syrup
* 1/2 cup dark molasses
* 1/2 cup yellow mustard
* 1/2 cup light brown sugar
* 1 cup distilled white vinegar
* 2 tablespoons salt
* 2 tablespoons paprika
* 1 tablespoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blitz until liquefied.

2.Pour into sterilized bottles and refrigerate overnight for the flavours to meld before using.

If 12 habaneros sounds a bit too much just use 6 initially and taste the sauce, you can always blitz more peppers into it until you've got the right level of heat.

A can of sliced mango's instead of the peaches works pretty good too.

I think this stuff tastes great and it keeps nicely for a long time if kept refrigerated

"12 habanero peppers, seeded and chopped"

Well, there goes the majority of the heat

yeah it isn't as hot as you would think but it has a good kick you can still have the seeds if you want.

Heat isn't in seeds so much as the membrane of the fruit.

PseudoChef said:

Heat isn't in seeds so much as the membrane of the fruit.

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Yes, the placenta as it's refered to, has the majority of the heat, seeds have no heat. But since they are attached to the placenta some of it's heat coats the seeds, thus the common missconception that seeds are hot.

But when someone says "seeded" or "deseed" the peppers, they mean take the placenta and seeds out, thus dramaticly decreasing the heat of the pepper.

I am looking into making up some hot sauces with the pepper plants I have. I planted Habanero plants just for this purpose and was thinking of canning it in some 12 oz bottles with a beer cap. Anyone think of any reason not to do this?

No, not if you do everything right. I did have a VERY bad experience once though with a Grolsh bottle, the kind with the ceramic latched top and rubber seal. I bottled a hot sauce I made (like 25 years ago) and stuck it in the fridge for a couple months. Well, maybe I didn't cook it well or something, I don't remember, but it fermented and to make matters worse I shook it before opening and when I did I was looking down at the bottle and it exploded into my eyes and blinded me for like 5-10 minutes. I flushed it out with water (stumbling to find the sink) and when I could finally see the door was still open, the bottle was on the floor and the ceiling was covered in hot sauce. Habanero sauce, burt like hell. I was home alone by myself, but kind of glad about that though as I had the option do I tell anyone or not. I still laugh at myself to this day but at first I was really scared about my vision.

I saw a video on some guys in Italy making tomato sauce and bottling it into beer bottles. Then they took and capped them and boiled them for a few minutes. The sauce was hot already when they filled the bottles and they boiled it for the extra protection I would think. I am just thinking about the caps, would this work with the caps or no? Would they just come off, or should I instead just have boiling sauce and straight into a hot bottle?

Matt Up North said:

I saw a video on some guys in Italy making tomato sauce and bottling it into beer bottles. Then they took and capped them and boiled them for a few minutes. The sauce was hot already when they filled the bottles and they boiled it for the extra protection I would think. I am just thinking about the caps, would this work with the caps or no? Would they just come off, or should I instead just have boiling sauce and straight into a hot bottle?

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Don't know, try an experiment with boiling water and see if the seal holds.

jgln said:

No, not if you do everything right. I did have a VERY bad experience once though with a Grolsh bottle, the kind with the ceramic latched top and rubber seal. I bottled a hot sauce I made (like 25 years ago) and stuck it in the fridge for a couple months. Well, maybe I didn't cook it well or something, I don't remember, but it fermented and to make matters worse I shook it before opening and when I did I was looking down at the bottle and it exploded into my eyes and blinded me for like 5-10 minutes. I flushed it out with water (stumbling to find the sink) and when I could finally see the door was still open, the bottle was on the floor and the ceiling was covered in hot sauce. Habanero sauce, burt like hell. I was home alone by myself, but kind of glad about that though as I had the option do I tell anyone or not. I still laugh at myself to this day but at first I was really scared about my vision.

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Usually explosions like that are a sign of bacterial infections. Glad you turned out ok.

Matt Up North said:

I saw a video on some guys in Italy making tomato sauce and bottling it into beer bottles. Then they took and capped them and boiled them for a few minutes. The sauce was hot already when they filled the bottles and they boiled it for the extra protection I would think. I am just thinking about the caps, would this work with the caps or no? Would they just come off, or should I instead just have boiling sauce and straight into a hot bottle?

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Boiling it is to sanatize the air that's left in the bottle. I'd skip on the swing top bottle and get the standard 5 oz Woozies.

I plan on doing it in beer bottles with crown caps, not swing tops. I am just thinking that they will not be able to contain the seal. I don't know though so I ask the board.

I have made hot sauces -- may get back into it now since I have nearly exausted my supply.

I use Mason Jars and have never used bottles, as I never had access to them.
Lots of jars however...

I was only thinking in terms of size and opening. If you aren't being sarcastic Chicken, how do you make sure you don't spill your salsa? I have enough trouble with the little cups that mexican joints give you, I don't want my habanero hot sauce completely desimating my entire meal when I have had a couple beers and spill it all over the place.

Matt Up North said:

I was only thinking in terms of size and opening. If you aren't being sarcastic Chicken, how do you make sure you don't spill your salsa? I have enough trouble with the little cups that mexican joints give you, I don't want my habanero hot sauce completely desimating my entire meal when I have had a couple beers and spill it all over the place.

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Spoons?

BTW, I use mason jars too all the way up to quart sizes since I need a lot making wings, opened jars keep in the fridge long enough for the next time.

imaguitargod said:

]Usually explosions like that are a sign of bacterial infections. Glad you turned out ok.[/B]

Boiling it is to sanatize the air that's left in the bottle. I'd skip on the swing top bottle and get the standard 5 oz Woozies.

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Oh yeah most likely, but I don't remember if I even used it, just wanted to share a funny story, had nothing to do with what bottle I used.

On the 5 oz Woozies, do you boil them in water too or just add boiling sauce into them and seal shut?