Homemade hot sauce recipes

[treacheroustexan]

It won't let me search the thread for some reason..

I have way too many jalapenos from my garden this year. Anyone have a really simple jalapeno hot sauce recipe?

 

[Braufessor]

How long do you ferment your peppers for? I have a bunch of habaneros and cayenne to pick as well. Definitely will ferment the habaneros. I was thinking about drying the cayennes, but now you have me reconsidering.

I generally cut them up and ferment them for about 3-4 weeks. Then, I run them through a food processor and add a bit more salt and some vinegar and turn them into a 'mash"..... at that point I put them in the fridge in mason jars and put a bit of vinegar on top and let them sit until I want to do something with them.... they may sit there a few weeks or 6 months or more before I use them.

 

[catdaddy66]

It won't let me search the thread for some reason..

I have way too many jalapenos from my garden this year. Anyone have a really simple jalapeno hot sauce recipe?

Here is a basic one... Can't go wrong with garlic and jalapenos.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Here is a basic one... Can't go wrong with garlic and jalapenos.

Perfect thank you!

 

[Braufessor]

Did some experimental sauces based around some of the recipes in link posted above in post #564.

 

[NeilMac]

Nice looking variety.

 

[user 211287]

While not quite a hot sauce i love doing this with end of season peppers, especially ones that dont have time to ripen. I dont care for many peppers until they are ripe but they rock like this.

Green Sichuan, green and ripe Fresno/jalapeno, a couple bonnets and ghosts. ACV seasoned only with some garlic. Pour over the peppers hot and seal the bottle. Forget about it for at least a month.

 

[Braufessor]

Goo

While not quite a hot sauce i love doing this with end of season peppers, especially ones that dont have time to ripen. I dont care for many peppers until they are ripe but they rock like this.

Green Sichuan, green and ripe Fresno/jalapeno, a couple bonnets and ghosts. ACV seasoned only with some garlic. Pour over the peppers hot and seal the bottle. Forget about it for at least a month.

Good idea..... I am not much of a fan of peppers that are not ripe either. That is why I tried the Kiwi/Lime/Tomatillo sauce above with a bunch of green Serrano peppers that I had left when the frost really started to hit. Turned out pretty nice and I think it will be good for things like fish, chicken, etc.

 

[user 211287]

Serrano, lime and tomatillo sounds great. Serrano and jalapeno are pretty much the only 2 i enjoy green or ripe. Thats excluding milder types like Anaheim or poblano. Those are really good green too.

Spicy vinegar is killer on beans or cukes and onion salad. Keeps a super long time too. Ive got bottles 2 years old or more. This last bottle i partially dehydrated just the Fresno and jalapeno first. All the other pods were fresh. Ive got a bottle of green ghost vinegar still aging. Its got some zip to it.

 

[tld6008]

Has anyone used Xantham gum or Soy lecithin to keep the sauce from separating? I've read all the posts but don't recall seeing this topic.
For some reason the gallon of Ghost and habanero I just made will not stay mixed. I have it all bottled and shake the hell out of it but it separates after a day or two. I know many don't mind this but I do.
Anyway if anyone has experience with these products please include some directions, I have both in powder/granular form.

Merry Xmas!

 

[catdaddy66]

Has anyone used Xantham gum or Soy lecithin to keep the sauce from separating? I've read all the posts but don't recall seeing this topic.
For some reason the gallon of Ghost and habanero I just made will not stay mixed. I have it all bottled and shake the hell out of it but it separates after a day or two. I know many don't mind this but I do.
Anyway if anyone has experience with these products please include some directions, I have both in powder/granular form.

Merry Xmas!

I personally have not used either but it was mentioned in the thread (maybe in a recipe?). I have 2 qts of sauce with no issues regarding the mixture stability.

 

[passedpawn]

Has anyone used Xantham gum or Soy lecithin to keep the sauce from separating? I've read all the posts but don't recall seeing this topic.
For some reason the gallon of Ghost and habanero I just made will not stay mixed. I have it all bottled and shake the hell out of it but it separates after a day or two. I know many don't mind this but I do.
Anyway if anyone has experience with these products please include some directions, I have both in powder/granular form.

Merry Xmas!

I use xanthan often in hot sauce (and other stuff). If you use the right amount, it works great. If you use too much, the sauce gets weirdly "slick". You can use it cold or hot, no need to cook. Easiest way to add is to mix it with some other dry component (like salt/sugar or similar), then add. If you can't do that, mix it in a bowl separately then add, avoiding any clumps.

Regarding the amount, I do it by feel. When it starts getting thicker, time to stop. It has an immediate affect on whatever you add it to.

 

[tld6008]

I personally have not used either but it was mentioned in the thread (maybe in a recipe?). I have 2 qts of sauce with no issues regarding the mixture stability.

Yes I see now there are a few, I misspelled the name.

 

[catdaddy66]

I personally have not used either but it was mentioned in the thread (maybe in a recipe?). I have 2 qts of sauce with no issues regarding the mixture stability.

Ten days later I do have some separation in my second sauce. Nothing worrisome, noticeable though.

 

[tld6008]

I used some xanthan gum for about 2 qts of sauce. I had already bottled five 5oz bottles of ghost/habanero and 2 bottles of a milder pepper that I can't name. I mixed 1 tsp of the gum powder into 4 tbl of water and whisked it up. It thickened immediately and I used 1 tsp of the mix into each bottle and 4 tsp into the qt. jar then shook like hell.
The ghost sauce has not separated in a week but the other sauce in 2 bottles did the next day. I then mixed up 1/3 tsp of the soy lecithin into 4 tbl of warm water in a shallow bowl then sprinkled the powder onto the surface to avoid clumping. It blended fairly by whisking but did not thicken. I put 1 tsp of this in each problem bottle and and shook up. They have stayed mixed as well.

 

[user 211287]

Modified some Crystal hot sauce the other day with a couple tbs of panca powder and 1 Scorpion pepper. Gave it a nice kick without going nuts and heat is much better. Still tastes like a fermented cayenne mash too. Just dry whatever super hot you want to use to tame it down. I cut a scorpion pod in half and let it air dry for a week. Used a 50/50 mix of cider vinegar/water and a 1/2 cup Crystals. Cooked for a few minutes with the additions. Then mixed it in with the rest of the Crystals.

Crystals works great for this because its just peppers, salt, water and vinegar.

 

[z-bob]

I used some xanthan gum for about 2 qts of sauce. I had already bottled five 5oz bottles of ghost/habanero and 2 bottles of a milder pepper that I can't name. I mixed 1 tsp of the gum powder into 4 tbl of water and whisked it up. It thickened immediately and I used 1 tsp of the mix into each bottle and 4 tsp into the qt. jar then shook like hell.
The ghost sauce has not separated in a week but the other sauce in 2 bottles did the next day. I then mixed up 1/3 tsp of the soy lecithin into 4 tbl of warm water in a shallow bowl then sprinkled the powder onto the surface to avoid clumping. It blended fairly by whisking but did not thicken. I put 1 tsp of this in each problem bottle and and shook up. They have stayed mixed as well.

I wonder how agar agar would work as a thickener? (available at Asian markets, cheap) You wouldn't want to use much though, or it will gel. I used agar instead of pectin to make a quick-cooked strawberry jam. Doesn't taste like traditional jam, but it has half the sugar and it tastes good.

 

[NeilMac]

Irish moss is also used and is unprocessed.

 

[Kickass]

Pepper mash advice please!

I made a hatch chili mash last night and forgot to add the salt. I won’t be able to get salt in it until tonight which will be 24hours without salt.

Is there a risk of spoilage or undesirable bugs getting a foothold by waiting 24 hours to add salt? Thanks for the help!

 

[user 211287]

Just keep it in the fridge until you can add the salt. It will be fine for a couple days. Make sure to weigh your mash and weigh your salt to get a accurate percentage. I would even consider not adding all the salt at once.

Mix in most of the salt into the mash. Reserve some to add to the top if the mash is really thick. Then seal it up with a air lock. Leave it alone until its done fermenting.

 

[Kickass]

What’s the proper mash to salt ratio for a pepper mash?

I think I read 2.3% by weight?

 

[user 211287]

2.3% will work

Round it up more if needed but i would not go much lower.

 

[bob1852]

Made my pepper mash (diced fresnos and ~3% salt) last night.

This morning there isn't enough liquid released to cover the mash (it's a small batch, so I haven't figured out a way to weight it down and press out some more liquid?)

Options?

- Weight
- let it ride
- add brine to cover (what % water/salt?)

 

[user 211287]

You have just found one of the main reasons i dont like to do a finer mash vs rough chopped.

Add some brine in the same % you used for the mash. You can hold it down (kinda) with a cabbage leaf and a weight on top of the leaf. Then top it off with the brine.

The real beauty of rough chopped is you can just use the fermented peppers for your sauce. Just add back the amount of brine you want later. With a ground or fine mash its pretty much all or nothing so your salt % has to be spot on. Otherwise you have to thin it down with something so its not a salt lick.

My cayennes are cut about 1/2" long. I will use longer pieces for the top layer. Add a weight on top of that and add a 2%-2.5% brine to cover the weight. Almost nothing will float up past the weight. Far less chance of any nasties and i wont have CO2 bubbles trapped in a mash trying to float it all up.

 

[bob1852]

Thanks! I just had 4 fresnos from the garden that I didn't want to pickle, but wanted to do something with them...

 

[user 211287]

Ripe Fresno makes a really good vinegar based sauce too. Alone or mixed with other hot peppers.

 

[bob1852]

Ripe Fresno makes a really good vinegar based sauce too. Alone or mixed with other hot peppers.

I keep a lot of vinegar pickled fresnos. Damn Bobby Flay....

 

[catdaddy66]

Made a second batch of hot sauce yesterday, using several habaneros and an equal amount of mystery chillies (that are hotter) that I planted from a tray labeled as habanero. Added some onion, tomato, ancho and bell pepper, and molasses as a binding agent. Seasoned with salt, pepper, tumeric, gresh garlic and fresh ginger. Used 2 cups of water, one half cup of white/apple cider vinegars each, as well as a bit of soy and Korean fish sauce. A random ingredient was a large tablespoon of some delious pear jelly a friend gave me recently. It yielded about a quart total and some will be gifted to family and co-workers. The taste??

It was delicious! 10 seconds later it stung your tongue with heat! Love it!

 

[user 211287]

Got a brown pepper hot sauce in the works. Mostly Naglah Brown which are about ghost pepper hot and some brown bhut hybrids that are stupid hot. Only have 2 of those ripe.

Always loved the flavor of Pickapeppa original but it basically has almost no heat at all. The spicy/hot versions have additional mango. Original taste more like A1 steak sauce.

Sooooo, im gunna mix some into the hot sauce for the seasoning. Along with brown sugar or molasses and shallot. Just a tiny bit of Alder smoked salt too since the Pickapeppa is only 50mg per tsp.

 

[user 211287]

"Mash" all mixed up and just weeping for a little bit. Most of the peppers were frozen. Picked the last of them today
620 grams Joes Long Cayenne coarse chopped into about 1/2" long and a few left long but slit open
4 Scorpions
15.5 grams Himalayan pink salt
1 TSP sugar
That works out to 2.5% by weight

Brine
Bottled water
Cutting Edge culture starter
1 sorta heaping TBS Mortons canning salt per quart...also works out to around a 2% brine.

I decided to go with my E-Jen type fermenter for at least until i see a good drop in pH. Its much easier to keep everything under the brine line. After the pH drops a good amount i may move it to a Mason jar and then in the fridge it goes for 2 to 3 months. This starter works really well at dropping the pH faster so i should be able to get away with a little less salt. With the peppers left coarse i wont need to use all the brine in the finished sauce.