Make your own hot sauce Recipe
serranos and jalapenos
With the peppers still going strong, I continue to search for ways to utilize them all. I mean, we can only give away so many hot peppers.
When asked, friends reply they will take one or two.
That is not much help.
So with the jalapenos and serranos producing about a quart a day, I was thrilled to see the article “Hot Stuff” in the July edition of Bon Appetit. The directions are pretty simple.
Master Hot Sauce Recipe
from Bon Appetit (July 2012)
- 1 lb. stemmed fresh chiles (I used a combination of jalapeno and serrano.)
- 2 T. kosher salt
- 1 1/2 c. distilled white vinegar
Stage I
Pulse chiles and kosher salt in a food processor until a coarse puree forms.
Taking the lid off the food processor at this point will make your eyes water.
Transfer to a sterilized 1-quart glass jar, loosely screw on lid, and let stand at room temperature for 12 hours to ferment slightly.
Stage I
Stage II
Stir in vinegar and loosely screw on lid. Let chile mixture stand at room temperature for at least 1 day and up to 7 days. (Taste it daily; the longer it sits, the deeper the flavor becomes.)
Stage II
Stage III
Puree mixture in a food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Place a fine mesh sieve inside a funnel. Strain mixture through sieve into a clean glass bottle. (Hot sauce becomes thinner and may separate after you strain it. Shake vigorously before each use.)
Can be made up to 4 months ahead. Keep refrigerated.
One complete bottle and one batch in Stage I.
I have had varying success with this recipe, but most of it was probably due to user error. I made one batch with some habanareos from the farmers market. I have not had a lot of experience with habaneros, but after six days in the vinegar, it just smelled funky. I went ahead and pureed it, but am now using it as a spray in the garden to keep the birds, rabbits and other assorted critters away from the tomatoes.
On the last batch I made, I mistakenly swapped the instructions and let the pepper/salt mixture set out for 5 days (without the vinegar). Well, that batch grew a nice, fuzzy layer of mold. Obviously, that went out the window.
You can see that this page of the magazine has been well-used.
I have two bottles in the fridge and I am wondering about freezing some for chili and other winter dishes. I am also hoping to have enough peppers this fall to make some of this up for hot holiday gifts.
Please, please, please leave me a comment below if you have any great pepper recipes.
I need them for Pepper-palooza.