As Christmas gifts this year, I decided to make two kinds of hot sauce: red and green, respectively. A note of caution if you plan to do this: open the oven door very slowly, otherwise you will get blasted in the face with a cloud of hot capsaicin vapor when you go to check on the peppers. And definitely wear gloves throughout the entire process. And, for the love of all that is Holy, do not touch your eyes for a few hours after you have finished handling anything pepper-related.
Tequila Lime Hot Sauce
(Print Recipe)
25 jalapeños
10 serranos
1 garlic bulb (about 10-12 cloves)
4 tomatillos
Juice of 5 limes (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup tequila
3/4 cup white vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
Boil all bottles and utensils to sanitize them before you start cooking.
Remove tops from peppers, and remove papery skin from garlic and tomatillos. A note about the garlic here: I am a huge fan of the pre-minced stuff in jar. I hate when I use the "real deal" and the skin sticks to absolutely everything. Then, the smell lingers on my hands for next 24 hours no matter how hard I try to scrub it off. But for this recipe, I wanted to be able to roast the cloves. So, here's how you get that stubborn skin off easily. First, cut off the hard nub at the bottom. Then crush the clove using the broad side of a knife.
Note the gloves. Big help for this entire recipe. Anyway, once you have crushed the clove, the skin should peel off easily.
Now that you have all your ingredients prepped, roast the peppers, garlic, and tomatillos at 400° F for 45 minutes, or until slightly blackened. Flip them once about halfway through roasting. Let cool.
Place everything in a blender and pulse until smooth.
Pour it into a saucepan and bring to a boil. If you prefer your sauce thinner, add some water to the saucepan until it reaches the desired consistency. You can also strain it through cheesecloth, though you will lose a lot of volume. Once it boils, funnel the sauce into sanitized bottles. Put the caps on and invert them for 5 minutes (this sanitizes the cap).
Makes approx. 5 cups of sauce.
Whiskey Habanero Chipotle Hot Sauce
(Print Recipe)
15 habaneros
5 red jalapeños
1 garlic bulb (about 10-12 cloves)
2 ripe persimmons
1 7-oz can chipotles in adobo sauce
1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
1/2 cup whiskey
2 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
Boil all bottles and utensils to sanitize them before you start cooking.
Remove tops from peppers and persimmons, and remove papery skin from garlic. Roast the peppers, garlic, and persimmons at 400° F for 45 minutes, or until slightly blackened. Flip them once about halfway through roasting. Let cool.
Remove skin from persimmons. Place everything in a blender and pulse until smooth. Pour it into a saucepan and bring to a boil. This sauce may need more liquid to get it to a pourable consistency. Just keep adding water to it until it looks right. You can also strain it through cheesecloth if you prefer, but you will lose a lot of volume.
Once it boils, funnel the sauce into sanitized bottles.
Put the caps on and invert them for 5 minutes (this sanitizes the cap).
Makes approx. 6 cups of sauce.
I have to say these turned out way hotter than I thought they would. All the reviews that I read about other people's hot sauce recipes led me to believe that, if you like heat, you need crazy amounts of peppers. I do like how it turned out, but can only withstand small quantities (and I like to think I'm fairly accustomed to spicy foods). My family seems to be enjoying it. So, success! If you like things spicy, you are in for a real treat. If you don't want it CRAZY hot, then I would suggest either cutting down on the volume of peppers, or switch out the serranos and habaneros for something milder, like sweet peppers.
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