Home made hot sauce

Hot sauce making seems complicated, one might think. I'm about to convince you it really isn't. I have done this a few times, and every time it turns out a bit different but all delicious in their own way. Feel free to make a small batch, or if you are ambitious, a lot. I only made about 2L (of each type) this time. The beauty is you can modify the flavors to however you like, and get to experiment with ingredients. If you like it hot, why not make your own hot sauce to spice up your Saturday? 

This past spring as COVID just hit town, we didn't get to go out and buy a wide array of plant seedlings - but our lovely friends (you know who you are) brought over some pepper plant seedlings to our door. Why not, we like peppers! Since they sometimes lost the original labels, we didn't always know what seedling was which. All through summer we grew and harvested quite a few peppers, and they were a beautiful array of green, red, orange, yellow, and brown. Here's what we had: chocolate habanero, finger chili, bird's eye, scotch bonnets, Trinidad scorpion, ring of fire cayenne, and ofcourse jalapenos. 

What can go in to the sauce:

- hot peppers - most important item here for obvious reasons. To keep the colors crisp, I kept all the green peppers together, and all the yellow/orange/red hues together.

- vegetables (eg. bell/sweet peppers, carrots, spinach, avocado) - to add more body and substance, use green vegetables for green sauce, red/orange for red/orange sauce.

- fruits (eg. mango or pineapple) - sweetness and spicy go great together! They will compliment each other and bring out the flavor even more. 

- herbs (eg. basil, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, coriander, or cumin) - for zing, scent, flavor, and hints of je ne sais quoi. 

- strong flavors (eg. garlic, onions, ginger, turmeric) - a bit of this is great for anything don't you think?

- apple cider vinegar - acidity is also a key ingredient, you can certainly use other vinegars but I like the sweetness in this.

- apple cider - it's fall and I happen to have this, not a necessity if you don't have it. 

- 1 tsp of xanthan gum - a little bit goes a long way, this will ensure the sauce is thick and the consistency is even throughout. If you don't, your sauce may separate over time and you get a layer of sediments at bottom and thinner vinegar on top. No matter if you don't mind, "shake well" is not a difficult instruction to give in case you decide to forgo this. 

Recipe:

- Wash the hot peppers well, dry them with dish towel so there's no excess water. Cut them in half (or small-ish pieces). Throw out all the crappier pieces, if anything is soft, rotten, discolored. Try to take out the stem, seeds, and the white veiny things if you don't want it overly spicy. Sometimes those things will throw off the texture too, best to remove if you can. 

- Wash and roughly chop your veggie, fruits, herbs, and strong flavor items like garlic.

- Stir fry onion garlic and ginger slightly in oil. Add all ingredients in a large (8-10in) deep pot. 

- Pour about 2-3 cups of apple cider vinegar, use apple cider (about a cup) for sweetness. Bring all ingredients to boil. Simmer uncovered for about 15-20 min. I recommend doing this outside (or if you have a really good powerful kitchen fan and don't mind that's ok to do inside). I personally don't like the strong pepper and vinegar so boiling outside is a better option 100%.

-Let the boiled ingredients cool down, so it's easier to blend in your blender in your Vitamix. Seriously please take the time to let it cool, you don't want the hot steam and scalding liquids anywhere. To make it cool down faster, I fill my sink with a couple of inches of cold water and put the pot in there for 10-15 min. 

- Pour your lovely luke warm ingredients in a blender, or food processor - anything you have on hand. Blend the stuff, mix with a spatula just to make sure it's even. add a bit of your Xanthan gum here. Don't over do it! I suggest add like a quarter of tsp, blend and see how it goes. Don't throw it all in at once -it may get foamy. I'll say it again just for the guys in the back "A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY"

- Boil the glass jars and lids. Pour out the hot water, and jar the hot sauce using a funnel or ladle while the jars are still hot. screw on the lids.

Now after all the hard work. Take a satisfying photo Instagram. dip your bread, pizza, ribs, chicken wings, or grill cheese in it. spread it when you are making a sandwich or burger. Throw on a ribbon and give it away to some special friends who like spicy as much as you. Hey it's a nice versatile jar of awesomeness - enjoy it however you like.