Hot Pepper Sauce

Back in October, when I had that big pile of peppers to use up, I didn’t put them all into Harvest Chili—I used some to make hot pepper sauce.  Why, you might wonder, would anyone go to the trouble of making hot pepper sauce from scratch when there are so many on the market to choose from?  Well, for one thing, it’s not really all that much trouble, so long as you don’t put the blender together wrong. And, if you did, by some chance, maybe get the gasket on the wrong side of the blade insert, and now you notice that hot pepper juice is leaking out over the base of the blender and counter, don’t panic. (Also: don’t try to pour the contents right out into the saucepan you have sitting ready on the stove—you would not believe how much more pepper juice will leak out of a not-properly-put-together blender if you upend the sucker.) Just calmly get your biggest mixing bowl, empty the contents into it, and put the blender back together the right way.  At least, that’s what I’ve heard…

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Kitchen adventures aside, hot pepper sauce really is pretty darn easy to make, and there’s endless room for creativity and customization.  You can tailor the heat to your own tastes (or those of somebody you’d like to make a unique gift for), and there are all sorts of fun ways to tinker with the flavor.

The first opportunity you get to exercise your creativity is in choosing the peppers.  I went with Anaheim (a half dozen or so), Poblano (one or two red ones), and Cayenne (four or five).  You can use red or green peppers, but you’ll probably want to stick with one or the other (it’ll still taste good if you mix the colors; it just won’t look as purty).  Which types I choose is partly a matter of what I have on hand, but I try to use a mix of mildly hot to medium ones for overall flavor along with some hotter ones to add kick.  For more kick, you can leave some of the seeds in, just be aware that they’ll be present in the finished sauce; the blender doesn’t completely pulverize them.

Add the prepped peppers, water, vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar), and any other creative flourishes you want to incorporate, to the blender and process until smooth.  You could just add all the ingredients to the blender and skip the cooking step, but I cooked mine to mellow the garlic and blend the flavors a bit.  (There might have been an issue with a leaky blender that needed to be emptied, pronto, having an influence on the decision.)  Also, the blender can leave the sauce a bit foamy, and cooking will help reduce that.

I like the sauce to be zippy, but not too hot.  I want to be able to enjoy the flavor of the peppers, which I can’t do if my tongue has gone up in smoke.  This batch was spoon-able enough that I used some in lieu of tomato sauce on appetizer pizzas topped with feta and black olives, and it was a really tasty combination.

Because this isn’t loaded with preservatives, you’ll need to be a little more careful in storing it—it may get moldy in the fridge if not used in a few weeks. I store mine in the freezer, and dig out chunks of it with a fork any time I want to add a peppery bite to something (which is often).  And if you do make some to give as gifts, don’t forget that you can have even more fun tailoring the labels.

1 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. vinegar
assorted hot peppers, stemmed and (if desired) seeded, and cut into large pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
1-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lime (juice and zest)

Cut the peppers into pieces, removing stems and some or all of the seeds, depending on preference.  Add the prepped peppers, water and vinegar to a blender jar; blend until smooth.

In a medium saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil until lightly browned.  Add pepper puree, salt, and lime juice and zest and simmer until the flavors are melded, and any foam from the blender is cooked out.  If sauce becomes too thick, add a little bit more water.

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