These are the recipes for the hot sauces that I brought to Ruby DCamp 2013. There are two recipes – smoky red and orange habanero hot sauce. The flavors are quite different and complementary. I recommend alternating bites – one red, one orange, and so on.
I would say the main difference with store bought sauce is that you have more control over the freshness of the ingredients. You don’t have to be a sauce expert – I am not – if you have fresh ingredients that were just picked. That makes September and October the best time to make these sauces.
If you try these recipes out, please let me know how it turned out. Also if you have questions, ping me on Twitter @davidfurber.
Smoky Red Hot Sauce
Mild to moderate heat forward on the palate, smoky flavor from roasting the peppers and tomatoes on the grill.
None of the measurements are super scientific. Feel free to experiment. The basic principle is that you are balancing roasted tomatoes and peppers with vinegar and lemon juice.
Makes 3-4 pints. Takes a few hours from start to finish.
- 1/2 peck “long hots” – long Italian hot peppers, mostly red, some can be green
- 4 red serrano peppers
- 8 tomatoes
- 1 head garlic, chopped
- 1 medium/large onion, chopped
- Water – about 2 cups including juice from peppers and tomatoes
- about 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 small lemon
- salt to taste
Step 1:
On the grill, roast the peppers so that the skins are black but the insides not burned. As you take them off the grill, put them in a covered casserole dish. Leave them there until they cool down to room temperature.
Then roast the tomatoes on the grill until they are limp and the skin wants to come off. Put them into their own covered casserole dish.
Step 2:
Wear gloves. Peel the peppers. Discard the peels and most of the seeds. Keep the juice from the pot as well as the peppers. Chop the peppers finely.
Peel the tomatoes. Discard the peels, keep the rest.
Step 3:
Fry the onion. As it starts to cook, add the garlic. Then add the peppers and tomatoes. When those heat back up, add the juice from the tomatoes and peppers. Add salt to taste – usually a couple teaspoons to a tablespoon. Cook the mixture until about half of the water has steamed off. Turn off the stove and let it cool down.
Step 4:
Transfer the stuff to cup that came with the wand blender and blend blend blend. After while, add the vinegar and lemon juice and keep blending. Smell, taste, add vinegar and salt as needed. Keep blending until you have hot sauce.
Step 5:
You’ll want to let it sit for a few days before you start to consume it. It will keep in the fridge as is for months. I put some into two hot sauce bottles for the fridge, and the rest I can into the tall, pint-size jam jars.
Orange Habanero Hot Sauce
Moderate heat in the rear of the palate. Excellent complement to the smoky red hot sauce. The basic principle is to reduce the heat from the world’s hottest peppers so that you get more of the taste relative to the heat, and balance that against carrots and fresh roasted tomatoes.
- a couple dozen or so habaneros, scotch bonnets, Tobasco peppers, and other orange-red hot hot peppers
- five carrots, preferably organic from your CSA
- a couple yellow/golden tomatoes
- 2 heads garlic, chopped
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- lemon juice
- distilled white vinegar
- salt
Step 1:
Roast the yellow tomatoes on the grill. Place roasted tomatoes in covered casserole dish to cool down. When cool, peel and chop. Discard the peels.
Step 2:
With gloves and knife, carefully remove the seeds and veins from your peppers. Discard them. Take off your gloves when finished and throw them away. You won’t want them anymore.
NOTE: I like to get rid of the seeds and steam the peppers because I aim for a milder sauce. You could reserve up to four of the habaneros add to the pot seeds and all. You could even get by just with the four unseeded and no other peppers at all. It’s your hot sauce so make it how you like it. Also if you use more than 4 unseeded and unsteamed, you are more likely going to end up with Bengay than hot sauce.
Step 3:
Put the peppers in a steamer basket. On a Coleman stove outside, steam the peppers for 15 minutes. The smell can be unholy, that is why I do it outside. Drain the water, add the peppers to the tomatoes.
Step 4:
Grate the carrots. Chop the onions and garlic. When all this is ready, put the carrots and onions in skillet. When they’ve gotten going well, add the garlic. When the garlic is going, add the peppers and tomatoes with their juice. When those are hot, add some water. Let it cook basically until the carrots are done.
Step 5:
Transfer the stuff to cup that came with the wand blender and blend blend blend. After while, add the vinegar and lemon juice and keep blending. Smell, taste, add vinegar and salt as needed. Keep blending until you have hot sauce.
Step 6:
You’ll want to let it sit for a few days before you start to consume it. It will keep in the fridge as is for months. I put some into two hot sauce bottles for the fridge, and the rest I can into the tall, pint-size jam jars.