Making hot sauce is a fun and delicious project to tackle when you have plenty of hot peppers available. You can use a variety of hot chilies to make your own hot sauce, and the combinations of peppers and seasonings you can use are endless! We have shared the classic original recipe for hot sauce!
You can add variations according to your own choice, but this recipe gives the classic flavor of an original hot sauce!
Some Common Ingredients for Making Hot Sauce Include:
Chili peppers
Vinegar
Citrus juice (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, pineapple etc.)
Fruit
Vegetables
Seasonings
Salt
Ingredients
226g (8oz) chili peppers, tops removed and coarsely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup, optional
6g (1 tsp) coarse kosher salt*
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, or rice wine vinegar
Instructions
Place the peppers and garlic in a clean wide-mouth quart canning jar. Set aside.
To make the brine, heat the filtered water and sea salt in a medium saucepan until the salt has dissolved completely. Let cool to room temperature.
Pour the brine over the peppers and garlic, completely submerging them. If you run out of brine, you can make more by mixing 1 cup of warm filtered water with 1 teaspoon of sea salt.
Fit the jar with a fermentation lidor cheesecloth secured with a rubber band (see notes on weighing down the peppers if using cheesecloth). Place in a warm, dark spot for 5-7 days, or until the brine looks cloudy and small bubbles begin to appear when you tap the side of the jar. Make sure the peppers stay submerged under the brine during the entire fermentation process to prevent mold-growth.
When the fermentation time is up, strain the brine, reserving it. Place the fermented peppers and garlic in a blender, and add in 1 cup of the brine, plus the apple cider vinegar, and honey or maple syrup, if using. Blend until completely smooth, adding in additional brine to reach the desired thickness.
Transfer to a bottle and store in the fridge for 3-6 months.
Notes
If you choose to use cheesecloth during fermentation, you will need to use some sort of weight to keep the peppers submerged under the brine to prevent mold growth. You can purchase specialty weightsto do this, or fill a zip-top sandwich bag with water and submerge it in the top of the jar.
The hot sauce will thicken considerably in the fridge, so keep that in mind as you decide on the consistency while blending.
Depending on the power of your blender, your hot sauce may be foamy when you’re finished blending. If so, let the hot sauce rest for 15-20 minutes, and then scrape off any foam before bottling.
How to Make Hot Sauce Hotter?
The best way to make your hot sauce hotter is to incorporate a spicy chili powder. Of course starting with hotter peppers is the best method for this, but sometimes the process of making a hot sauce can tamp down some of that fresh chili pepper heat.
How to Make Hot Sauce Milder?
Diluting your finished hot sauce is the best way to tame the heat.
If you have made a sauce and find that it is just too hot to consume, try making another batch without the peppers, if possible.
Incorporate carrots or tomatoes, and then combine the two sauces for a milder overall sauce.
Adding sweetness can help, too. Try honey, agave nectar, or a bit of sugar or brown sugar, if those flavors fit the hot sauce.
Dairy is another way to combat the heat. Of course this will completely change the character of your hot sauce, but consider adding cream to help.
Takeaway
Obviously you can change things up in this recipe, according to your preference, heat choice and spice level. You can introduce a mixture of peppers of varying flavors and heat levels, add in vegetables like tomato, onion, garlic, and/or carrots for big flavors, try fruit for sweetness, toss in interesting seasonings, and so much more.