You love you some hot sauce? You’re in good company. If you snuck into my fridge or pantry, I’m sure you’d see anywhere from 2 to 15 craft hot sauce containers beckoning your masochistic palate.
Wanting to try your hand at making hot sauce from scratch using load of peppers? We fully support the dream. Not sure how to go about pursuing such a dream? We’re here to help.
Our garden peppers.
Get these freaking hornworm caterpillars OFF MY PLANTS. Other than these patterned green antagonists, our hot peppers are flourishing.
Partially composted soil. Direct sunlight about half of every day. Watering lightly every or every other day. Pest-treated with diatomaceous earth, neem oil mixed with cayenne and garlic, beer slug traps and a salt barrier around the perimeter.
But when your cayennes and Thai chilis scare most of your friends away, what do you do? You make hot sauce. And request that they sample said hot sauce with unbroken eye contact.
Here’s how to make it.
Note: first time creating a raised bed garden? Don’t miss our tutorial on how to build and cultivate one. Or if you’re struggling with pests, try our organic pesticide recommendations.
Rock this homemade, spicy cayenne pepper hot sauce recipe from scratch using garden grown or store bought chilis. Feel free to mix any spicy or non-spicy chili peppers to your liking! Bring on the fire.
Pick all of your garden peppers for this fiery concoction. Or hit the grocery store. This isn’t limited to hot peppers: bell peppers, poblanos and guajillos alike. The greater proportion of mild peppers, the closer to “medium heat” your sauce will be.
(Optional) begin open flame roasting some or all of your peppers. We charred ~10, but would easily char ALL of them for a smokier flavor. Keep a close eye, allowing them to turn slightly black on all sides. Just sit them on your cooktop grate and turn every 30 seconds with tongs.
Using your knife and cutting board, remove the stem from every pepper.
Place your vinegar, peppers, salt, sugar, lime juice and garlic cloves into your saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes to soften the leathery-skinned peppers.
Let the hot sauce mixture cool in the saucepan until just warm. Proceed to pour the warm mixture through a sieve and funnel into the 16 oz swing top glass bottle. This is premier, clean & mean cayenne pepper hot sauce.
Scrape the more viscous chili paste from the sieve into your 4 oz ball mason jar or small container. Treat this delicacy like Sambal Oelek or any Thai chili paste. More textured, thicker, heterogenous and insanely flavorful.
Enjoy! Keep refrigerated.
Ingredients
Directions
Pick all of your garden peppers for this fiery concoction. Or hit the grocery store. This isn’t limited to hot peppers: bell peppers, poblanos and guajillos alike. The greater proportion of mild peppers, the closer to “medium heat” your sauce will be.
(Optional) begin open flame roasting some or all of your peppers. We charred ~10, but would easily char ALL of them for a smokier flavor. Keep a close eye, allowing them to turn slightly black on all sides. Just sit them on your cooktop grate and turn every 30 seconds with tongs.
Using your knife and cutting board, remove the stem from every pepper.
Place your vinegar, peppers, salt, sugar, lime juice and garlic cloves into your saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes to soften the leathery-skinned peppers.
Let the hot sauce mixture cool in the saucepan until just warm. Proceed to pour the warm mixture through a sieve and funnel into the 16 oz swing top glass bottle. This is premier, clean & mean cayenne pepper hot sauce.
Scrape the more viscous chili paste from the sieve into your 4 oz ball mason jar or small container. Treat this delicacy like Sambal Oelek or any Thai chili paste. More textured, thicker, heterogenous and insanely flavorful.
Enjoy! Keep refrigerated.
Put that hot sauce in your mouth right now.
You just hand-created a delectable hot sauce using all the fresh peppers. Cheers to you, friend! It’s time to sample the liquid fire.
And share it with all of your crew at every dinner hang session, party, game night and firepit. Give it as a gift to the family members who dig a fiery feast. What peppers did you use? Any from your garden? Farmer’s market? Niche grocery store? Share everything.
Dishes to pair the hot sauce with.
Here are some super flavorful dishes we recommend pairing with your fiery new cayenne pepper hot sauce:
- General Tso’s tofu recipe.
- Instant Pot smoky chili bison recipe.
- Spicy spaghetti squash ramen recipe.
- Creamy zucchini chicken enchiladas recipe.
- Chickpea and cauliflower tacos with avocado lime crema recipe.
- Crispy tofu recipe.
- Sweet and smoky stuffed peppers with creamy chipotle sauce recipe.
- Smoky chipotle egg bake recipe.
- Mexican cauliflower rice recipe.
- Southwestern sausage and potato skillet recipe.
- Buffalo chicken stuffed spaghetti squash recipe.
- Mexican street corn recipe.
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Let other ignorant folks like me what happens when you put hot sh…t in a blender!!! Makes a mess!
Nailbender
Having said that I LOVE the sauce, but I did cool the second and third batches off by placing the pots in cold water before blending.😉
Thanks, Nailbender! Glad you’re enjoying the hot sauce. Great idea chilling it much faster.