Easy Hot Sauce Recipe: Make Your Own Salsa

Have you tried all the different brands of hot sauce at your supermarket? I have. My lack of taste for these many brands led me to experiment with my own recipes. I started from scratch and have arrived with what I enjoy as the easiest, best tasting salsa so far.

Warning! This is my HOT recipe, but I include a variation so you can have a mild Easy Hot Sauce Recipe. Start with three 8-ounce cans of Hatch 'Diced Tomatoes with Jalapeno'. Then grab an 8-ounce can of Rotel 'HOT - Diced Tomatoes with Habanero'. That's it for the tomatoes and peppers!

This is a good thing. I used to cut up the peppers by hand. Deseeding the peppers and getting pepper juice on your hands will keep you up at night! You can use any brand in your area; it does not have to be Rotel and Hatch. The HOT version I find in the Mexican food aisle by the taco/enchilada sauce. All the other varieties are with the canned tomatoes.

Head over to the produce section and pick up a small white onion, lemon and some cilantro. This is all you need for a great-tasting salsa. The cilantro should out-last you. I only use a small amount and for fifty cents get more cilantro than I can use before it goes bad!

Pour all of your tomatoes into a pot and set to medium heat. This is optional, but I add a teaspoon of garlic powder, black pepper, and onion powder. I also use a tablespoon of crushed red pepper, pizzeria style. For a secret ingredient, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of ketchup to taste for sweetness. The crushed red pepper will add a lot of heat to your sauce, so be careful if you are heat-sensitive!

When the tomatoes start bubbling, reduce the heat to Low and let simmer for 30 minutes covered.While the tomatoes are cooking cut a quarter section of the small white onion and dice. Use more if you love onions! Pick 6 to 12 leaves off of the cilantro and cut into small pieces. If you feel like adding lots of cilantro, take a bite of it and reconsider before you do this. Too much will make your sauce taste like grass!

Let cool or submerge pot in water for 5 to 10 minutes to cool down before continuing. Add tomatoes, juice of the lemon (careful of the seeds), cilantro and onion to the blender. Pulse a few times until everything appears to be mixed well and then add to your jars! I recommend enjoying before your next trip to the store, but since your sauce is still hot you are actually canning it, so the 'freshness seal' will suck itself down as the jar cools and the air contracts. The lemon juice will act as a preservative, also.

The easy hot sauce recipe that I use will fill a 32-ounce large mason jar. Or you can just use two regular size mason jars, leftover jelly jars, or even leftover hot sauce jars! If you use two jars you will have enough left over to maybe have some right then or save a small bowl for later.

For a mild version pick up four 8-ounce cans of 'Diced Tomatoes with Jalapenos', or for a super-mild version use four 8-ounce cans of 'Diced Tomatoes with Green Chile Peppers'. Mix and match until you find your perfect sauce!

I hope you enjoy my Easy Hot Sauce Recipe, my wife does! It is the only hot sauce that she will eat!