How to Make Hot Sauce

Through my CSA (community supported agriculture), I got way too many hot peppers and didn't know what to do with them. I had a whole drawer full starting to go bad, so I put my thinking cap on. I searched for hot sauce recipes and finally decided to just wing it (no pun intended), and make up my own recipe.

The first batch is good, but a little thick. I used 16 ounces of canned tomato sauce, about a pound of hot peppers, a little garlic powder, and some vinegar. I seeded and pureed the hot peppers, and put everything in a sauce pan. When it came to a boil, I reduced it to a simmer and simmered for about twenty minutes. It is very tasty, but not the liquid hot sauce we are used to.

For the next batch, I read the ingredients on the hot sauce bottle in the refrigerator. Ingredients? Hot peppers, vinegar, water, salt, garlic powder. That seems pretty simple. I washed about a pound of hot peppers and cut them into slices, seeds and all. I put them in a sauce pan and covered them with water (about 2 cups). When they came to a boil, I reduced the heat a little, put a lid on, and let them simmer for about 15 minutes. You will want to have your exhaust fan on if you have one. The vapors given off are pretty powerful. After the peppers were tender, I put them into the blender (water and all), and added a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of garlic powder, and a cup of vinegar. I blended it until liquefied, then strained it to remove the skins and seeds. Use a wooden spoon to push the hot sauce through the strainer. You will end up with very little waste. My batch made about two cups of hot sauce.

The hot peppers I used were a mixture of varieties as I got them from the CSA. It turned out to be medium hot. If you are making hot sauce, you can choose whether it's mild or hot depending on the variety of hot peppers you choose. Including the seeds in the sauce will make the sauce hotter. Also, I would suggested test tasting it to determine if you need more salt, garlic powder, or vinegar.

When your hot sauce is done, transfer it to bottles with lids. Old hot sauce or soy sauce bottles are perfect. Store in the refrigerator.