Preparing
Fresh Peppers
Using fresh peppers from
the farmers market or your own garden will make high quality hot sauces.
Peppers purchased from the supermarket will work as well but they may be
old and are usually waxed to make them more attractive. |
| There are two methods of
preparing peppers for your sauce. One is to blanch the peppers and the
other is to roast them. In both methods, the safety instructions are the
same. The capsicum mentioned above is not only hot on the tongue, it is
brutal on the eyes or in cuts on your fingers. When preparing peppers you
can wear rubber gloves to protect your hands and keep your hands clean.
Capsicum has a way of staying on your hands even after washing. Safety
glasses will help you avoid splashes or touching your eyes while cutting
and cleaning peppers. For more information on hot
peppers see our book Grow the Best Peppers. |
Cleaning
and Blanching
Cleaning your peppers of
all veins and seeds will reduce the bitter and hot character greatly. This
also applies to sweet red and green peppers. Wash the whole peppers in
running water to remove any pesticides and dirt. Remove the stem end of
the pepper and then cut the pepper along its length into quarters. Lay
each quarter flat on the cutting board and slice out the seeds and vains.
Any good flesh left around the stem can be cut away too. Wash the cleaned
peppers again in running water. |
| Prepare a boiling pot of
enough distilled white vinegar to cover the cleaned peppers. Do not use
any aluminum cookware. The acids in the vinegar and the peppers will break
down the aluminum and put it in your sauce! The steam from boiling vinegar
is very strong. Avoid breathing it. Place the peppers into the boiling
vinegar for 2 or 3 minutes. This will kill any bacteria and soften the
pepper flesh making it easier to process. Remove the peppers and allow
to drain. Save the vinegar for use in your recipes and blanching more peppers
later. |
Roasting
Peppers
Sauces and salsas made with
fresh roasted peppers have that extra flavor only an open flame can provide.
Wash the whole peppers in running water to remove any pesticides and dirt.
Place the peppers over low heat on you gas grill or the burner of a gas
stove. Turn the peppers regularly and allow them to roast until the skin
blisters and turns black. Place the hot peppers into a clean brown pepper
bag and close it up. Allow them to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the
peppers from the bag and peel away the burnt skin with your hands or a
soft cloth. Remove the vains and seeds as described above. There is no
need to blanch roasted peppers. |
Other
Fresh Ingredients
Adding fresh fruits, vegetables
and herbs to your recipes will liven them up and make the sauce more complex.
Almost any thing can be used as long as you think the flavor combinations
will taste good. The one concern with fresh additives is the amount of
moisture they will add to the recipe and the natural bitterness of seeds
and skins. |
Fresh
Tomatoes
To remove the excess moisture
and seeds from fresh tomatoes, cut the tomato in half across it's middle
leaving a the stem on one half. Hold the half with the skin side up and
gently squeeze the liquid and seeds out. If you wish to remove the skin,
place the seeded tomatoes into boiling water for 3 minutes. The skin will
loosen and peel right off. Seeded tomatoes can also be roasted just like
peppers. Roasting also removes more moisture. The best substitute for fresh
tomato is canned tomato juice. |
Fresh
Fruit
Fruits can be added to any
hot sauce recipe to increase sweetness and flavor. All peel and rind must
be removed because it is extremely bitter. Seeds must be removed too! Pulpy
fruit like orange and pineapple should be strained unless you are using
a food mill as described under Food Processors. The stringy pulp fibers
will plug up the dropper inserts in the bottles. Canned or frozen fruit
juice works well in place of fresh. There is also the added advantage of
the addition flavoring that can be gained from using frozen concentrates. |
Fresh
Herbs
Adding fresh herbs to your
recipes will increase flavors and let you put in your own special touch.
Fresh herbs must be washed and chopped prior to use. Do not use the plant
stems. You must use a food mill as described under Food Processors in order
to remove the herb particles which will plug up your dropper bottles. |
Other
Spices
The use of ground spices
is an easy way to add your own touch to any hot sauce recipe. Your kit
includes a variety of spices for use in the recipes given here. Please
remember that dried and ground spices, which are fresh, have a stronger
more concentrated flavor. You may need to experiment with how much to use
in order to suit your taste. See our complete line of Hot
Spices. |
Food
Processors
An electric food processor
is perfect for blending ingredients prior to cooking but it is not necessary.
A good sharp knife and clean cutting board will do the job too. You should
never use an electric food processor after the cooking stage. The reason
is the amount of air these machines pump into whatever is being blended. |
| After cooking, it is a good
idea to run your sauce through a hand crank food mill. These are inexpensive
and they are designed specifically for making smooth purees. If one is
not available, a kitchen sieve will also work. The objective is to remove
or crush any solid matter left in the sauce and squeeze out every drop. |
Cooking
Methods
Cooking your hot sauce will
help blend the flavors together, break down pieces of solid ingredients
and pasteurize the sauce. It is an important step which should only be
skipped if the sauce will be used up completely within two days. |
| The recipes given here will
make one 5 ounce bottle of sauce and include instructions for cooking the
sauce in the microwave oven. This is a quick way to make a small batch
without a lot of cleanup. |
| Larger batches and some
recipes you develop may require cooking the sauce on the stove top. The
stove top method offers more control over the cooking process. Your sauce
should be simmered over low heat for at least 5 minutes. Constant stirring
will prevent boiling and assure that all ingredients are well blended. |
Hot
Pack Instructions
This is the most important
step in the process. Your hot sauce must be properly canned in order to
assure freshness, flavor and shelf life. The procedure is the same as you
would use for canning tomatoes. |
| Your hot sauce bottles must
be clean before starting. Wash them with soap and water and rinse them
thoroughly. Do not wash the caps with the white paper seal inside them.
If the paper seal gets wet it will be ruined. The seal will sanitize itself
later in the process. |
| Place a wire rack on the
bottom of a pot of boiling water. Place the botttles on the rack making
sure they are completely full of water. Let them boil for at least 5 minutes. |
| When you are ready to pack
your sauce, remove a bottle from the boiling water with tongs and drain
out the water. Your sauce should also be at the boiling point. Hold the
bottle with a dry towel and fill it with sauce using a measuring cup to
help you pour. Place the dropper cap on the bottle and screw the cap on
tight. Turn the bottle upside down for 10 minutes. This will sanitize the
the lid. Let bottles cool completely before refrigerating. |
Aging
Your hot sauce is going
to improve with age. Keep the sauce in the refrigerator for at least one
week prior to using it. The longer the sauce ages, the more complex the
flavor will become. Properly packed hot sauce will last six to nine months
unopened. |
Recipes
There are two methods given
for each of our recipes. Feel free to mix and match, develop your own recipes
and be creative. Be sure to take notes every time you prepare a recipe.
You will need those notes to recreate the sauces you like best. You can
adjust the heat of a recipe by adding more or less hot pepper. |
Make
your own hot sauce, fresh salsa, spicy BBQ sauces and great rib rubs with
these exotic peppers and spices. By doing it yourself you have complete
control over the flavor and heat. Please note that on the hot pepper verities
listed here we have provided the Scoville Heat Units. ORDER
LEENERS HOT SAUCE KIT HERE
