Kickass Hot Sauce

I struggle as I make the decision to publicize my prized hot sauce recipe. I'm sure some in my family will think that I am crazy (I'm instant messaging my brother right now and he's not happy about me making this public) for just giving it out instead of trying to sell it, but I think that sharing what little of my own self-made recipes will help others try making their own.

So here's main the story. I love my little backyard garden. It's mostly herbs and peppers (hot and cold). For some reason, I got a wild hair up there to use my home raised herbs and hot peppers and make a hot sauce. I looked on the good ol' interweb for some ideas and and how to achieve a good product. I didn't like what I saw in any one specific recipe, so I kind of went and made my own thing. (I'm sure on the internet you'll find something that is exactly the same as my recipe, but I've found that it's kind of hard to find anything truly original anymore - but I did come up with this myself without any major help from any other recipes) More on this story later down after how to make it. I believe this recipe yields approximately six to eight cups. You'll need a food processor or at the very minimum a blender and large saucepan.

Brian's Kickass Hot Sauce

Ingredients:

3 Habanero Peppers
2 Jalapeno Peppers
1 Serrano Pepper
1 Hand full of Cilantro
3 Sprigs of Oregano
1/2 White Onion
2 Large Tomatoes
4 Cloves of Garlic
1 Tablespoon of Mustard Powder
2 Tablespoons of Salt
1 Teaspoon of Pepper
2 Cups of Distilled Vinegar
The Juice of One and a half Lemons
The Juice of One Lime

Directions:

Give a nice rough chop up all of the solids nicely so that when you put it in your food processor or blender. No need to go overboard chopping manually because the food processor will take care of the rest. Put all of the solid ingredients along with the one cup of lemon and lime juice into the food processor. Along with that, put in the first of the two cups of the vinegar and blend for about one minute. Stop the blending and clear the sides of the food processor/blender while adding the second cup of vinegar. Restart the blend until it is liquid.

Now, using a fairly large pan (I use my 4qt saute pan, myself) pour the contents into it and bring the sauce to a boil. Let it boil for a few minutes while stirring constantly then reduce the heat to a simmer. Reduce the sauce for about 15-20 minutes and you're almost done! Just mix in the final lemon juice in and you're finished.

There are some seriously hot ingredients in this, so this may irritate some people's breathing, so be careful in that respect. Make sure wherever you cook this at, it's very well ventilated and wash your hands VERY thoroughly after handling any of the peppers. After it is I usually fill up one squirt bottle container with the sauce then put the remaining sauce in a storage container of some sort for later use. (I have one great friend who kills for a nice bit of it when I make it)

Now, as far as heat goes, it is reasonably hot. But, overall, I've been told by 99% of people three is the perfect heat level. I am pretty sensitive to heat, so three habaneros is about the perfect level for me. You can always add more or take some away to adjust to your level but I think three is perfect. I also find that the use of multiple types of peppers adds to the flavor of the sauce.


The Back Story:

I have not found anyone who doesn't like this sauce. My mother, who doesn't eat hot things much at all, loved it. She lives in California and works with a lot of Latinos who love hot things. My brother made a batch she took it in to work to see how they'd like it. They wanted to pay my brother to make another batch for them. On top of that, I had friends over for dinner where I pan fried some rib eye steaks and used the squirt bottle (To get that neo-chef look) to make a nice line along with little drops along the edges of the plate for them to dip the steak in if they wanted. They loved it and wanted more. Unfortunately, due to price, I didn't have anymore steak on hand. They lead me to believe that they loved it.

Anyway, I hope that you make it and that you enjoy it. I've been told by everyone who's had it that they loved it and wanted some to take home with them.