I have read plenty of product labels and what the ingredients for hot sauce are. Lately I’ve thought that maybe I want to start making my own. I have some basic kitchen tools, but I still had some questions on the proper equipment. What kitchen utensils do I need to make hot sauce? Do I need a blender?
The short answer is yes, you need a blender to make hot sauce. Typically, the ingredients of hot sauce, hot peppers and vinegar are either cooked or processed raw in a blender. Although blenders have become a common kitchen appliance there are also other means and methods of making hot sauce.
I am writing this post to answer some questions on the use of tools to make hot sauce. If you do not have a blender there are some other options and here are the results. Some blenders can be very inexpensive but if you are a budget you may not to waste your money on something that is not going to work for you.
Hand Chopper
I think I have heard this tool called a hand chopper. This works OK but still very difficult to get into a fine powder. I have tried this with cooked, fresh and dried peppers and I have different results. The cooked and fresh peppers can be finely mashed and then mixed with a vinegar, but dried peppers were very difficult to reach powder form. This tool is great for quick diced vegetables, but it takes quit a bit a hand motion for your peppers to become used as a sauce.
Cheese Grater
For this I used the fine side and the course side. The peppers were raw and once again I did not use gloves due to the delicate hand eye coordination needed in gripping the peppers firmly. The consistency of the sauce using the fine side had more pulp than the food processor or blender, but I was able to make some edible sauce. The course side was able get very small pepper strips and after mixing with vinegar it wasn’t really a sauce but more of a dip.
The fine side worked ok but it was difficult to use the entire pepper. You will definitely want to use gloves for this, and you will probably want something with a relative thickness.
Kitchen Knife
I used butcher knife and the technique I learned from my brother of curling your fingers into your palm, so you do not slice them. Again, this still only made a pulp but once mixed with the vinegar and garlic had the consistency of a thick sauce.
I use a 6-piece knife set from Homegeek available at Amazon for all my kitchen activities. There is a knife for every specific use in the kitchen to include an 8″ chef’s knife, an 8″ bread knife, a 8″ slicer, a 6″ boning knife, a 5 “utility knife (my favorite) and a 3.5” paring knife. It is so nice to have such versatile equipment in your kitchen and these knives arrive at your door very sharp. I have used a lot of random mixed knives and utensils but what a convenience to have sharp, wooden handle knives. With a tang that runs through the handle these high-quality knives will be handed down to my children. I don’t know how I did anything in my kitchen without them. Also like many knives sets this come with a wooden chopping block holder at the perfect angle for easy gripping.
If you have tried any methods of making hot sauce without a blender you may have some of the same frustrations I do. My recommendation is to purchase something inexpensive, try it for a while and upgrade after a few months. If you need continued decision on what type of blender, I recommend the rest of the equipment in my kitchen as well.
Different Types of Blenders Use to Make Hot Sauce
Food Processor
I have a hand me down food processor that is probably 25 years old. It weighs almost 4 pounds and I have used it for years on many different recipes. I have recently used it making jalapeno based hot sauce from my article “Easy Hot Sauce Recipe”. I followed the recipe by cooking the peppers with garlic and vinegar and then put it in the Cuisinart. I added 2/3 cup of water and pressed pulse several times. Ultimately it took one hour on the “On” setting. I stopped periodically because the food processor was getting hot. It actually started to have motor burn out smell I get from an old vacuum. The blade that I use is a plastic one as I cannot find the metal blades that came with it. The consistency had some pulp to it but the end results were a pour-able hot sauce and it tasted great.
Main Stays Blender
I bought this off the shelf at Walmart for $9.95 and you really can’t get any cheaper than that. I have had products in my kitchen similar to this and it is a handy little appliance. Like the Cuisinart, this also took a while to become sauce and had a consistency very much like a relish. I am not sure if this was the recipe or the blender but for the cost it is worth purchasing. I use this blender for my jalapeno relish and it only needs a few pulses. I don’t make this in large batches, so it works just fine.
Magic Bullet
I love my Magic Bullet and I mention it in almost every post! This is the blender that I use to make most of the hot sauces. It has high RPM speed for such a small piece of equipment and will liquefy almost any produce type. We have used this for sauces and smoothies, and it is great for a small batch of a recipe you may not be entirely sure of. I like the size of it for storage but also if I am experimenting with hot sauce flavors not all of them are desirable and so a small batch is great so there isn’t much waste.
If you are adamant about making your own hot sauce invest money in purchasing a blender. They are available at a relatively low cost and can be purchased in many retail store. Here is the affiliate link to Amazon for several standard 6 cup kitchen blenders under $50.00.
