Roasted peppers are delicious and if they are done right will produce a sweet, cooked flavor with a smooth texture. Using these peppers in recipes will add this enhanced flavor to the dish, entrée or hot sauce. Roasting will add a great flavor to a hot sauce but can be lost among the other ingredients if not done correctly.
Hot peppers can be roasted on a cooking sheet in an oven with the oven temperature set between 400 – 425 degrees. Roast the pepper’s skin side down for 20 – 25 minutes until the skin begins to turn brown. Turn the oven to broil so they are cooked from the top down and start to get charred. Blend the peppers with vinegar until it is a smooth consistency for a delicious roasted hot sauce flavor.
There are many variations and additional ingredients to a roasted pepper hot sauce but the more peppers you can use the more the roasted flavor will influence the hot sauce. Other peppers like bell and poblano can be used in addition to hot peppers if you want to tone down the heat.
Use roasted hot peppers as the main ingredient
Roasting hot peppers is a subtle flavor in a hot sauce and can be lost when mixed with other strong flavors. Roasting in an oven will not produce as prominent flavors as smoking or fire roasting and several things could go wrong that would inhibit the flavor of the roasted pepper.
Some gourmet hot sauce recipes that are currently getting produced can have a complex ingredient and processing structure when compared to a classic-style hot sauce. Hot peppers have a distinct flavor to them beyond the heat they provide. Using roasted hot peppers as the first ingredient will allow the understated flavoring to become more prominent.
This may seem obvious but it has been my experience that the roasting process can dry out and remove the water from the pepper. This can make the sauce very thick and liquid substances like water, vinegar or lemon juice (all common hot sauce ingredients) may need to be added so that it becomes a sauce. These ingredients can easily hide or override the enjoyable oven charred flavor of a roasted hot pepper.
Roasting hot peppers and using them in a hot sauce will need the addition of acids in the form of vinegar, lime or lemon juice to balance preservation and increase shelf life. These are strong flavors and can take over the flavor of the sauce so use them in minimal amounts in hot sauce. Flavors are enhanced if you store the pepper together with the other ingredients in your hot sauce overnight in the refrigerator. Use a glass, airtight container and let the flavors permeate together before blending. You shouldn’t store them longer than two days as they will start to deteriorate before adding any preservation. You age them in a brine solution to further enhance the roasted flavors.
Keep prep to a minimum
The preparation work can be as important as the time spent cooking but in this case, it is simple. There isn’t much processing of the pepper that is needed aside from cutting the stem off and slicing them in half the long way. They should be placed with the skin down because this is the part that gets brown and crispy and makes a great speckled appearance in the sauce.
Roast whole, cut in half or mashed hot peppers?
Roasting peppers whole will give the same flavoring if they are cut in half or mashed. However, the seeds will become a toasty brown if they are exposed to the source of heat. This will become an excellent texture and flavoring once the peppers are blended into a sauce. They are also easier to blend if they are roasted completely. A mash is often mixed with brine for fermentation. Peppers that are slightly mashed and roasted may have some of the seeds unexposed therefore all the seeds will not have the same golden color to them.
Use salt BEFORE you roast hot peppers
Salts can enhance the flavor of foods but will react differently depending on when during the cooking process they are used. Flavor the hot peppers with salt before they are roasted to bring out the most flavor. Salting them after will give them an over-salted flavor.
Pre-salted hot peppers will have a caramelized appearance and flavor to them. Unsalted peppers will get dried out and lose their flavor. Use a granular salt that will coat the peppers evenly instead of flake salts. A coarse salt has a great appearance and finish to it but the large crystals mat not spread as evenly as a granulated salt.
Brush peppers with olive oil before roasting
Olive oil is delicious on a pepper and will enhance any vegetable. Extra virgin olive oil will complement a roasted pepper but use it sparingly. Too much oil could affect the pH of the hot sauce and shorten the shelf life. Also, take into consideration the idea of making this sauce on a larger scale. Brushing or spritzing a few hot peppers before roasting is easy but can get time-consuming and costly for large productions.
What exactly is roasting?
Roasting is a dry cooking method that uses an uncovered pan without wet techniques such as basting, stewing, braising or steaming. By definition, roasting refers to dry cooking on all sides but it is commonly done in an oven on a metal cooking sheet, therefore not using the same heat source on all sides. If you are not using a cooking rack the peppers can be flipped halfway through the process.
The difference between roasting and toasting
Roasting refers to the method above in which meat or vegetables are cooked thoroughly on all sides. Toasting refers to lightly browning something for flavor. When roasting hot peppers they will get browned on the side that rests on the pan. Hot peppers can get toasted by putting them in a broiler where the heat comes from the top down.
The difference between roasting and baking
There is not much of a difference between baking and roasting in today’s standards of cooking. Roasting requires a higher temperature that will brown the peppers. This can be done toward the end of oven roasting by turning the setting to broil, where the heat comes from the top.
Roasting is done in an open pan where baking may have everything covered. This will cook the peppers fine but any golden brown appearance on the peppers. Baking is often done to foods to cook them from a raw point such as bread and baked goods. Roasting is often used on foods as a flavor enhancement.
What is broiling and how is it done to hot peppers?
Broiling has heat coming from the top where roasting the heat is coming from all sides. When roasting hot peppers they are usually placed on a cooking sheet and the heat is distributed to one surface of the pepper. You can rotate them throughout the process or elevate them off the cooking sheet to achieve that “all-around” heat. Broiling can give a “burnt” appearance to the pepper by cooking it completely. When cooked in an oven to results will be very similar to roasting.
The difference between fire-roasted and oven-roasted
Fire roasting will use a direct flame to cook the hot peppers. This is usually done on a grill and will add some smoky flavor from the flame. I use an electric oven that does not have a direct flame therefore the roasting method relies on heat surround the pepper as in traditional roasting.
This can be time-consuming and difficult to do on a small-scale operation but can be accomplished on a standard gas or charcoal grill. Commercial fire roasting equipment can cost thousands of dollars but is worth the investment if you plan on mass producing a hot sauce.
Should I remove the skin after roasting hot peppers?
Do not remove the skin from hot peppers if the intentions are to make hot sauce. Most hot peppers have thin skins and they will get blended with the other parts of the pepper. There isn’t much mass to a smaller hot pepper but some varieties such as bell and poblano could have the skin removed very easily. If you choose to remove the skin from the peppers understand the amount of time it will take on a large-scale operation.
Does the skin of a hot pepper have nutrients?
All parts of a hot pepper have nutrients. Red peppers contain lycopene in their color pigment but this color is throughout the pepper walls as well because they are the same color. Lycopene has many health benefits but mostly acts as an antioxidant. Removing the skin does not remove the nutrients from the pepper but it does reduce the mass of hot pepper in the sauce.
Can I roast peppers in a toaster oven?
Hot peppers can be roasted in a toaster oven a small quantity at a time if you can set the timer for 20 minutes or more. Many toaster ovens have the capacity and temperature setting for many items similar to a full-size oven. They will usually get hotter faster but limit the ability to roast a large batch of anything.
Roasting reduces the heat of a hot pepper
Almost all processing of a hot pepper will cause them to lose their heat to some degree. Roasting will break down the capsaicin in hot peppers and can reduce the heat significantly, especially if you roast them too long.
Removing the seeds and roasting them along with bell peppers will make a very mild hot sauce but toasting a whole pepper at a high temperature will retain more of the heat. I roast hot peppers specifically to reduce the heat of some of my hot sauces.
Red jalapenos are hotter than green jalapenos
Red jalapenos are green jalapenos left on the plant to ripen longer and this will make them hotter than green jalapenos. This is due to the concentration of capsaicin increasing throughout the duration of the pepper ripening. If you are concerned about losing the heat of jalapenos when roasting use red instead of green. This is true for many varieties of hot peppers.
Do red jalapenos taste different than green?
There is a slight taste difference between red and green jalapenos. Red jalapenos will be sweeter because they have been left on the plant. Green jalapenos will be crispier and have a fresher taste to them. Keep this in mind when roasting.
Roasting hot peppers will reduce the nutrients
According to webmd the vitamin contents of peppers can be reduced by 25% when they are roasted. Hot sauces are not typically made for their health benefits but there are certainly many health-related reasons why hot sauce is chosen over other ingredients.
Roast all the ingredients together
If you are using other peppers varieties of specific fruits and vegetables in your hot sauce recipe, roast them all together. This will enhance the fire-cooked flavor that a roasted hot sauce is trying to achieve and will solidify as the main flavor of the hot sauce.
Roasting garlic
Garlic is a common hot sauce ingredient and roasted garlic can be found in many hot sauce flavors as well. Some brands of hot sauce that contain roasted garlic feature it on their product display label because it has such a strong and desirable flavor.
Use 1 clove of roasted garlic 4 oz of roasted peppers.
Things that make a difference in the outcome of a roasted pepper hot sauce
Where the produce comes from makes a difference in the hot sauce
The quality of the hot peppers you are roasting makes a huge difference in the quality of the finished product. Produce could be overripe, under-ripe or inconsistent. A good recipe needs a good source of a product.
Duration of roasting can change the flavor of a hot sauce
Hot peppers can be roasted until almost all of the heat is eliminated. Jalapenos only need to be roasted for 20 – 25 minutes. Other peppers types of peppers and vegetables can be roasted longer but jalapeno will lose their heat.
Over roasting can dry out hot peppers
Hot peppers do not need to be charred black or burnt to achieve a great roasted flavor. This will create a different undesirable flavor. Over roasting will also remove many of the nutrients and flavor in the hot peppers as well as much of the heat.
Temperature of oven determines the quality of the peppers
The temperature of the oven should be set between 400 – 425 degrees. Anything hotter will overcook, burn or crisp the pepper to an almost flavorless and unattractive mess. This will dry out the peppers. They will already be slightly drier during a normal roasting process and don’t need and don’t a crispy skin to produce a great flavor. If the temperature is too low they will wilt but will not produce the sweet roasted flavor.
Water is removed from food by slowly cooking at low temperatures. If this is done to hot peppers they will dry completely dehydrate. Dried or dehydrated peppers are fine and there are a lot of uses for them but they will not have the same properties as roasted peppers in a hot sauce. Hot peppers will need to be roasted longer in high altitude locations.
Keep a clean oven
An unclean oven can influence the flavors of what is cooked in them, especially if you are using a small toaster over with old burnt bread crumbs that will permeate into the hot peppers. I know because sometimes my food comes out of the toaster oven tasting like my wife’s burnt toast.
Popular hot sauces with roasted peppers
Very few hot sauces list roasted peppers in the ingredients. Reasons for that may be that it can be a long and costly practice that can be difficult in capturing a true roasted flavor.
Roasting hot peppers gives a unique flavor to the pepper but it can get lost in a hot sauce, especially if the peppers are high on the Scoville scale. Try different techniques such as broiling, salting and brushing with olive oil to enhance the flavors of a roasted hot pepper sauce.
