Many people relish making their own homemade food products, packaging them as commercial commodities, and selling them for profit. In recent years there has been an increase in homemade small-batch hot sauces reaching successful global markets. Hot sauce has become one of the fastest-growing condiments because of the demand and the ease at which it is made. There are secrets to success within the hot sauce recipe itself.

Hot sauce is a simple mixture of combining peppers with liquids such as vinegar, citrus juice, or water and blending them. Other ingredients such as salt, spices, sugar, and fruits are also added to create gourmet hot sauces and they can be easily made, stored, and sold as unique and flavorful hot sauces with just a couple ingredients.

Making a homemade hot sauce can be achieved by either using an existing recipe or inventing your hot sauce recipe from scratch. A recipe does not have copyright protection and can be duplicated, and it is usually the process, not the ingredients, that makes it unique and stand out among other sauces. Use this simple red peppers sauce as an example of hot sauce simplicity. OR Get over 50 awesome HOT SAUCE RECIPES through this link. NOW! Also available as a paperback on Amazon HERE!

Red Pepper Sauce

Here are the simple directions for making a hot sauce but find the SECRETS below

What you need and why

The three things that are essential to making hot sauce are 1) hot peppers, 2) vinegar, and 3) a blender. This simple combination will use a ratio of ingredients to determine the heat, flavor, and consistency of the hot sauce. When this ratio changes…so does the hot sauce. Get a pound of Red Fresno Peppers used in this recipe here through Amazon or two pounds here.

Additional everyday kitchen tools like a sharp knife and a cutting board are also needed but these items are not specific to hot sauce. Some more complex sauces use specialized equipment for fermentation or smoking and roasting the peppers before they become a hot sauce. Finally Understand The Fermented Hot Sauce Process.

The wattage of the blender

A blender is essential in making the “sauce” or your creation will become a separate condiment otherwise without one. Food processors or food choppers tend to chop fruits, vegetables, and other ingredients and are not always powerful enough, fast enough, or designed to blend peppers and vinegar into a sauce mixture. It may take more blending time for the ingredients to become a thin consistency using a small blender or food processor. You will want a blender with at least 600 watts of power to efficiently make a sauce of thin consistency. Read more on blender wattage here and check out our Blender Buyers Guide here. Get Amazon’s best seller the nutribullet here. This is what I use for small batches like this recipe.

The ratio of ingredients will completely change the recipe

The ratio or percentage of ingredients against each other is very important in how the final product will turn out. A hot sauce with a 50 : 50 ratio will consist of 50% hot peppers and 50% vinegar. The recipe below is almost a 50 : 50 ratio of peppers and vinegar, except for a little garlic and salt. This ratio could make a very hot sauce if the peppers used have a high SHU.

The selection of peppers determines everything

The selection of peppers will depend on how hot you want your sauce to be. Hot peppers contain other flavors besides just heat but it is usually the heat that is at the forefront. The recipe below uses Fresno peppers but that can be substituted for serrano or habanero for more heat and a focus on the flavor of each of those peppers. Read the 25 Most Common Peppers Used In Hot Sauce for more pepper substitutes.

Color will play an important role in how the hot sauce looks. A bright red-hot sauce will usually indicate extreme heat whereas a yellow or green sauce tends to be milder. This is not completely true of hot peppers but is a good general rule for a hot sauce.

How long does it take to make hot sauce?

Most hot sauce recipes that use a simple process or blending, cooking, or roasting can be made in 20 – 30 minutes or less for a small batch of 10 – 12 ounces. Other recipes that use smoked peppers or a fermentation process can take several hours or days to produce. The deeper and more involved the process, the richer the flavor of the hot sauce.

Hot sauce has become a decadent condiment

In recent years hot sauce has evolved into gourmet sauces that are rich and decadent. This is due to the ingredients used but also the process in which they are prepared. Beyond hot peppers and vinegar, many gourmet hot sauces may include garlic, some form of sugar, lemon and lime juice, or onions as some of the main ingredients. Read why these 50 common ingredients are used in hot sauce.

5 secrets to making hot sauce

Secret 1 – Preparing the ingredients

Most hot sauces will contain fresh hot peppers from the beginning of predation but the process will change that. The capsaicin from the hot peppers can irritate any areas of the skin that it meets. For this reason, gloves should be worn, or caution should be taken not to touch any of the cut pieces of the peppers. It is OK to touch the outside of the peppers but once cut…it is the “juice” that will sting the skin.

Secret 2 – Handling the peppers

Using a sharp paring knife or another type of knife cut the stems off the hot peppers and discard them. The peppers do not need to be chopped or diced any further, that is what the blender is for. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise. If the knife is sharp enough this can be able to be done without touching the peppers.

Use a teaspoon to scrape the seeds from the peppers. You can remove the seeds with a paring knife but be careful not to cut the wall of the pepper and release the “juice” because this is what will burn the skin on the fingers and hands. Leaving the seeds in will not cause any harm in consuming them and will add additional heat to the hot sauce. If the sauce is not processed enough or blended enough the seeds will be visible in the sauce. This gives a homemade appearance to the hot sauce.

Secret 3 – Reduce prep time

The end of the garlic clove does not need to be cut off and can be eaten. Remove the skin by crushing the clove under a butcher knife or metal spatula with a sudden punch with the palm of your hand. This allows the skin to easily peel from the garlic without needing to do additional prep work like slicing and dicing.

Hot sauce gets a rich, decadent flavor when it is cooked down or reduced

Secret 4 – Reduce cooking temperature

Pour the vinegar into a 2-quart saucepan. Add the peppers, garlic, and salt. Turn the burner to high and bring the contents to a boil. Do this in a well-ventilated area with a range exhaust hood turned on high because the fumes will irate the throat and eyes. As it reaches a boiling temperature quickly reduce the heat to low. Remove the saucepan for about 30 seconds to get the contents to stop boiling quicker. It’s the slow cooking or reducing that allows the hot sauce to get a rich, decadent flavor and help it blend with the other ingredients. Over boiling will remove all life.

Stir the contents frequently while cooking on low for about 10 – 12 minutes or until the peppers begin to soften. Poke them with a fork to determine if they have softened but don’t overcook the peppers. They will lose their heat, flavor, and nutrients.

Secret 5 – Use a high wattage blender

Add all the contents to a blender or food processor. Blend on high for about 30 seconds until the contents start to look like a hot sauce. Taste for additional salt and blend again for an equal amount of time. A blender with at least 600 watts will blend into a sauce without leaving it chunky.

A high-wattage blender should be able to blend all these ingredients into a thin consistency in under 30 seconds. If not strain the sauce through a sieve or fine strainer pushing the pulp with a rubber spatula to get all the sauce.

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