By Noelle Carter
Maybe it’s the sense of danger that reels you in at first. The crazy name, the wild picture slapped on the bottle. Before you know it, you’re on for the ride, and the best ones leave you reduced to a sweaty and speechless mess. When it’s finally over, you can’t help but want more.
I’m talking about hot sauce, a virtual thrill ride for the taste buds. And for fans, nothing beats the feeling.
So what makes hot sauce so attractive? Blame it on the capsaicin, the chemical behind a chilli pepper’s heat. When you eat hot sauce, or any chilli pepper-spiced foods, your mouth reacts to the capsaicin as if it’s in pain, signalling the brain. Your body responds by releasing endorphins, much like it does with laughter, chocolate, stress and sex.
Pleasure and pain, conveniently packaged in a bottle. All I know is I can’t get enough of the stuff. I have a collection at home and drizzle at least one sauce — more often two — over everything. A sure sign of a junkie, lately I’ve even taken to making my own.
It’s amazingly simple. A puree of chilli peppers and salt, thinned perhaps with vinegar or water, maybe a secret ingredient or blend of spices thrown in for good measure. Voila.
For a quick Sriracha-type sauce, take a pound of fresh red chilli peppers — red Fresnos and jalapenos can generally be found year-round — and mash them with fresh garlic and salt, a touch of sugar and vinegar. A little love on the stove-top — simmering the mash helps to marry the flavours — then blend and strain the sauce, thinning as desired with water. The sauce literally comes together in minutes (as opposed to fermented hot sauces, which can take days, or more, to make). And while it tastes good right away, it gets even better after a day or two in the fridge.
Play around with the sauce to personalise it to your tastes, changing up chilli peppers and flavourings. For a Caribbean jerk-inspired hot sauce, use the same method but switch out the Fresnos for Scotch bonnets or habaneros, rounding out the flavours with fresh ginger and green onion, lime, a blend of spices and a touch of dark rum. Playfully sweet and fruity at first, the heat will sneak up on you in the most wonderful way.
The variations are endless. Probably the hardest part to a great homemade hot sauce is giving your wonderfully potent creation a fitting name. I simply call mine “Shock in a Bottle.”
Four-Pepper Hot Sauce
Total time: 1 hour
Servings: Makes about 1 quart hot sauce.
This sauce should be prepared in a well-ventilated area.
Ingredients
3 ounces dried New Mexico chilli peppers
1 ½ ounces dried ancho chilli peppers
1 ounce dried arbol chilli peppers
½ ounce dried pequin chilli peppers
8 to 12 cloves garlic
¼ to ½ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons toasted whole cumin seeds, ground
2 teaspoons salt, more as desired
1 cup vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
Method
1. Bring a kettle or large saucepan of water to boil.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large comal (ceramic or metal hotplate for cooking tortilla) or skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Place a few chilli peppers on the comal at a time, gently pressing to flatten. Leave the chilli peppers just until aromatic, a few seconds, then turn them over and heat again until aromatic, careful not to burn (burning the chilli peppers will make them bitter). Repeat until all of the chilli peppers are heated; for the smaller chilli peppers, shake them briefly in the comal to warm.
3. Stem the chilli peppers and place them in a large bowl. Pour over boiling water to cover. Weight the chilli peppers with a plate to keep them submerged, and set aside for 15 minutes until they are softened.
4. Remove the chilli peppers from the soaking water (reserve the water) and place them in a blender. Add the garlic, cloves, oregano, cumin seeds and salt, along with the cider vinegar, 2 cups soaking water (taste the soaking water before using, and if it tastes bitter, use plain water) and the oil.
5. Puree the sauce until it is completely smooth, adding water as needed to thin. Taste the sauce — the flavours will vary with each batch of chilli peppers — and adjust the flavourings and seasonings to taste (sweeten if desired with a little sugar).
6. Using a very fine mesh strainer or chinois, strain the sauce into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Whisk in additional water to thin as desired. Bring the sauce to a simmer and stir frequently for 3 to 5 minutes to marry the flavours, then remove from heat. Pour the sauce into a glass jar or bottle, cover and refrigerate.
Caribbean Jerk-Style
Hot Sauce
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: Makes about 3 cups hot sauce.
The sauce should be prepared in a well-ventilated area. Wear gloves while chopping the Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers because the heat in the oils can sting your hands. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling the peppers.
Ingredients
1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons salt
¼ cup muscovado or dark brown sugar
6 to 9 Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, stemmed and chopped
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 bunches scallions, chopped (green and white parts)
Zest and juice of 4 limes
¼ cup distilled white vinegar
¼ cup oil
½ to 1 cup water
Method
1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the pepper, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, salt, sugar, peppers, garlic, ginger, scallions, lime zest and juice, vinegar and oil. Pulse a few times to form a coarse paste.
2. Transfer the mixture to a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, to marry the flavours.
3. Remove from heat. Place the mixture back in a food processor or blender and blend to form a smooth sauce, thinning as desired with one-half to 1 cup water. Strain if desired. To store, refrigerate the sauce in a covered glass bottle or jar.
Sriracha-Style Hot Sauce
Total time: 25 minutes
Servings: Makes about 1 ½ cups sauce
This sauce should be prepared in a well-ventilated area and is best prepared at least 1 to 2 days before using.
Ingredients
1 pound mixed fresh red chilli peppers (such as red Fresnos or jalapenos), stemmed and chopped
2 to 4 cloves garlic
¼ cup vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt, more if desired
2 tablespoons palm or light brown sugar, more if desired
Method
1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the chilli peppers, garlic, vinegar, salt and sugar to form a coarse paste.
2. Transfer the mixture to a non-reactive saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the aroma softens or mellows a bit, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Blend the sauce again to form a smooth paste, thinning as desired with water.
4. Strain the sauce, pressing the solids through a fine mesh strainer with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Taste the sauce, and tweak the flavours as desired with additional salt, sugar or vinegar. Remove the sauce to a glass jar or bottle and cool completely. Refrigerate until needed. — Los Angeles Times/MCT
There is a world of possibilities for the home cook looking to unleash the flame with their own hot sauces.
