DIY Jalapeno-Habanero Hot Sauce

 

Sometimes things just happen for a reason. Do you believe that? Me too.

This year I planted 3 jalapeno plants in my garden. I love jalapenos in so many ways – pickled, stuffed and grilled, chopped in a salsa or just sprinkled on food. I love spicy.

Well, imagine my surprise when one of those jalapeno plants turned out to be something different.. A habanero plant. These are the bad boys of the pepper world – seriously HOT. Meant to be eaten with quite a bit of measure, and really not enjoyable stuffed or grilled – unless you like pain.

So, what to do? I certainly didn’t want to waste them. It struck me! Hot Sauce! Why not make my own hot sauce?

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Turns out hot sauce is easy to make and easy to customize, flexible with the peppers you have grown or available at the market. I made a batch of Jalapeno/Habanero sauce.  Here’s how:

JALAPENO-HABANERO HOT SAUCE (makes approx 2 1/2 cups)

You’ll need:

• A combination of Jalapeno and Habanero peppers – at least 10. Chopped. Remove seeds for a less spicy/hot sauce.
• ½ cup chopped onion – I used red, you can use yellow or white if you prefer
• Garlic – 3 cloves minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 TBL vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 – 2 tablespoons of sugar to taste
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

Directions:

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Next add, peppers, onion, and garlic and salt. Saute until soft – about 5 minutes.

Add water and sugar, bring to a boil, then simmer 20 minutes – stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Put the mixture in a blender, add vinegar and whirl until desired consistency.

 

Store in refrigerator up to 6 months.

Tips:

• Wear rubber gloves when chopping/seeding peppers.
• The more seeds you remove, the more heat you’ll remove.
• Even the air in the kitchen when you are sautéing the peppers will be “spicy”. Be sure to run the stove vent.

Homemade Hot Sauce in a mason jar makes a fabulous hostess gift.  Once you’ve made hot sauce once, you’ll be able to customize to your own tastes and pepper availability,

Have fun!

Have you ever made hot sauce? Do you like spicy food?