DIY Foodie Gifts for the Holidays: Homemade Hot Sauce
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Photo Credit: iStock
Tapatio Style: Tangy and Bright
If you’re in Camp Tapatio, you’re in luck, as Tap-style sauces are a cinch to make. Take one pound of any fresh chilies or peppers and cut the stems off, leaving the seeds intact (Seeds are what hold the fire of these spicy fruits). Drop them into a food processor and pour white vinegar in until it covers the chilies. Puree until smooth and then add salt to taste. Pour mixture into a pot and bring to a boil to pasteurize and “set” the bright color of the chilies. When mixture has cooled down to room temperature, place into a quart jar or several pint jars and let ferment on the countertop for up to three days. Make sure to cover the open jars with cheesecloth to keep out flies. After three days, bottle with a decorative label and keep refrigerated.
Sriracha Style: Garlicky & Savory Sweet
If the people of Irwindale, CA get their way and finally shut down the Huy Fong factory that processes over 100 million lbs of fresh chilies every year, don’t start a riot, start a’ choppin to ferment your own highly addictive sauce! This recipe from Randy Clemens’ The Sriracha Cookbook should make about 1 1/2 cups of Sriracha, so you’ll want to double or triple this for gifting.
Wearing clean rubber or latex gloves, destem 1 3/4 lb Fresno chilies, red Jalapenos OR red Serrano peppers with 3 red Thai chili peppers. Dump in food processor along with 2 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp kosher salt, and 3 garlic cloves. Puree, adding a bit of water if necessary. When a chunky paste has formed, pour into a glass jar and seal. Leave on counter for seven days, stirring the contents at least once a day.
After a week of daily stirring, bring mixture to a boil and add 1/2 cup white vinegar. Bring down to a simmer for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Let mixture cool and put through a food mill with a very fine grain attachment. Alternatively, use a sieve and a flat wooden spoon to stir and smush all the liquid through the strainer into a bowl below. Tedious, but worth it. Taste your final product and consider if it needs more salt, sugar, or even a dash of vegetable oil for a smooth finish. Your homemade cock sauce can now be bottled, labeled and gifted. Bottles should be stored in the refrigerator no longer than 6 months.
The Five-Alarmer: Fiery & Fruity
If you’re looking to blow your great-uncle Ned’s toupee off, go for the infamous ghost pepper. This summer I met a 420-friendly grower selling ghost pepper starts out of the back of his truck. “I’ll give you two for $30!” he peddled. From East India, the bhut jolokia is one of the hottest peppers in the world. Ghost peppers register over a million Scoville units, compared to the humble jalapeno, which comes in at 2,500-8,000 Scoville units. Despite their heat, ghost peppers have a fragrant, fruity flavor.
This magma-hot sauce is simple to prepare but must be handled with care, as these wrinkled beauties are not to be toyed with. Goggles and gloves should be worn at all times when touching ghost peppers. When cooking peppers, ventilate the kitchen well from eye-irritating fumes. Combine 6 de-stemmed, de-seeded ghost peppers with 1 diced red bell pepper, 1 28 oz can fire roasted tomatoes, one diced onion, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2 tbsp cider vinegar and 1 tbsp sugar in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes, until vegetables are soft. Cool mixture and puree. Add water to thin if desired. Taste and adjust salt and sugar if desired. Bottle and label with a fat warning.
Good things come in small packages.
Hot sauces will please everyone from your awkward college freshman nephew to the highbrow foodie neighbors in the next duplex over.
(This is part two of a six part series on DIY foodie gifts)
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