• If you have a question about commercial production or the hot sauce business, please post in The Food Biz.

Chinese red peppers in hot sauce

C

cmwr

Hi guys. New here. I am experimenting with several different hot sauces and wing sauces. I got my wing sauce close to perfect. But now I want a hot sauce that will work better for general use. My wing sauce has bourbon (Jim beam) along with molasses, honey, ketchup,mustard, Vidalia onion, Carrot, butter, garlic cloves, Serrano peppers, cumin, black pepper, salt, and cayenne.
 
My hot sauce has yet to be more than just some notes scratched out on paper but I may experiment this afternoon if I get time. It is going to have Jim Beam, vinegar, water, sweet onion, carrot, molasses, cumin, salt, fresh garlic cloves, serranos, and I was thinking of adding some of those dried chinese red peppers? I can buy them by the bag at Wal mart and I LOVE the way the taste in Chinese food and how if you eat one they clear your sinuses like horseradish lol. But I have never heard of anyone using them in traditional hot sauce.
 
The recipe I am modeling my hot sauce after only uses 1/4 cup diced serrano. When I make my wing sauce i use anywhere from 12-15 whole peppers chunked up. My wing sauce is not super blazing hot but more "spicy" and I think that is because the butter tames the heat of the Serranos. This hot sauce I am going to play with will not have butter so perhaps 1/4 cup will be a plenty??
 
1)Would some dried Chinese red peppers work very well with the ingredients I listed?
 
2)If so would you blend them up with the rest after cooking or simply let the flavor leach out into the mixture then discard them BEFORE blending?
 
3)And what ratio?
 
4) ground cayenne pepper as well????
 
Thanks for any help guys.
 
 
Cory
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Welcome to the Forum !
 
"Chinese red peppers" come in many flavours, it depends on what heat you want and with personal taste trial and error may be required. Cayenne is also a lower heat, Kung Pao and Thia chillies are great upper heat for those types.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
cmwr said:
Hi guys. New here. I am experimenting with several different hot sauces and wing sauces. I got my wing sauce close to perfect. But now I want a hot sauce that will work better for general use. My wing sauce has bourbon (Jim beam) along with molasses, honey, ketchup,mustard, Vidalia onion, Carrot, butter, garlic cloves, Serrano peppers, cumin, black pepper, salt, and cayenne.
 
My hot sauce has yet to be more than just some notes scratched out on paper but I may experiment this afternoon if I get time. It is going to have Jim Beam, vinegar, water, sweet onion, carrot, molasses, cumin, salt, fresh garlic cloves, serranos, and I was thinking of adding some of those dried chinese red peppers? I can buy them by the bag at Wal mart and I LOVE the way the taste in Chinese food and how if you eat one they clear your sinuses like horseradish lol. But I have never heard of anyone using them in traditional hot sauce.
 
The recipe I am modeling my hot sauce after only uses 1/4 cup diced serrano. When I make my wing sauce i use anywhere from 12-15 whole peppers chunked up. My wing sauce is not super blazing hot but more "spicy" and I think that is because the butter tames the heat of the Serranos. This hot sauce I am going to play with will not have butter so perhaps 1/4 cup will be a plenty??
 
1)Would some dried Chinese red peppers work very well with the ingredients I listed?
 
2)If so would you blend them up with the rest after cooking or simply let the flavor leach out into the mixture then discard them BEFORE blending?
 
3)And what ratio?
 
4) ground cayenne pepper as well????
 
Thanks for any help guys.
 
 
Cory
Click to expand...
 
Hi Cory, and welcome to THP.  We're glad to have you.  :)
 
Lots of helpful info in the hot sauce 101 here, and plenty of recipes/first time threads can be found with some digging in this forum.  
 
Specifically for your questions though, I would imagine that 1/4 cup of serranos won't make much hot sauce (or a very 'hot' hot sauce).  Trial and error and experimentation are the keys to success, so I'd suggest using what notes you have with the 1/4 cup knowing that you can always add more serranos (or other peppers).
 
I tend to use some dried peppers in most all of my sauces as I feel they help round out the depth of flavor.  Some dried Chinese red peppers (whole or in pieces) would likely help the hot sauce.  I would cook them with the rest of your ingredients and then blend them up with everything else. 
 
Ratio wise - again that's something that time & experimentation will teach.  Usually if I'm using 1lb of fresh peppers I tend to use 1 little over an ounce of dried peppers.  
 
I do not use dried ground peppers in my sauces as I feel it gives them a somewhat 'chalky' mouth feel.  The particulate of the powders ends up suspended in the sauce at first and then settles to the bottom.  That's just my opinion though, and I have read several threads on here where people used powdered peppers with good results.  It's a personal preference thing.
 
Best of luck and please follow up with the results of your experiment!  
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Sounds like BBQ sauce, definitely up the peppers, if you're afraid it will be too hot use milder peppers, but hot sauce is all about the peppers! Sriracha is made with red jalapenos, that's the main ingredient. It is as smooth as ketchup, and not too hot. So just keep that in mind.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I tried a batch today using a whole cup of chopped Serranos and about 10 or 12 dried Chinese red peppers that had about 50,000 Scoville units according to the package. Im not sure how it turned out yet because I left them on the counter in sealed jars and left for the evening. I do know that I blended them really good in my blender and yet theres still a lot of chunks in them. The sauce tends to clog one of the jars with the long thin neck that I poured it into. I just cant seem to get it smooth and liquidy.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
To answer both your questions yes I did cook it. No I did not presoak the dried peppers. I put everything in the pan and brought it to a boil, then I covered reduce the heat and simmered with a boil for 20 minutes with an oven timer. I guess I assumed being in the Liquid for probably close to 25 to 30 minutes would be the same as presoaking.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You can cook it longer, blend it better, and/or invest in a food mill. All are options.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Probably should blend better for starters. Funny story but my blender exploded when I hit the button LOL! It took me as long to clean the kitchen as it did make this hot sauce!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
cmwr said:
@The Hot Pepper....... what is it that you mean sounds like barbecue sauce by your above comment?
Click to expand...
cmwr said:
Jim Beam, vinegar, water, sweet onion, carrot, molasses, cumin, salt, fresh garlic cloves, serranos, and I was thinking of adding some of those dried chinese red peppers?
Click to expand...
Whiskey, molasses, onion, garlic, vinegar sounds like a Q sauce. Which is fine but why I said up the peppers. I fear if the pepper profile is low it WILL taste like bbq sauce.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I highly recommend seeking dried goatsweed peppers in place of the "chinese" peppers. Much more flavor and heat.
 
Personally I would ditch the jim beam and molasses in the hot sauce. I think they are gonna mask the pepper flavors. I would use a little apple or pear for sweetness instead of molasses. 
 
Good luck, have fun and welcome to THP from Sonoma  :hi:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
@The Hot Pepper....I understand what your saying. I can taste the molasses and dont like it.

@hogleg....what about substituting the same amount of brown sugar for the molasses?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
cmwr said:
@The Hot Pepper....I understand what your saying. I can taste the molasses and dont like it.

@hogleg....what about substituting the same amount of brown sugar for the molasses?
Click to expand...
 
yea absolutely but I would start with half the amount. You can add more if its not sweet enough, cant take it out if its too sweet.
 
Personally I like less sweet sauces, I find apple adds a balance of acid with its sweetness.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
hogleg said:
 
yea absolutely but I would start with half the amount. You can add more if its not sweet enough, cant take it out if its too sweet.
 
Personally I like less sweet sauces, I find apple adds a balance of acid with its sweetness.
Click to expand...
 

I think the first thing I am going to do is research the recipe data base here and get some ideas. I appreciate all the help guys.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I was looking at that page this morning LOL. I just wish they had ratings and reviews for each recipe so you knew which ones were good to try and which ones weren't so good. Im looking for simple as most of my past recipes were pretty complex with at least nine or 10 ingredients. I would like to find a good flavorful hot sauce that has four or five ingredients that you could whip up in a short amount of time.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
cmwr said:
I was looking at that page this morning LOL. I just wish they had ratings and reviews for each recipe so you knew which ones were good to try and which ones weren't so good. Im looking for simple as most of my past recipes were pretty complex with at least nine or 10 ingredients. I would like to find a good flavorful hot sauce that has four or five ingredients that you could whip up in a short amount of time.
Click to expand...
 
There's so many to make with 5 ingredients. All you have to do is KISS. Peppers, rice wine vinegar, grilled peaches, grilled onions, lemon juice (salt as needed). Right there is a pretty complex in flavor sauce that comes from the right cooking techniques combined with the right flavors etc. Don't overthink it. Just put your chef hat on.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top