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heat A Middle Road Heat, But Heavy On The Citrus?

woodlouse

woodlouse

Hello, the perennial "noob" here, not the annual type.
 
I've been mostly reading as much as I can on these forums since late last year. All initial questions I had about my virgin foray into growing chili plants were answered just by reading, in one way or another. One that was not was trying to aim at growing medium hot chili plants (again, my first year) with more citrus/non-sweet blend of flavor for a sauce mix.
 
The hottest that I'm growing are orange Habanero, and Thai Hot (name on the seed packet). I'm not hardcore, so I wanted to grow specific plants just to make my own mid-range hot sauce for myself. Growing a bunch more for stuffing, and some of the cute mini ones to try my hand at drying for flakes. Blah, blah....
 
I'm growing Lemon Drop (advertised as a more citrus taste), so my noob idea is to blend them with the orange Habanero, and possibly some Thai Hot. But beyond that, I'm looking for some balance for a more bitter taste that isn't too bitter, if that makes sense.
 
Other things I'm growing (again, for the first time) that I think might be good to combine are tomatoes, tomatilloes (my big investment as far as garden room), cucamelons (cute as funk)... and then maybe a touch of epezote or basil?
 
I don't know. I've gone over so many recipies that my mind is mush. I think I'm looking for a rounding filler, but I'm not quite sure. My bottom line is to try and arrive at a sauce for me that is medium thick, middle heat, maybe a little too heavy on the bitterness (?), but does include some sweetness too.
 
Apologies for not really knowing what I'm talking about, but I would really appreciate any thoughts.
 
Regards
 
 
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I absolutely hate using tomatoes in my hot sauce. If I wanted hot red sauce I'd just make a hot red sauce.

That being said...

Me, I'd go

Lemon drops
Orange habanero
Sweet peppers for bulking but if that's too sweet then bells
Shallots or onions
Garlic
Little bit of carrot
Orange zest
ACV
Lil bit of brown sugar

If I want it thick I'd leave it like that. If I want it thinner I'd prob ditch the orange zest and out orange juice in there.

Just my .02
 
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I like to start with the color of the peppers being used.


Green- green hot peppers, onion, garlic, GREEN APPLES Granny Smith on this side of the pond for some sweetness and a bit of tart and also some thickening from their natural pectin, LIMES....(i was gonna say that..lol )...dry cilantro?

Yellow- yellow hot peppers, yellow bell peppers for bulk, carrot for sweet and thickener, onion, garlic, squash or yams for sweet and thickener, lemon and zest...

Ya see where this is going. Decide on a complimentary tasting vinegar. Add some fruits that follow the same thread. Maybe add some other spices that would kick it up.


Experiment and Have Fun!
SL
 
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Green apples do not help the color. But the tart and sweet goes with tomatillo, green peppers, pectin.....I'd use the skins, and food mill it for the pectin.


I'd use pears and peeled apples in a white sauce.

Fluffy Bunny was a pink sauce.
Nightmares was a black sauce.

The OP was looking for a medium heat thick sauce. Veggies of the same color as the peppers, at least he wont be mixing green chiles and red tomatoes=brown...


Unless you want a brown sauce. :shrug:
 
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Ah, well, it's all in the delivery, which I totally botched. 
 
 
 
 
It could of been....
 
 
 
Green- green hot peppers, onion, garlic, ....[pssst, secret ingredient....any type of green skinned apple, we call 'em Granny Smith on this side of the pond] for some sweetness and a bit of tart and also some thickening from their natural pectin, LIMES....(i was gonna say that..lol )...dry cilantro
 
 
Green- green hot peppers, onion, garlic, green skinned apple (Granny Smith on this side of the pond) for some sweetness and a bit of tart and also some thickening from their natural pectin, LIMES....(i was gonna say that..lol )...dry cilantro
 
 
Green- green hot peppers, onion, garlic, GREEN APPLES ARE THE BEST SWEET TART APPLE...(called Granny Smith on this side of the pond) for some sweetness and a bit of tart and also some thickening from their natural pectin, LIMES....(i was gonna say that..lol )...dry cilantro
 
 
 
One of those would work.  Anyway I think we are beyond green apples. 
 
Anyone want to talk about horse apples?
Hmmm, me neither~
 
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A little bit of pineapple and cilantro can really set off a green sauce.

You can’t go wrong with a good mango habanero or Aji sauce either (bulk it up with some orange bell peppers and carrots)

A little onion and garlic work great in (just about) any sauce.

Try roasting* a bunch of the ingredients in a skillet (or broiler) for some more “depth” of flavors.
(*Don’t use oil if you’re gonna bottle it for storage; oil is fine for a refrigerated sauce)


The possibilities are endless ;)
:cheers:
 
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Thank you all for your suggestions. My apologies for the late reply, but it occurred to me that I didn't actually know the flavor or heat of any of the peppers I have grown (newb first season and all), so I waited. I've been harvesting for other trials and scoffing, but today I finally built up the courage to go for it, and made my first (mostly) home grown hot sauce.
 
All (or most) of your tips and suggestions came into play, given what I had at hand. Below is  what my end result was. Critique, observations and personal choices etc... very warmly appreciated. I'll make notes. :)
 
--------------
 
3 Fresh cloves of garlic (not home grown, but already sorted for future)
6 Ishikura spring onions
1 Lime (not home grown, but again, maybe in a few years time)
Fist (?) full of Mexican basil
A few clippings of cilantro
3 Epezote leaves (chopped, but added last 2 minutes of broil)
2-3 handfulls of cucamelons (whatever picked last two days)
Whatever amount of tomatillos I picked that seemed right (?)
1 large orange habanero (plus a cute ripe little one)
7 Jalapeno's (grilled)
8 Lemon Drop
A smattering of tiny Nosegay (just because they were ripe, but conscious about not changing the colour of the sauce too much)
1 tsp brown sugar (not home grown)
1 tsp sea sat (not home grown)
1 (judged) tsp black pepper (not home grown, but a little one on the way)
3 random squirts of honey (not home grown)
A "dosh" of store bought tumeric (couldn't help myself)
Edit: Forgot a cup of vinegar, a lime, and half a cup of water. Oops.
 
DSCF3815.jpg

 
Bought a sieve just for this and widened a few holes to let some of the finer pulp through and... err... I've been on tender hooks (as they say) for most of the afternoon. Bottled up two batches, left a little in one of those soy sauce dipping cups to cool down so I could tasted the end result. Wow, it's kinda hot (for me) but doesn't burn my lips in the way most hotter store bought sauces do. Initial hit aside, the aftertaste is so bloody nice. The flavors... I can actually taste them.
 
I understand the way the brain works on these things, and maybe my brain bias is kicking in, because I made it myself; but... oh, don't take that away from me. I'm sure I made mistakes, but let me have this little virgin moment of celebration, and reporting back to the elder folk I have looked towards.Have not you taught me well? :D
 
Okay, joking aside. Apologies for the newbie ramble. I'm sure all of you were once on that threshold of excitement. Now please pick apart anything you see that is questionable or down right NO. You deserve to nail me after I've just been taking from this site and not really giving back.
 
One question, post first batch: I saved some pulp in the fridge to drop in a stew tomorrow. Seems completely fine to me. However, I also skimmed some into icecube moulds and threw them in the freezer. Not sure about doing that, but worth a shot and can always throw them out. Is that appropriate?
 
Regards
 
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Congrats! Looks and sounds yummy.



Is there any lime juice or vinegar in it?

If not, the sauce needs to be refrigerated if it is to be used in a few days, or frozen for later use.
 
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Pulp...use in a stew is a great idea, frozen cubes also a great idea. If you have a dehydrator...or you csn use the oven...dry the pulp and grind it for powder...or add some salt for a seasoning blend.
 
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salsalady said:
Congrats! Looks and sounds yummy.



Is there any lime juice or vinegar in it?

If not, the sauce needs to be refrigerated if it is to be used in a few days, or frozen for later use.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the encouragement. Your user name is kind of melded with my learning at this point.Everything I have read.
 
I did forget. Yes, one lime, and one cup (I'm Uk and kinda worked out one cup US is one of my bowls up to the top pattern ring, if that makes sense) of vinegar and half a cup of water. I should correct that.
 
salsalady said:
Pulp...use in a stew is a great idea, frozen cubes also a great idea. If you have a dehydrator...or you csn use the oven...dry the pulp and grind it for powder...or add some salt for a seasoning blend.
Click to expand...
 
I'm glad that frozen cubes seems to be okay. A horrible feeling as a first timer to waste the excess (all that work and goodness), but I understand in other situations I will have to take the hit.
 
Yes, I do have a dehydrator which I got just for my first season. Most of my cayenne yield has been dehydrated (oh, the smell is soooo worth the price alone), but I did feel bad for my babies. Yeah, I know, I'll get over it, but it's kinda hard to nurture something just to make it a husk, haha. Never thought about dehydrating the pulp. Damn, I messed up there. Too late, but very much appreciate the notion.
 
Thanks for your input..
 
Regards
 
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Great job on the sauce! And +1 on the pulp idea. May as well use it up. Looks like you are enjoying the process.

The addition of cucamelons is pretty intriguing. Been wanting to try growing those for awhile now.
 
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You can take the frozen stuff, defrost and dehydrate. Im with you and a lot of others about not wanting to waste anything. Dried flakes or ground, also add other spices to the dry blend for even more options.


Have fun!
SL
 
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