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

preservation Ghost Pepper hot sauce

E

ejmckenna1

I have about 30 peppers that I've grown this season. I'm very proud of them and I want to put them to use. The novelty of having my son and his 11 year old friends touch their tongues to the cross section of them has almost worn off, and I now want to make them into sauce:)

I'd like the sauce to be on the thin, easily droppable side (vs thick and spoonable). I'd also like it to be very hot just to continue the tradition of nuking the people in my life. Given how hot the sauce will be, I guess it would have to be properly canned since it won't be something a normal person could consume within a fresh-made, fridge-stable time-frame. Is that true, or are their super-acidic low-ph non-pasteurized recipes that would stay fridge-stable for a long time (months)?

I know there is a real process to canning and I've seen the post with the directions from Ball, etc. I guess I would rather not go through the trouble. I do however have an instant pot and I've heard that is handy for canning. I'm sure I can look up some instant pot canning process for hot sauce.

My other questions are around fermentation and pureeing. Is it worth it to go through that effort for the fermented flavor? I've made sauerkraut so I definitely appreciate how the flavor gets much more complex and enjoyable. I also have a ninja blender that I can use to make a pretty decent puree. I'll have to refer to some of the existing post on purees, and fermenting, but I imagine the process is puree first, ferment second, no? Also, could I de-seed the pods before pureeing them?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
The Hot Pepper

The Hot Pepper

Founder
Admin
When you say 30 peppers do you mean you harvested 30 off a plant or you have 30 varieties?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The Hot Pepper

The Hot Pepper

Founder
Admin
I would not recommend a ferment for a first attempt hot sauce. It's trickier and you don't want to risk throwing it all away. I'd recommend a nice ghost hot sauce with flavors you like. Can you post some flavors? Garlic, ginger... whatever!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
E

ejmckenna1

Ok, I like that suggestion. I have some decent experience with cooking with fresh flavors. I love cooking thai food, so I have some tricks up my sleeve. I'd would consider using a mix of lemon grass, kefir lime leaf, lime and ginger. And of course white vinegar, water and salt. I'd prefer that style for this vs something savory with garlic and onions and such.

I feel like a standard blend and press approach might work well? I'm assuming the vinegar and water will work to pull out of the aromatics and the capsaicin. I know not to blend hot since it results in a sort of explosion when the blender is opens.

I probably would freeze most of what I get and then bottle as need be for fresh use gifts in very small bottles with clear instructions to refrigerate. Anyway, it will be fun to experiment. I might dilute the resulting juice to a reasonable heat so that I can enjoy the flavor without really scorching myself ! I will try to take some pics once I get around to tackling it. For now the peppers are in ziplocks and in the fridge.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The Hot Pepper

The Hot Pepper

Founder
Admin
Pineapple juice will help cut the heat, sweeten, as well as add acid. Also it works with Thai flavors. I'd measure the pH and properly bottle it since it's for gifts. Unless you just want to give it to a friend to try. But as a gift, put in the full effort. Create a name, a quick logo. Have fun with it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
salsalady

salsalady

Business Member
ejmckenna1 said:
I probably would freeze most of what I get and then bottle as need be for fresh use gifts in very small bottles with clear instructions to refrigerate. Anyway, it will be fun to experiment. I might dilute the resulting juice to a reasonable heat so that I can enjoy the flavor without really scorching myself ! I will try to take some pics once I get around to tackling it. For now the peppers are in ziplocks and in the fridge.
Click to expand...
If you can't get the sauce made right away, freeze the peppers. That actually helps break down the cells and will help make a smoother sauce.

Or get some of those VeggieFresh bags instead of zip lock, which may lead to mold.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
E

ejmckenna1

OK, so I think it was a success. I had about 40 Ghost pods, most were green. You can refer to the pictures and probably see what I did, but I blended my ingredients in two batches in the Ninja blender. I poured them into the mesh strainer and pressed the pulp dry with a tablespoon. In one batch I blend the peppers and about 2 cups vinegar. In the other batch everything else, and about 1 cup vinegar. The end result you can see in the ziplock bag is quite hot, deliciously citrusy, and has the consistency of a thick orange juice. I used a straw to suck the air out of the ziplock. I've put that ziplock into yet another and put in the freezer. I don't have bottles yet so this is really just the batch part. People here could probably guess at the heat but I'd say I have, relative to normal people, a strong tolerance for heat and 1/2 teaspoon by itself is more than I can really handle.

Ghost_Hotsauce_J_McKenna.jpg


Ghost_Hotsauce_Recipe_J_McKenna.jpg
Ghost_Hotsauce_bag_J_McKenna.jpg
 
Last edited:
Upvote 1 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top