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tutorial Making Hot Sauce 101

I disagree, I find rehydrating the chile works better for consistency, texture (no grittiness), and flavor (why flavor, I have no idea but just compare chipotle sauces). No need to rehydrate in water and discard it, just rehydrate in the sauce. Or use the water. Or rehydrate in a liquid you plan on using. Like vinegar, juice, etc. Chipoltes in adobo are rehydrated in the adobo sauce, for example.
 
There is a BIG difference between chipotle sauce made with pods vs. powder. BIG difference. Texture, and flavor. Like I said not sure why on the flavor. Maybe it has something to do with letting the pod break down in the sauce, and using powder, which is pulverized particles already broken down, the sauce binds so quickly to the molecule, it does not break down any further, so it is more like a pepper grain. I can't really explain it any better than the pod dissolves into nothing and becomes the sauce, where, the powder flavors the sauce. With the amount needed for a pepper-based sauce it can "clog it up" compared to a few shakes used to flavor something, like onion powder in BBQ sauce.
 
In order of what works best for me:
 
Fresh pods or cooked pods (roasted, smoked, etc.)
Dried or smoke-dried pods rehydrated
Powder (I rarely use this for sauce, in fact, I don't)
 
But that's just what I prefer, and SL prefers powder.
 
I use dried, fresh, frozen, and smoked/frozen, depending on the sauce.  As we say in the electrical biz "there's a thousand ways to skin a cat"...but that phrase really doesn't sound too good when talking about food products.  :lol:  
 
People just have to experiment and find out what works for them and the product they're making. 
 
I find when pasteurizing (190-200 degrees for 20-30 mins) the dried chiles reconstitute a bit. I prefer the whole pod, but then you have to deal with seeds, so chopped/de-seeded is my preferred method. That said, if dealing with something small like a dried Thai or Chile Tepin it's just not practical to de-seed.

For a home hobby batch I don't really care about the seeds - they don't impact flavor.

I've never made a 100% dried hot sauce. I usually use dried chiles to add a layer of flavor to a fresh or roasted chile sauce.

As THP said - experimentation is key!
:D
 
Lucky Dog Hot Sauce said:
 That said, if dealing with something small like a dried Thai or Chile Tepin it's just not practical to de-seed.

For a home hobby batch I don't really care about the seeds - they don't impact flavor.

As THP said - experimentation is key!
:D
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Food mills are your friends.  ;)    But I wouldn't want to do that for a 100 gallon batch!!!  :lol:
 
Thanks ya'll. I did grind some of the pequin into powder and mixed with a small batch of sauce and I believe it definitely has a gritty texture to it that's why I was wondering about rehydrating, what if you chopped the dried pods down and poured enough vinegar to cover would that work or does the liquid have to be heated up and then use the vinegar in the sauce.
 
That was my point.

You'll want to rehydrate the pods, cut them into strips or dice them into large pieces (like you're cutting a bell pepper) and rehydrate them in a liquid you plan to use in the sauce (no oils). Let them rehydrate for a day. Use entire contents. Then cook your sauce.
 
Thanks for suggesting the food mill, I found one in a Habitat Restore, works well, after soaking some dry peppers to soften them up I put them in a chopper then through the mill, sauce came out thick like ketchup and got almost the whole quart and no grit.
 
Quick question here....

So I found an actual pressure canner (not pressure cooker/canner) but pressure canner. I love making sauces and have always used woozie bottles and the hot fill/hold method. I do have a digital pH tester and all that. Well I guess it's 2 questions, but 1. Can you use woozie bottles in a pressure canner or does it have to be canning jars? And 2. Say I make a sauce and the pH comes out to say 5.7, if I use the pressure canner, is it still safe to eat? And would it have to be refrigerated immediately, or just after its opened?

Thanks folks
 
coheed196 said:
Quick question here....

So I found an actual pressure canner (not pressure cooker/canner) but pressure canner. I love making sauces and have always used woozie bottles and the hot fill/hold method. I do have a digital pH tester and all that. Well I guess it's 2 questions, but
 
 
1. Can you use woozie bottles in a pressure canner or does it have to be canning jars?
no Woozies, the plastic caps will melt.  They must be canning jars or you can also get different shaped jars with metal lids that have the rubber seal inside from bottle sources. 
 
And 2. Say I make a sauce and the pH comes out to say 5.7, if I use the pressure canner, is it still safe to eat?
Yes.
 
And would it have to be refrigerated immediately, or just after its opened? 
Refrigerate after opening.
The difference between Hot Fill and Pressure Cooking is the internal temperatures that can be generated by the pressure cooker.  Nasties can still be present in sauces that are Hot Filled.  If the pH is low enough (because there's vinegar, acids, etc in the sauce) the Nasties can't grow.  With a pH over the 4.6 mark, nasties can still survive and the only safe way to make them shelf stable is to pressure can. 
 
All low acid foods (like canned corn, beans, veggies of all sorts) are pressure canned.  It's the only safe way to process without vinegar/acids.
 
Have Fun!   
 

Thanks folks
 
 
Pressure canning can seem intimidating at first.  Just use common sense and follow the guidelines found on the Ball, Kerr, or Mason canning websites.  A recipe/process for canning tomatoes is pretty similar in consistency to canning a hot sauce.  Time/pressure/etc would be similar.
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Thanks a ton SL. The main reason I got the pressure canner is well it was $35 on Craigslist, Presto 22 qt. And I wanted it to make AJ's puree. But now I'm going to use it for all kinds of jazz. Thanks for the info
 
no problem, coheed.  :) 
 
 
If you have a university extension service in your area, contact them about pressure cooker testing.  Many will do pressure testing of the cooker for free.  Some will only do at their facility, the Ex service in our region will come up to our valley in the spring and do testing somewhere around here local as well as testing at their regional facility on certain days a week throughout the year.   
 
Just curious about something. In the recipes that I have been messing with I have used fresh garlic. I noticed on a bottle of "Frank's" that it lists in the ingredients garlic powder. So it got me thinking as to why garlic powder over fresh garlic? Easier? Or maybe does it distribute the garlic more evenly with it being a powder rather than little chunks from a garlic press. Can anyone who has used both comment as to the differences they find between the two in a hot sauce?
 
Hey Heisenberg, good question and I think it actually comes down to economics. Garlic powder is cheaper than fresh garlic and more concentrated so less is used. Also, the lower the cost to produce the higher the profit line.
 
JMHO :)
 
RocketMan said:
Hey Heisenberg, good question and I think it actually comes down to economics. Garlic powder is cheaper than fresh garlic and more concentrated so less is used. Also, the lower the cost to produce the higher the profit line.
 
JMHO :)
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Also, a teaspoon of garlic powder will always be a teaspoon of garlic powder.  Using '2 cloves' of garlic could vary depending on the size of the cloves etc.  The dry ingredients help achieve a more consistent final product since it is a set amount.  Even better than measuring powders, weigh your ingredients.  If you weigh X grams of fresh garlic you can weigh that exact amount next time you make it and achieve a consistent final product.  Now I am in the mood to make some sauce today. :)
 
Awesome, thanks for the responses guys.  I may try both.  After reading Rocketman's Theriac thread, I think I may start fermenting a jar of garlic, and a jar of shallots....or as we call them in my house, fancy onions. :surprised:
 
Question about woozy lids -
 
Can I use the lids WITHOUT the liners without a dripper or are they not going to seal?
 
jblo said:
Question about woozy lids -
 
Can I use the lids WITHOUT the liners without a dripper or are they not going to seal?
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Yes, you can use unlined caps without a dropper insert.  Make sure to snug them up tight. 
 
late edit- 
 
@ jblo I'm wondering why you would use lids without the poly liners?  Using  and re-using caps has been discussed.  In the event that I was doing a run of sauce that didn't require an orifice reducer and ran out of lined lids, I'd use some new unlined lids if I had them but that wouldn't be my preference.  Just wondering where the question stems from.  I use unlined caps for one sauce that is very thin, so I do have them available in case of emergency.  But they are not the caps normally used for bottles without orifice reducers.   
SL 
 
Quick question
 
Hey guys I know this might be an old thread and I'm new to this but does anyone have any tips on stopping separation where some of the sauce separates and drys up and clogs the neck of the woozy bottle.People have said not to worry about it but I'm obsessed. Also over time the color of the sauce gets darker. It has about 7lbs of fruits and peppers with around 5 cups of liquid (2cups water, 2cups vinegar, 1 cup lemon juice).I do cook the sauce for around 20minutes.  I'm considering adding a little pectin to ensure it's always flowable but I don't want to change the texture and I'd rather not add any gums. I like it to be thick but with a good flow. Any advice?
 
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