I decided to make some hot sauce today. I've done this a few times, but am still a total amateur. First I started with about 50-60 peppers from my garden (habs, ghost, scorpion, fatalli, cayenne and a few jalapenos) and add 1 sweet onion and about 20 garlic gloves. I do this very much by feel, but know I need to be taking weights and better measurements. I usually do two tins worth at a time, as that fits easily on the smoker. Feel free to comment on my process and make suggestions. I want to get better.
Washed and de-stemmed, these two tins go onto the smoker for about 2 hours.
Here's what they look like after the smoker. They smelled awesome.
Next is the food processor for a fine puree. The smoking process dehydrates the peppers a bit, so I add back some water to help with the blending and cooking.
Here is the bubbling puree. Apple cider vinegar (appx 2/3 cup), salt and a bit of lime juice have also been added. I try to keep the vinegar to a minimum.
After cooking, I ran it through my food mill several times. This is my hottest sauce to date, and I wanted it to be smooth and a bit on the runny side.
I did a bit of tasting during the food mill process, as the sauce cooled a bit. Next it went back onto the burner and I added a touch more salt.
After hitting 190 for a while, it was time to bottle it up and turn upside down. Ouch those bottles get hot!
All done! It's very hot and smokey with a hint of garlic. I'll get a better tasting tomorrow. This batch made 5 standard woozies and about 1 1/2 larger bottles (appx. 40 ounces). It's a bit on the watery side, but they tend to thicken up after cooling - but that's what I was going for. The woozies will be gifted out to neighbors and friends after I make some cheapo Halloween themed labels. I hope they can handle this batch.
Thanks for looking.
Todd
Washed and de-stemmed, these two tins go onto the smoker for about 2 hours.
Here's what they look like after the smoker. They smelled awesome.
Next is the food processor for a fine puree. The smoking process dehydrates the peppers a bit, so I add back some water to help with the blending and cooking.
Here is the bubbling puree. Apple cider vinegar (appx 2/3 cup), salt and a bit of lime juice have also been added. I try to keep the vinegar to a minimum.
After cooking, I ran it through my food mill several times. This is my hottest sauce to date, and I wanted it to be smooth and a bit on the runny side.
I did a bit of tasting during the food mill process, as the sauce cooled a bit. Next it went back onto the burner and I added a touch more salt.
After hitting 190 for a while, it was time to bottle it up and turn upside down. Ouch those bottles get hot!
All done! It's very hot and smokey with a hint of garlic. I'll get a better tasting tomorrow. This batch made 5 standard woozies and about 1 1/2 larger bottles (appx. 40 ounces). It's a bit on the watery side, but they tend to thicken up after cooling - but that's what I was going for. The woozies will be gifted out to neighbors and friends after I make some cheapo Halloween themed labels. I hope they can handle this batch.
Thanks for looking.
Todd
I found this out the hard way when I had 4 trays smoking going to be turned into powders and I used water pan. The pods seemed more most after 2 hours of smoke.
