Slr138 said:
Really looking to make something with a consistency more similar to tabasco. HAve you ever used a food mill for any of your sauces?
My sauce making method uses a food
processor, a food
mill and stick
blender. All sauce ingredients are put through the food processor to chop em up, then I cook that resultant mash. After it's simmered and everything's softened nicely I put that through the food mill. For Tobasco type taste/texture use the smallest screen plate. Once milled, the sauce is brought back up to a simmer and tasted/adjusted as needed. When I'm happy with the balance I stick blend the absolute kung fuey out of it to emulsify and then bottle while hot.
Basic 'tobasco style' beginner hot sauce recipe:
1 lb red ripe tobasco peppers. Substitute ripe jalas, fresnos, or other red hot pepper as can be found. Augment a batch this small with one or two small hotter peppers to kick up heat to desired levels.
1 clove garlic
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
Food process it all up. Turn out into a sauce pan, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, simmer 20 minutes, turn off heat.
Allow to cool a bit, then put through food mill or fine mesh strainer into another sauce pan. Be sure to get the pulp pushing out the bottom!
Heat the milled sauce, taste and adjust (I like a bit of buckwheat honey and maybe a lil more salt) then stick blend well. Hot fill and hold your bottles.
That produces a 'louisiana style' red hot sauce; hot with a salty vinegar tang and overall mild to medium heat. Throw a couple dried chiles into the pot and cook a bit longer and you'd be amazed. Try adding different types of peppers, the recipe scales easily.