Wednesday Night Sauce-Up

[smariotti]

Since it's just me scratching my head and experimenting with batch after batch in my kitchen after the kids are asleep, it's not a "throw-down" so much as a "sauce-up" I think.

Either way, after my bitter green sludge incident I was keen to redeem myself in the kitchen and went back to the basics for the most straightforward basic sauce possible.

This was predicated by the discovery on a routine cereal and soft drink expedition to the local Safeway that they had a ton of really nice looking ripe red jalapenos in the produce section. I got a little more than half of a pound of them and picked out about half a pound of their best looking orange habaneros and headed back home for some experimentation.

Here's the setup:

My goal was start with a simple sauce: peppers, vinegar and salt---and work my way up from there to something I could call my own.

First sauce was just jalapenos:

8 Jalapenos
1/3rd cup of white vinegar
1/2 tsp of salt

I cut up the jalapenos:

Put them in the boiling vinegar:

Cooked for 15 minutes until they were nice and soft:

continued below ->

 

[scarpetti]

Smariotti, I made some more today. I went to the store to buy milk and saw a bunch of orange habs and red fresnos(which were labeled red jalapeno) so I tried to re-create the recipe. No green jalapeno this time. I don't think it made a difference. Garam Masala is very flavorful. It adds a weird kind of unique flavor to it. If you use too much then it will over power everything.

 

[scarpetti]

 

[scarpetti]

I let mine set for 3 to 4 weeks so all the flavors meld together. Sterilize and process and shove it in the farthest part of the pantry so you don't open it before its time. It's like fine wine. No wait! I take back the fine wine thing. Wine doesn't last that long in this house!!!! I'm a guido.......

 

[smariotti]

Continued fun in the Raiders of the Lost Ark line of sauces. This is my favorite home made sauce so far. It has more layers of interesting flavor than anything and it has more heat. I'm starting to get the hang of flavoring and trying to come up with different tastes to give while the sauce is in your mouth as well as counterpoints like salty vs. sweet and acidic vs. oily.

12 Orange Habaneros
9 Dried Red New Mexico Chilis
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup Habanero Puree (from previous sauce experiment)
1 tbs olive oil
1 Lime
1 Small Yellow Onion
1 Shallot
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 tbs dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt

I reconstituted the dried red numex chilis in white vinegar for like an hour before I put them in the pot.

Same drill as before. Oil in the pan, soften the garlic, scallions, onions, add the orange habs, cover, add the vinegar and re-hydrated numex, add the puree, cover, simmer for 20 minutes, into the whizzer.

Back into the pan, adjust vinegar for consistency and salt level, add mustard, back into the whizzer for final aeration and finish. Into the bottles.

Definitely my best effort to date. Goes great on sandwiches. I can't wait to branch out to new pepper types once I start pulling in pods from my own plants. The grocery store peppers are severely limiting!

 

[smariotti]

I had some extra Habaneros and had just grilled/smoked some pork ribs for the holiday weekend so I cut the habs in half and put them on tin foil on the grill while it was still hot and smoking and tried to roast/smoke the habs a bit. I ended up with:

I put them in a jar and covered them with white vinegar until I can figure out what to do with them. No idea what I'm going to use them for yet.

I also have no idea how to roast/smoke peppers properly so it's really kind of an experiment more than anything. Some of the peppers got pretty carmelized and some didn't. I'm not sure how smokey they got because they retained their orange color for the most part.

I figure peppers + heat + smoke = tasty no matter how you slice it, so we'll see.

I used applewood chips for smoking.

Will report more when I use them for something.

 

[scarpetti]

Smariotti, try candying your extra's next time. That's one of my upcoming plans.

 

[smariotti]

Smariotti, try candying your extra's next time. That's one of my upcoming plans.

How do you mean?

Candying the extra habs?

I used those smoked-and-soaked Habs in a couple of sauces that were dynamite.

I also got some dried Jolokia pods recently and have been using those. Holy cow! It's like training on a moped and then sitting on a racing bike for the first time.

 

[frydad4]

geeez smariotti, that looks awesome. You have inspired me.

Did you neuter the habaneros, or did you put their testicles in the sauce?

Well done, if only we had some of that in WWII, we could have brought down the Germans easier, minus their melted faces.

 

[smariotti]

geeez smariotti, that looks awesome. You have inspired me.

Did you neuter the habaneros, or did you put their testicles in the sauce?

I threw the testicles in with the rest. The testicles could only make the sauce hotter.

Well done, if only we had some of that in WWII, we could have brought down the Germans easier, minus their melted faces.

I think if we could have weaponized it, we could have dropped it from planes and everyone would die of flavor.

 

[boutros]

I think if we could have weaponized it, we could have dropped it from planes and everyone would die of flavor.

If I had to die, dieing of flavor sounds like a pretty good way to go actually.

I like all the pics and the variety. I'm gonna try and get some stuff together for a Wednesday night sauce.

 

[frydad4]

I sentence you to DEATH!!!!...by FLAVOR!!!!!!!!!!

Well done.

 

[N_FF]

'pilot to bombedeer pilot to bobideer release the hab bombs!

 

[smariotti]

Latest sauce (made a two bottle set, kept one, gave the other as a gift)

Walter's Rollin' On Shabbas Hot Sauce

6 large fresh red Fresno peppers
7 dried Bhut Jolokia Pods (rehydrated in white vinegar)
1 cup white vinegar
1 medium yellow onion
1 large clove of garlic
1 tsp brown sugar
salt
pepper

Standard procedure. I used half the vinegar to soak the dried bhut pods and then put the rehydrated pods and soaking vinegar into the pan.

It's delicious. The smoky flavor and intense heat of the dried bhut pods gives it complexity and the bright fresh yummy ripe Fresnos give it a fresh taste and body.

The small amount of sugar helps bring out the other flavors (thanks for the tip, AJ, though I lack agave nectar.

Not the hottest sauce I've made (that was my dried Bhut sauce) but damn hot and damn tasty. A good burrito AND sandwich sauce.

Here's the label: