Killer Garlic Hot Sauce (“Not Super Hot” Hot Sauce)

 

This recipe is about making a KILLER hot sauce….let me start with a big disclaimer.  !!  IF YOU USE HOT PEPPERS, THIS SAUCE WILL BE HOT….aka…. IF YOU WANT A MILD SAUCE, MAKE SURE YOU USE MILD PEPPERS……aka……CHOOSE YOUR PEPPERS WISELY….aka….YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED  !!!  With that being said….this is a true Garlic Hot Sauce, not too hot…but super good…really…I promise.  You can see that I used common red chili peppers and a few banana peppers for this sauce.  If you throw in Jalapenos…you will fire it up.  If you go big time and go Habanero\Scotch Bonnet…you better watch it.

You can use a bunch of one kind of pepper or mix it up.  Just keep in mind that the hotter the peppers….the hotter the end product.

We have a family friend that has a wonderful garden and they hooked me up with a bunch of fresh peppers (thanks Ted and Kathleen).  My daughter (India) decided that it was time for a batch of hot sauce….”her kind” of hot sauce.  So, we looked back on an old recipe from a friend in Atlanta (again…thanks Chris Krauth).  We changed it up by doubling up on the garlic, adding some sweet (Vidalia) onion, and steeping the peppers in a salt\sugar bath for a week.

If you have read other recipes and articles on our website you know that I am partial to Louisiana hot sauces.  I think using a “Texas Pete” sauce on oysters\seafood is wrong…like…. I will call you out because you know this is wrong…..c’mon try a little here.  I am not saying that Texas Pete and other “Buffalo” style sauces don’t have their place, they do…..  I have a fridge full of dozens of hot sauces from Asian to Smokey to Hot as Hell to plain old Pepper Flavored Vinegar.  I am an equal opportunity hot sauce guy….So, with that in mind, I think this recipe can hold its own at any oyster roast. This sauce can work on chicken, seafood, beef, pork, roasted veggies, tacos, just about anything.  It has a heavy garlic flavor that does not overpower your dish but will definitely “spice” you up.  As with most (if not all) of my recipes, the amounts listed below are not set in stone.  Add more or less of an ingredient if you wish.  If you like garlic…add more, if you want a hotter sauce…..throw  a few hotter peppers in there.  I tend to think of recipes as a guide rather than an exact instruction manual.

Another thing…….I think hot sauces need to be refrigerated…so keep yours in the fridge if you can.  The sauce will separate when sitting…so make sure you shake it up before each use….and ……………………I know…everyone asks how long a hot sauce will last before going bad……Well…this is an interesting question….This sauce has a lot of vinegar and a lot of peppers….. and both of those ingredients act as preservatives.  But the garlic and onion are much more susceptible to deterioration.  Your sauce should last 3-4 months.  When you see it turn color….or if you see mold or anything inside the bottle…it is done.  Remember…the longer is sits in the fridge the more the flavor will break down.  It will never be as good as it is in the first month.  We are not using preservatives here….so enjoy the freshness…and appreciate the fact that you have a simple, awesome, flavorful, and natural hot sauce.

One last piece of advice….this sauce seems to mellow out a bit once you let it sit overnight.  It was much hotter when I was bottling it…and I was a bit scared to give it out……but….it laid down a bit and developed a good garlic\pepper flavor that has my friends asking for another bottle….and they are asking my daughter to give them dibs on some of our next batch.

Good luck and please leave a comment on how you made this recipe your own,

Thanks for reading,

PS…I ordered the hot sauce bottles from Amazon for next to nothing…check the link here and below..they came with shrink wrap tops that you could seal with a hair dryer…we have some labels from an office supply store that my kids are designing to customize each bottle for its new owner…super fun and ..super cool!!!

What you need

• Peppers…any kind you want. (see note above……..you choose your own adventure here).
  • I like to do a batch with about 3 mason jars full of peppers. It is just enough to put into a blender and give you about 8-10 bottles of sauce.  Check my pictures…those three mason jars of peppers yielded 10 bottles of sauce after all was said and done.
• Fresh Garlic!! 8 cloves per jar…
• 1 tsp Raw sugar (per jar)…Turbinado sugar is what I use. (natural sugar).
• 1 tsp Salt…kosher…. (per jar).
• One large Vidalia onion (or sweet yellow onion).
• 3\4 cup of distilled white vinegar (that is just about enough for a full blender of hot sauce).
• Mason Jars……Plastic Wrap…..and rubber bands.
• Hot Sauce bottle…or a jar…whatever you want.

 

So here we go…..

• Fill your jars with water then pour that water into a pot. Add a little more water to make sure you have enough…and bring to a boil.
• Add one tsp of salt and one tsp of sugar to the water (per jar…….2 jars…2 tsp of each). Let cool for 30 mis.
• Rinse your peppers and stuff them in those jars to the top…just below the top. Leave the stems on.
• Clean and rinse your fresh garlic. Add 8 cloves to each jar
• Pour the salt\sugar water into each jar to cover…just about to the top. Cover with Plastic Wrap and secure with a rubber band.
• Let sit in your refrigerator for 1 week.
• Ok…..now it gets good. Pour the peppers, garlic, and salt\sugar water into a blender.
• Blend on high…low…medium…Blend the s#it out of it…Liquify that stuff,
• Pour into a pot and add the onion and vinegar. You can cut the onion into chunks, pieces….this does not matter.
• Now you bring to a boil…and lower to a simmer. Remember to make a mental note of how much liquid you poured into the pot.  You want this to simmer and reduce by 50%.  So remember how much you put in…simmer it down nah…..and take it off the heat when you feel like it has reduced by half.
  • You can make a personal call here…if you like a sauce that is a bit “thinner” don’t reduce so much…if you like a thicker sauce….let it go to the 50% mark.

• After it cools for 30 mins…put it back in the blender (trust me…let it cool first….blending a boiling sauce = danger). Blend that sauce until you feel it is worthy of itself……Blend it more.  Keep going.  You will know it when you see it.  It will look and feel right.
  • You can do a taste test here…but be careful…this will not be the final product. As it sits and cools and chills…it will change flavor and heat………..but go ahead and try it out.
• Now….the BIG TIME…… get your bottles and a funnel……(buy one or just be careful with a measuring cup)…and get to bottling.  Make some cool labels with your kids and family….shrink wrap the tops….and bring the sauce to your friends……..bring it to parties…or send me one.

Have fun with your Garlic Hot Sauce!!  Thanks for checking us out!!

Good luck!!! Look us up at www.huntfishcook.co

Thanks for reading and leave a comment if you would like!!

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