THE HOT SAUCE THREAD (2 Viewers)

[natumes]

My favorite hot sauce to date is the Fat Cat Surprisingly Mild Guajillo Ghost. Cat in Heat was also fantastic. Secret Aardvark is great, Dirty Dicks is good. My go to regular sauces are Tabasco Sriracha, El Yucateco Black label (the only reason I go to Walmart ), and Cholula original.

 

[Darson]

Harvests coming in thick and fast now

And lots of ferments on the go for 2020 sauces

 

[FordPickup92]

Beautiful sight!

 

[natumes]

And lots of ferments on the go for 2020 sauces

Apparently I have everything I need besides the peppers/chiles to do this. I see lots of the same stuff I use for brewing beer, haha!

 

[JustDave]

I'm not a 'heat guy' for the sake of heat, but I like a good hot sauce. I've recently really enjoyed Cholula Chili Garlic and my only complaint would be how much I put on stuff and how quickly I go through it.

 

[DZPoker]

I’m a complete baby when it comes to hot, but my wife isn’t and I don’t see her favorite in this thread yet:

Far from the hottest but apparently quite flavorful on top of the heat!

 

[JustDave]

Don't mind the heat as long as it's got flavor too.

 

[Percy7]

Tell me where else I can look at pictures of whisky hot sauce and poker chips all night!

 

[Tommy]

Thanks @Darson & @inca911

Dude, this stuff is the best! Perfect amount of heat.

Thx!

 

[bsdunbar1]

^ +1 ^
I like spicy, but not insane spicy. @Darson this stuff it perfect!
Perfect amount of heat, great flavor.
Good thing the limited edition bottle #1 of 12 comes with unlimited refills!!

 

[Big Jilm]

 

[FordPickup92]

Harvests coming in thick and fast now

And lots of ferments on the go for 2020 sauces

@Darson the reaper crop was profitable this year. Now we just have to learn how to make hot sauce with it! (Since Ben complains store brand is just not hot enough)
I actually want to dry a handful of them out and try making some hot reaper deer jerky

 

[Darson]

@Darson the reaper crop was profitable this year. Now we just have to learn how to make hot sauce with it! (Since Ben complains store brand is just not hot enough)
I actually want to dry a handful of them out and try making some hot reaper deer jerky

It's easy to get a good sauce with relatively few ingredients. Start with a 1:1:1 ratio of peppers, vinegar and fruit (by weight), blend it up and put it in a pan and bring it to a simmer. Then you can add salt and spices (garlic, ginger, cumin etc) to taste. Bottle & let it sit for a few days for the flavours to meld.

You want the acidity to be below pH4 so that it's shelf stable. Otherwise you'll have to keep it in the fridge and it'll go bad in a little while. I use a pH meter so can ensure I hit the right acidity. With 1/3 vinegar you're going to hit a low enough pH so you should be OK. With anything, trust your nose.

I think a good sauce is a balance between sweet, sour and salt (and heat of course). If you're using reapers, a straight 1:1:1 with just reapers may be too hot. You can mix in other stuff instead of straight peppers. Carrot is a common filler as is sweet pepper. So use the same ratio of 1:1:1 but your 1 part pepper would be a mix of reapers and sweet peppers. And use sweet fruit - mango, pineapple etc. Instead of fruit, you can use fruit juice but get the thick stuff from the carton, not the runny stuff from a bottle.

 

[bsdunbar1]

It's easy to get a good sauce with relatively few ingredients. Start with a 1:1:1 ratio of peppers, vinegar and fruit (by weight), blend it up and put it in a pan and bring it to a simmer. Then you can add salt and spices (garlic, ginger, cumin etc) to taste. Bottle & let it sit for a few days for the flavours to meld.

You want the acidity to be below pH4 so that it's shelf stable. Otherwise you'll have to keep it in the fridge and it'll go bad in a little while. I use a pH meter so can ensure I hit the right acidity. With 1/3 vinegar you're going to hit a low enough pH so you should be OK. With anything, trust your nose.

I think a good sauce is a balance between sweet, sour and salt (and heat of course). If you're using reapers, a straight 1:1:1 with just reapers may be too hot. You can mix in other stuff instead of straight peppers. Carrot is a common filler as is sweet pepper. So use the same ratio of 1:1:1 but your 1 part pepper would be a mix of reapers and sweet peppers. And use sweet fruit - mango, pineapple etc. Instead of fruit, you can use fruit juice but get the thick stuff from the carton, not the runny stuff from a bottle.

After reading all this I'll just keep using the dice chips of the hot sauce world.

 

[Polochris]

How am I just finding this thread!? I love all hot sauce, I honestly put it on everything!!

 

[FordPickup92]

It's easy to get a good sauce with relatively few ingredients. Start with a 1:1:1 ratio of peppers, vinegar and fruit (by weight), blend it up and put it in a pan and bring it to a simmer. Then you can add salt and spices (garlic, ginger, cumin etc) to taste. Bottle & let it sit for a few days for the flavours to meld.

You want the acidity to be below pH4 so that it's shelf stable. Otherwise you'll have to keep it in the fridge and it'll go bad in a little while. I use a pH meter so can ensure I hit the right acidity. With 1/3 vinegar you're going to hit a low enough pH so you should be OK. With anything, trust your nose.

I think a good sauce is a balance between sweet, sour and salt (and heat of course). If you're using reapers, a straight 1:1:1 with just reapers may be too hot. You can mix in other stuff instead of straight peppers. Carrot is a common filler as is sweet pepper. So use the same ratio of 1:1:1 but your 1 part pepper would be a mix of reapers and sweet peppers. And use sweet fruit - mango, pineapple etc. Instead of fruit, you can use fruit juice but get the thick stuff from the carton, not the runny stuff from a bottle.

Wow perfect! That's so helpful!!!! Thank you I'll have to give this a try!
Do I need to do any prep with the peppers or just pluck them and use them raw?

 

[Darson]

Wow perfect! That's so helpful!!!! Thank you I'll have to give this a try!
Do I need to do any prep with the peppers or just pluck them and use them raw?

I just pluck and rinse them under a tap. Don’t cut them open - just let the blender deal with it. Otherwise you’ll have to wear gloves etc.

 

[FordPickup92]

I just pluck and rinse them under a tap. Don’t cut them open - just let the blender deal with it. Otherwise you’ll have to wear gloves etc.

Yeah I was already thinking of wearing gloves. Those suckers have a nasty oil on them and I fear rubbing my eyes mid process

 

[Darson]

Yeah I was already thinking of wearing gloves. Those suckers have a nasty oil on them and I fear rubbing my eyes mid process

You’ll have to wash the snot out of the blender when using super hots. If you’re cutting the peppers then definitely wear gloves. It’s not just your eyes you need to be worried about - any sensitive areas like under your arms can burn like hell. I have a separate cutting board and blender for peppers but I go through a lot.

 

[Colquhoun]

I’m fairly new to the pepper sauce world, only used Red Hot, Sriracha and Cholula in the past. Just bought 2 brands of habanero sauce. The first:

it’s a bit chunky and has good flavor, not as hot as I expected.
The second is the Pain Is Good brand habanero:

This has great flavor and the heat is much more serious, up-front, get-your-attention heat.
I’m curious if any of you have tried either and can compare to the Melinda’s sauces or any other ones for that matter.

 

[Mongoose]

Yep, it was time to reload! Got some Secret Ardvarrk on the way too. I think that this is tasty and good quality stuff. However, I wish that I had the time to try and make my own.

I know that there a couple of other “chili heads” here that do make their own hot sauce. Very cool. Maybe I’ll give it a shot one day. Until then, this will do!

 

[K ALL IN 9]

View attachment 586700Yep, it was time to reload! Got some Secret Ardvarrk on the way too. I think that this is tasty and good quality stuff. However, I wish that I had the time to try and make my own.

I know that there a couple of other “chili heads” here that do make their own hot sauce. Very cool. Maybe I’ll give it a shot one day. Until then, this will do!

Have you had the green sauce yet? I just ordered the fire roasted garlic and habanero, the green sauce and some habanero ketchup. It looked good and had good reviews

 

[Ben8257]

Definitely haven't been keeping up on this one... a Reaper hot sauce has to be knocked down or it would simply be too hot!! I know blasphemy right?

I dry out the reapers and grind them

The browns are whatever you call them "bluke Jelopias" or something like that... this is 2 years worth of peppers... I absolutely hate grinding those suckers!! Forget worrying about touching your face or pubic region... just trying to breathe is almost impossible!! You really need a full respirator!

Anyways I lost my coffee grinder and had to order a new one. I thought maybe I would get a couple table spoons but was quite pleased with the yeild!

Just over 3/4 of a cup of the hottest stuff out there... and still have this years peppers to dry out.

I love hot sauce but find that it is easier when you just want to add heat to everything to just leave it in powder form.

I have been looking since the "X' pepper hit the scene, the new potential record hot pepper! They are very careful not to let the seeds out of their possession... this is why you can only but that pepper in a sauce.

But I found a guy in Romania that sells the seeds and finally got my hands on them! Looking forward to getting them started next month. Also found some white Habenero seeds that I have never seen before, so going to give those a go as well.

Our issue is space, I keep my plants alive from season to season in pots and being them in doors for the winter months. I may have to change that plan if I keep adding peppers to the line up!!

 

[MatB]

Wow.. what a great thread.

I'm a lightweight in the heat department, but looks like more than few i have to try here.

Have to find a nice balance between heat/ flavor and not giving my bum a sore throat.

 

[K ALL IN 9]

If anyone's thinking about ordering directly from the Melinda's website you can use coupon code DONTGO25 for 25% off your order

 

[Mongoose]

Have you had the green sauce yet? I just ordered the fire roasted garlic and habanero, the green sauce and some habanero ketchup. It looked good and had good reviews

I haven’t tried that yet. It’s definitely on my list. It sounds like something that I’d definitely like! I’ll have to get some and give a review!

 

[Mongoose]

Definitely haven't been keeping up on this one... a Reaper hot sauce has to be knocked down or it would simply be too hot!! I know blasphemy right?

I dry out the reapers and grind them
View attachment 586777
The browns are whatever you call them "bluke Jelopias" or something like that... this is 2 years worth of peppers... I absolutely hate grinding those suckers!! Forget worrying about touching your face or pubic region... just trying to breathe is almost impossible!! You really need a full respirator!

Anyways I lost my coffee grinder and had to order a new one. I thought maybe I would get a couple table spoons but was quite pleased with the yeild!
View attachment 586784
Just over 3/4 of a cup of the hottest stuff out there... and still have this years peppers to dry out.

I love hot sauce but find that it is easier when you just want to add heat to everything to just leave it in powder form.

I have been looking since the "X' pepper hit the scene, the new potential record hot pepper! They are very careful not to let the seeds out of their possession... this is why you can only but that pepper in a sauce.

But I found a guy in Romania that sells the seeds and finally got my hands on them! Looking forward to getting them started next month. Also found some white Habenero seeds that I have never seen before, so going to give those a go as well.

Our issue is space, I keep my plants alive from season to season in pots and being them in doors for the winter months. I may have to change that plan if I keep adding peppers to the line up!!

I’m a chili head and love hot peppers/sauce that I like to add on all different foods. I’ve never tried the reaper or the X pepper that you have. Sounds like they’re wicked hot especially since you prepare them in it’s pure form. If you grind your own coffee beans, please don’t mix up the grinders! That would take a hot cup of coffee to the next level!

 

[Ben8257]

I absolutely do use the same grinder... but then again I cover bananas in reaper pepper also... so I'm not scared!

 

[Mongoose]

I thought I was a maniac. Lol! Chili heads unite!

 

[detroitdad]

Only hot sauce that is ever needed! @Darson

Almost time to open up another bottle!!!!!