My first real try at a full bodied vinegar based hot sauce!! Friends give us homemade hot sauces for our pig parties, primarily "Carolina" vinegar based. Often times we're told it's a "secret family recipe" followed by a wink! This year my wife's pepper garden really produced and is still producing loads of Habanero, Tabasco, Cayenne and Poblano. I tried to put my own spin on this compared to my friends "secret" recipes.... (It's not bright red!!)






"Not So Secret" Habanero Hot Sauce recipe; (List of ingredients at the bottom)

Diced up onion, carrots, garlic and simmered in a couple tbl spoons of olive oil, not browning just softening. Found my box of surgical gloves! and began cutting stems off of the 8 habanero, then sliced in half and removed the seeds. Then cut the stem off the 3 Cayenne's and kept the seeds, Tabasco peppers popped right off the plant so no stem, simply cut about a dozen in half and all the peppers went into the pot! Stirred around for a couple minutes. Made a mistake of taking a deep inhale of the mixture as it simmered, cough cough! Added about half the vinegar and water and all of the other ingredients. After 15 minutes I added the rest of the vinegar and water, a touch more smoked paprika and salt, then let it simmer another 20 minutes or so.






Let the mixture cool for about 15 minutes, then into the blender until it was nice and smooth. I did taste the sauce while cooking and blending and that's when I realized it was truly a "hot" sauce, but not crazy hot. I added a little more salt during blending, your call on how much. Poured the sauce into a large bottle and chilled in the fridge overnight. Tried a spoonful this morning, great thickness, very flavorful with just the right amount of heat for our family, who loves spice and heat!

IF, you have a not so secret recipe you can share I'd appreciate it, I have about 30 more peppers in the fridge to do something with, and more on the vine! I did put some whole habaneros with slits cut in them into a jar of baby dills, great tailgate snack!!






INGREDIENTS;

8 - Habanero peppers (Stem and seeds removed)
3- Cayenne Chili peppers (Stem removed, however kept seeds intact)
12 - "Tabasco" peppers (no stem and so small I just cut in half, see in photo)
1- Red Onion (diced, about a cup)
3 - carrots (medium sized)
2 heaping tbl spoons chopped garlic
1 "chunk of fresh ginger (maybe a tablespoon chopped)
Juice of 1 lime
1 roasted red pepper (from a jar)
Cilantro - fresh, about a 1/2 cup
I-2 teaspoons smoked paprika
Kosher salt, 2-3 tbl spoons?
2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
1-1/2 cups water