Habanero Hot Sauce
If there is one thing I like planting in the spring time, it is chili peppers. I have standard plants I like, which include jalapeno, serrano, thai bird, and habanero peppers. As the cold weather slowly approached us in Wisconsin this year, yes, it is still in the 50’s in November, I had to pull my remaining peppers from the garden. This included many habanero peppers.
But lets face it when it comes to habanero peppers. There is not a whole lot you can do with them. They are fairly dang hot, and cannot be used in a lot of dishes. Sure, you can figure out a jam, or make a marinade, but you are still left over with a lot of peppers. Upon my last picking, I wanted to come up with something that I liked, hot sauce, and use the habaneros in a way that it would not kill the palette, but lend itself to a hot sauce addiction, and this sauce did just that.
Ingredients:
- 8 whole habanero peppers, stem removed
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp tumeric powder
- 1 medium onion, halved
- 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, lightly chopped
- 3/4 cup of cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
Begin by preheating your oven 425 degrees, lay the tomatoes, onions and garlic on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper, and cook unto the onions are roasted, about 15 minutes.
Remove the sheet of veggies, place them in a blender along with the remaining ingredients, and blend. Blend until you have a pureed sauce of habaneros and veggies. Pour into a sealed tight container and use as needed.
Now here is the deal on this sauce. I will be honest, it has a bite, but it has that bite that keeps you so interested in another bite, and another, and another.
I have a couple of chili heads at work, and brought the sauce in the other day. One coworker said “You can bottle that, and sell it today”. I agree. This sauce has something about it. It’s hot, but keeps you wanting more, and in my book, that is something good, and comforting. Lightly dip with chips, place a bit in your pasta, or lightly rub chicken, beef, or pork before smoking or grilling. Try it out, and let me know.
21 Comments
Jennifer @ Jane Deere
I have so many habaneros still growing on my plants…this is perfect! I can’t wait to try it!
robert
Sauce looks great! One thing I love to do is mix habs in burger meat and make burgers!!
I also make sweet hab pickles!
Jennifer @ Jane Deere
I made this sauce. Wow! It’s HOT!!! But it has a wonderful flavor. I had to keep eating it so that it wouldn’t burn too bad! 🙂
Brooks
A little dab will do ya! I made this up and tried it on some scrambled eggs this morning. 4-5 drops or so and that is all you need. Kickapoo joy juice! I hope it has a long shelf life ’cause it will take a long time to get to the bottom of the bottle.
Brooks
Try it! It is so much more than you expect!
Andrew
It was a great start… Tried making it in my food processor instead of a blender; the cilantro didn’t mix in as nicely as the picture. I would definitely use less salt and turmeric (1 tbsp??) next time around. All in all, it turned out nicely, but there’s room for improvement.
Kirk
I’m terrible at following recipes but did a simple variation of this recipe with homegrown tomatoes, jalapenos/serranos/anchos, salt and vinegar. I forgot the sugar, tumeric, cilantro and garlic. It still turned out fantastic. I tripled (at least) the recipe, and only used half my pepper harvest so will be trying variations in the next few weeks. Cheers!
Kathy
Do I include the habenero seeds?
Dax Phillips
Hi Kathy – I include the seeds, however if you prefer to take them out, by all means do so. As you know the habanero packs some heat, and more so with the seeds. If you like it spicy, and it will be, then keep the seeds.
Barclay
Dax, I found this recipe from an article a couple of years ago. I made it and it is awesome. Great heat, but great flavor. Does not mask or ruin the fantastic flavor of the Habanero. Quick question, is it suitable for canning? I believe it should be, but better ask.
Kara
When roasting the halved onions – do you separate the layers or leave them nested? (Oddly, I’ve made this once before – to great success – and cannot recall what I did before)
Elena
What is the yield for this recipe? One bottle?
Dax Phillips
Hi Elena, if I recall, it yields about 8-10 ounces.
Chuck
Looking forward to trying this one although I’ll double up the habanero’s, always looking for new twists on flavors..
Dax Phillips
go for it Chuck! It does pack some great heat!
Dennis
The recipe sounds great. I will have to try it. I am also in Wi. And I grow habaneros every year. Sometimes I get so many that I didn’t know what to do with them all. So I thought maybe I will freeze them and yep it works great. I take one out and cut while frozen and use in chili. Or salsa. Or whatever my heat addiction wants. And they last in the freezer for years
Kate
I want to can this. Can I just heat it and can it, or will that ruin the flavor?
Dax Phillips
Hi Kate, I have never tried canning the sauce, so I am uncertain if it would lose it’s flavor.