Custom Hot Sauce

Several years ago, Lawyer-boy finished his undergrad in Ag Econ and spent the summer in Louisiana doing a paid internship. The summer before he had spent a few weeks studying at Oxford and because there were other college students with him and an entire country to explore, he wasn’t home sick but in Louisiana, he was. He begged us to visit. Driving further south that we already live in July was not high on my list of fun and comfortable and truly – you should see my hair in the humidity, especially down there – I look like Roseanne Roseannadanna. But, because it was one of our children, we enthusiastically made the trip! We picked him up and drove toward New Orleans making a stop at Avery Island, where Tabasco sauce is made. It was a great tour and the samples were even better. However, over the years we like our hot sauce a little less hot. When I tried the Jalapeño sauce, I knew I had found my new condiment. It is warm with just a little bite. We eat it on eggs, pizza, chicken, pork, just about anything. The most difficult thing is that for some reason, it is hard to find here.

This year, I was introduced to peppers that look like Jalapeños but taste like sweet green peppers. The guy at the farmer’s market always keeps a basket of both for me in case I run a little late on Saturday morning. Last Saturday I picked up my usual purchases and hurried home to make my Custom Not-So-Hot Sauce or what my husband calls, “Because-we-are-getting-old sauce”.  I didn’t take as many pictures as usual because I didn’t intend on posting it – however, it turned out so well, I couldn’t resist! It only takes 3 ingredients and one of them is optional. Yep, it’s that easy. Here we go…..

2 pounds of peppers divided. I use ¼ hot Jalapeños and ¾ green peppers, but you can use whatever kind of peppers you like.
2 Cups white vinegar
3 Tablespoons sea salt (optional)

Wash the peppers and cut the stem heads off as well as any “bad” places.
Place all the peppers and the optional salt into a food processor and process until it’s all chopped up.
Scrape the peppers into a glass jar that it will fill about ½ way, put a lid on and wait till the next day for the next step.

Sometime the next day, pour in 2 cups of white vinegar, put the lid back on and set on a shelf where it’s not too warm.

Every day for up to 7 days, take the lid off and stir the peppers and vinegar really well.
As soon as it is hot enough for you, proceed on to the next step. The longer the peppers stay in vinegar, the hotter the sauce will get.

I left these for 7 days and then I strained it. You can use either cheese cloth or a clean tea towel in a colander like this:

Then, I pour it in this condiment “squirter” and put in the fridge for use. It’s good for a long time and perfect for our taste buds. If I can customize our hot sauce, yours can be custom as well. Good luck!