So... hot sauce tasting rooms are a thing now. And while I think the idea is pretty fun—who wouldn't want a so-called hot sauce sommelier to help them select a new favorite sauce?—I'm also never really an advocate for spending on arm and a leg on something that I could easily make myself at home for less than half the price.
You can prepare hot sauce in a variety of ways, but basically, it's peppers—roasted or fresh, chopped or puréed—however you like them, you really don't need to add a whole lot else to create a condiment you can drizzle on just about anything. Here, I've got a recipe for a classic, fresh-tasting green sauce with jalapeños and tomatillos, as well as a couple of slightly sweeter, smokier versions made with red chiles. Just purée the ingredients for each sauce in a blender or food processor until they're basically liquified and ta-da! Your very own homemade, customizable, totally amazing hot sauce.
Green sauce
makes about 1 1/4 cups
1 cup chopped fresh jalapeno peppers (about 3 large peppers)
1 1/2 cups (about 3 lg) chopped tomatillos
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
Mexican mole-inspired sauce
makes about 1 cup
1/3 cup almonds
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
3 dried pasilla peppers, soaked in hot water (reserve soaking liquid)
6 dried puya peppers, soaked in hot water (reserve soaking liquid)
2 serrano peppers, roasted until lightly charred
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup leftover chile soaking liquid
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Roasted habanero sauce
makes about 1 1/4 cups
5 fresh orange habanero peppers, blistered under the broiler
2 fresh red jalapeno peppers, blistered under the broiler
1/2 sweet red bell pepper, blistered under the broiler
1/4 large sweet yellow onion, blistered, then roughly chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
Plus:
