I have tried hot sauces (peppers, vinegar, garlic, lime, etc) without much luck, so this year I am making the pepper mash for some sauces and see how it turns out.

I hope your experiment turns out well!

I keep seeing shows on History Channel, Discovery, and Food Network about how EVERYONE has their own Hot Sauce Recipe for both personal use and for selling so it doesn't seem like it should be THAT hard but I can't seem to find a good recipe!

Sigh... I'll keep on trying! (Oh shucks... FORCE me to eat more Chili's and Garlic... WHATEVER WILL I DO!?!?! ;-)

Not all of these sauce recipes are safe according to current USDA standards.

If it say's for example "taken from 1947 Ball Blue Book" get a second opinion from an expert.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sauce

a little garlic goes a long way, and just like regular cooking, you want to add the garlic last because its flavor cooks out so quickly.

i had great luck by roasting everything on the grill this year

about a dozen rocoto reds from the garde, roasted and peeled
three or four tmaters from the garden, roasted and peeled
three garlic bulbs roasted and squeezed (chop the top off and roast until mushy)
since peppers and garlic are low-acid foods, add some of your favorite vinegar. i find that distilled white vinegar gives the longest shelf life.
touch of salt to make it stand up
touch of sugar or honey for same reason
puree and bring to a boil
put it in a sterile canning jar, cap with a fresh lid, and put in the fridge to cool so the safety seal sucks down on the lid.

badda bing, badda boom.

age for a month in the fridge. should last you a few weeks once opened. (if you dont eat it all sooner)

We make a habanero/garlic sauce that is very very very garlicky and very very very hot. We cut the fresh habs in half and store in quart mason jars filled with vinegar. After a few months the chilis are soft. Drain off the vinegar and puree the chilis in a food processor or blender until they are as smooth as you would like. If the mix is too thick, add a little of the vinegar you drained off. Then puree up as much garlic as you would like (or you could use the prechopped stuff). This part is to taste. Put the mix back into jars and store for a few weeks to months while the flavours meld. Presto!!! hot chili/garlic sauce. Consistency is much like a vietnamese chili garlic sauce. If you get a ph meter and the ph is low enough you can store the mix outside of the refridgerator. If you do not have one of those or the ph is too high, you must refridgerate the mix until you are ready to use.

kendra

Because I don't like the vinegar taste and smell (like Tabasco), I use Tequila to replace the vinegar.

I dry the peppers and then powder in a small electric coffee-bean grinder.

Then I cook the powder in water, in a cast iron skillet, (stirring steadily) until it is an almost, but not quite, gravy consistency.

Then I let it cool in a separate pot.

If I wish to add something else, like garlic, I do that separately, and add to the pepper sauce that is cooling.
Garlic or Tomatoes don't need a lot of cooking.

I also like to add some Cilantro and a type of Oregano that I am fond of (not a lot of either).

Then I add the Tequila and mix well.

Then I "hot-water" can it. I get some AWESOME hot sauce!
and it won't get you 'drunk'....Ha-Ha.

I find the garlic and hot peppers compliment each other's flavors.

VERY GOOD!

just my 2 pesos worth,
Bruce (Junkmanme in New Mexico)

I forgot to mention, after the flavors have melded for a while, then we cook (or you could cook first) and bottle up. We use a ph meter to test ph. As long as it is under 4, you do not have to BWB. If it is above, then we BWB the cans for safety.

Interesting... I must look into Bruce's method some. So the alcohol doesn't boil off during the hot water process? Am guessing that some does and still enough left to preserve.

> ...and a type of Oregano that I am fond of... Intriguing too! Lippia graveolens by any chance?

Kendra seems absolutely right on. We know from basic food safety that anything below 4.6 is acidic enough to be safe. However over time the pH can rise because of continued interaction with the veggies being preserved. Recently I'm trying to learn everything possible about safely fermenting peppers and other veggies. The suggested pH at completion is 4.1 or below.

Good thread... thanks all!

jt

Definitly the best resources for information on safe canning practice is the USDA site (they have an excellent section for home canners) and the Ball Blue Book (a must have). The Ball Blue Book has alot of great recipes but most importantly in the beginning is an excellent explanation of the reasons why we process foods certain ways and what we are killing or preventing with these methods. Also, I cannot say enough about the harvest forum here on gardenweb, a real treasure trove of canning information.

Although not what you would call a salsa, one of my families favorite sauces is Green Chili Sauce made from Hatch or Nu-Mex peppers. It takes a fair amount of work and time to make, so we make it in large batches and freeze it for later use. I assume it can be canned if one goes to the trouble of pressure canning.

My family really enjoys Mexican and Tex-Mex cooking at home, and this sauce is a staple used with green chicken enchiladas, chili rellenos, chimis, etc The recipe that follows is the basic found in many places and is the minimum basic one unit of measure.

 1 small onion, finely chopped
 1 clove garlic, minced
 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
 2 to 3 cups chicken broth
 1 cup chopped green New Mexico chile, roasted, peeled, stems removed
 1 small tomato, peeled and chopped

In a medium skillet, heat the oil and sauté the onion and garlic until they are soft. Stir in the flour and blend well. Simmer for a couple of minutes to cook the flour, being careful it does not brown. Slowly add the broth and stir until smooth.
Stir in the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 15 minutes. To finish, use an immersion blender to puree to a smooth consistency. A regular blender can be used to puree if an immersion blender is not available.

Here in Brazil a lot of people make hot sauce by just putting whole peppers in jars with Palm Oil, or Olive Oil and letting them sit. Or maybe mixing in 50 percent alcohol, the drinking variety. This takes a few months for the sauce hit its prime. I frequently use old olive oil 500 ml bottles and throw an equal part of peppers, vodka or similar, and olive oil in the blender and blend it all together. I then just put it in the bottle and it is done. The stuff is real potent. In fact I have to make some more now as I ran out.

There is another option that people around where I live, in Amazonia used for fish mostly. Take a few of the yellow, murupi peppers, a long yellow very hot variety, cut them into very small pieces, add a little olive oil and some squeezed lime juice and use immediately. The normal method of consumption is to dip the fish in it bite by bite as you eat it.

dk