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flavor What kills that habanero flavor?

Jeff H

Jeff H

So, not being a real fan of the pungent hab flavor, I have had many hab sauces that are downright good and very tasty and they don't seem to have that hab flavor at all. Other sauces have a strong hab flavor and I tend to not eat much of them. Are their certain key ingredients that mask the hab flavor? I can't seem to figure out what makes some sauces very flavorful and others are just hab pungent.
 
With the growing season in full swing, I have a few plants that were supposed to be Bhuts, but instead are red habs so this year I'll have a good harvest of red habs  that I need to do something with.
 
 
Your thoughts are appreciated.
 
I made a small test batch last night and made about 2 cups of sauce. I used 4 tomatoes, 5cloves of garlic, a couple tsp of black pepper, some salt, brown sugar and about 3/4 c white vinegar and tossed in 5 habs and even through all of those other flavors, the hab flavor was very evident.
 
Now I know I can just make sauces with the scorpions and bhuts I have growing and avoid this altogether , but I don't want to waste the habs.
 
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type of habs might make the difference, smoking definitely helps mask it too.
my dad always said he hated how habaneros tasted; he unknowingly tried a cleo's dragon hab i grew and was like wow, what's this? it's really good!
 
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To elaborate on my original post, roasting will mellow harshness, but take a way from the fresh flavor, try a batch half roasted, half fresh and see how it turns out. I bet it'd be good.
 
And like I said, smoked too, that is, if you like smoky. Usually (but not always) with a smoky sauce you are going to need a little sweetness, that could also help. Brown sugar, etc.
 
Mix and match all 3 for a cool profile. A few smoked pods may be just enough to add a bit of depth.
 
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I know exactly what you mean. I love the heat, and the flavor of certain sauces. But like a raw Hab? gack.
If you are going to have a bountiful harvest, my opinion would be to dry then powder them.
Red Savina powder is my favorite, and I use it on everything.

just another suggestion~
 
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RocketMan said:
Add some Onion and Carrots to your recipe and try it again. It seems to me that there's something that goes on between them and the garlic that maybe mute that hab flavor some. Just a thought.
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Oops, I guess I forgot to mention that I put in a 1/2 of a white onion. I have used carrots in the past but I always thought it was more of a filler and a thickener, it would be worth a try to see if it changes the flavor. 
 
 
The Hot Pepper said:
To elaborate on my original post, roasting will mellow harshness, but take a way from the fresh flavor, try a batch half roasted, half fresh and see how it turns out. I bet it'd be good.
 
And like I said, smoked too, that is, if you like smoky. Usually (but not always) with a smoky sauce you are going to need a little sweetness, that could also help. Brown sugar, etc.
 
Mix and match all 3 for a cool profile. A few smoked pods may be just enough to add a bit of depth.
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Thanks boss, roasting was something I didn't think of. I'll try it in a few weeks when I have some more habs and fatallis ripe and let you know if it kills the flavor. I did a roasted tomato and jalapeno salsa last year and it was wonderful and very smoky because it was roasted until charred. 
 
The Hot Pepper said:
It wouldn't be raw in a sauce it would be cooked.
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To further clarify ( I really should have wrote the OP more in depth), I did cook the sauce for 20 min or so before it was put in the blender. 
 
Bob_B said:
Ferment them.
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Fermenting and I have a strained relationship. Kinda like Kimchi and I have a strained relationship. some days we are fine, some days the fermented taste doesn't work. But I agree, I fermented a bhut sauce over the winter and it didn't taste like bhut at all, but it certainly did taste fermented, just like Kim chi. 
 
 
 
 
Now, to elaborate on what rocketman said and adding my own thoughts, the onion, garlic and black pepper I put in seemed to me like it would be very prominent, but it seems like the hab flavor overwhelmed everything else. Is 1/2 of an onion, 5 cloves of garlic and 2 tsp of pepper not enough to punch through a 5 habs and fatallis mixed?
 
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Yeah, you have to find the ratios that works for you. Aslo adding other peppers will change the flavor for you so if yo added some fire roaster red peppers, maybe some Poblanos or Anaheims your going to find something entirely new.
 
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romy6 said:
 Grow a 7 pot . No hab flavor ;)  :rofl: Kills it everytime :fireball:
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That is good to know because I have a bunch of yellow 7 pots and brain strains growing, but I have never tasted one, the seeds were one of those-I read it on THP and the seeds are cheap- types of purchases. I was really hoping they didn't taste like habs. 
 
 
 
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
Grill, smoke, roast...find the balance
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Will try more of these ideas in the weeks to come and report back. The red habs and Fatallis were started back in October so they are all bearing fruit, although not a lot since I newly put them outside. When more is ripe, I'll try more ideas. 
 
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