• If you have a question about commercial production or the hot sauce business, please post in Startup Help.

recipe-help Hi all I have about 20 to 25 Ghost peppers. I am looking for a recipe or something else to do with them.

I have a bunch of Ghost Peppers. I don't want to just to throw them out. So I am looking for a good recipe to make a sauce or something like that. There is so much on here that I really do not know where to start.

Thanks all In advance.
 
fellow ontarian here. just curious whereabouts you are located, if you care to say or pm me. i like making local-ish friends here, when i see someone from potentially my neck o' the woods i wanna say hi.

i personally haven't gotten into sauce that much, because it takes more effort than i usually have in me (read: lazy f*ck, and with a small child to look after). but also if your sauce attempt turns out to suck, or is flavoured to suit a certain motif (i.e. fruit-forward or curry-inspired), you are stuck with it how it is.


SO THAT BEING SAID:

my favourite way to use peppers (especially ones at ghost and hotter pungency) is dehydrating them and grinding into a powder. that way you can use it anywhere; sprinkle directly onto food as much or as little as you want that day, add to another hot sauce you buy/make to amp up the heat level, combine with other spices and/or oils to make a taco seasoning, meat rub, pasta sauce.

another option is to freeze them and just bust out what you need when cooking something. i usually use directly from freezer into a small food processor to grind them to a "super fine dice" consistency so you are not getting big chunks of mad spicy in your food, but you could also let them thaw and then slice/dice to the piece size you desire. i always add some habs/ghost into my taco meat using this method (after separating out a portion for the wife who can't take the heat).


AND THAT HAVING BEEN SAID:

20-25 ghost peppers will put out some serious heat though, and if you were dead-set on making a sauce from them, you could probably use only 4-5 in each batch and make several different ones (especially if you have any other not-quite-as-hot peppers to "fill out" with). a fruity sauce, another different fruity one, a basic vinegar-louisiana style, indian-food style, asian-inspired, etc. etc.

hope it helps.

-rob
 
fellow ontarian here. just curious whereabouts you are located, if you care to say or pm me. i like making local-ish friends here, when i see someone from potentially my neck o' the woods i wanna say hi.

i personally haven't gotten into sauce that much, because it takes more effort than i usually have in me (read: lazy f*ck, and with a small child to look after). but also if your sauce attempt turns out to suck, or is flavoured to suit a certain motif (i.e. fruit-forward or curry-inspired), you are stuck with it how it is.


SO THAT BEING SAID:

my favourite way to use peppers (especially ones at ghost and hotter pungency) is dehydrating them and grinding into a powder. that way you can use it anywhere; sprinkle directly onto food as much or as little as you want that day, add to another hot sauce you buy/make to amp up the heat level, combine with other spices and/or oils to make a taco seasoning, meat rub, pasta sauce.

another option is to freeze them and just bust out what you need when cooking something. i usually use directly from freezer into a small food processor to grind them to a "super fine dice" consistency so you are not getting big chunks of mad spicy in your food, but you could also let them thaw and then slice/dice to the piece size you desire. i always add some habs/ghost into my taco meat using this method (after separating out a portion for the wife who can't take the heat).


AND THAT HAVING BEEN SAID:

20-25 ghost peppers will put out some serious heat though, and if you were dead-set on making a sauce from them, you could probably use only 4-5 in each batch and make several different ones (especially if you have any other not-quite-as-hot peppers to "fill out" with). a fruity sauce, another different fruity one, a basic vinegar-louisiana style, indian-food style, asian-inspired, etc. etc.

hope it helps.

-rob
Thanks for the reply southern Ontario here. I have dehydrated some but still have about 25 more to use up
 
...I am looking for something that I can keep for more than a couple of months.
If you're talking about shelf stable, you have to be able to test the pH. USDA says less than 4.6, but most sauce makers shoot for under 4.0, with 3.5 a good target. If you have a good pH meter, great. If not, I suggest you buy a good one.

Once you have a pH meter, you can go wherever you want - savory, sweet, fruity, toxic....it's up to you. It just has to be in the safe pH range.

If you saw a recipe at the link above, you can start with it and modify it any way you'd like. To adjust the pH "down", you add something acidic, i.e, a vinegar, lemon, lime, etc. Just keep checking the pH. Once you get it where you want it, then follow the proper canning procedures, and you're done. You can store it on the shelf indefinitely (within reason). Remember, after you open it, it should go in the fridge.

Good luck with it and have fun!
 
Back
Top