Yes, I’m speaking to you, Habanero
enthusiast. Friend of the Serrano. Lover of the Scotch Bonnet.
You who believe that a little heartburn can
make a person feel alive. You who used to search out fireballs as a small
child and who can now name all the bars in the city where hot and dirty gin
martinis are consumed. You who enjoy Modelo Especials with Tabasco, salt, and
lime. You who have cried after consuming a Ghost Pepper. And liked
it.
Amigo. We are going to get along fine.
And I have a hot sauce for you.
The recipe is simple. One. Find
someone with a charcoal grill. Bribe with beer, if necessary.
Two. Hit up a local famers’ market on
a mission for peppers. Government Center. Copley Plaza. Harvard Square. These are all places I’ve frequented in the past week. Not
possible? Your local Ralphs likely has some too.
Three. Buy up a bunch. As much as you
think is necessary. As much as you think you can humanly take. And
then get a little more.
Four. Light grill. Grill
peppers. Drink some beers with your new friends that came with the
charcoal grill.
Five. Blend the peppers with white
vinegar, garlic, and a little salt. Pour into any number of bottles. You’re
done.
You can probably extend this hot sauce to
any number of peppers. I like jalapeños because when grilled, they leave you
with a floral note. They transform handsomely.
As for the charcoal? I just so happen
to have a charcoal grill. I believe in charcoal. I believe in
fighting with an open flame like I believe in fighting with chile heat. I
like a challenge. I’m also told—by a fellow heathen for hot sauce—that
the jalapeño doesn’t have consistent heat. It varies a bit from pepper to
pepper. It’s unpredictable. And I like that too. Capricious
flames, have at it.
Jalapeño Hot Sauce
Ingredients:
about 5 jalapeños
olive or canola oil
kosher salt
1 clove garlic
a few tbsp of white vinegar (just enough to
get the jalapeños to a thick liquid consistency)
Instructions:
Prepare your grill. Toss the jalapeños
with enough oil so they have a gloss to them and won’t stick to the grill;
season with salt. Grill them on a medium-hot grill (you shouldn’t be able
to hold your hand five inches above the grill for more than 3-4 seconds).
Grill the peppers until they are well
charred and have shrived down slightly. Once they have cooled a bit, remove the stems (the seeds should come with them too) and whirl them in a food processor or blender with the garlic clove until well
pulverized. (You may also wish to do this step another day with cold,
refrigerated peppers. Using cold peppers will allow you to taste the hot
sauce as it will be consumed and you may have better luck with seasoning this
way.) Add a tablespoon or two of vinegar and a pinch or two of salt to the
pepper mixture and blend to combine.
Check the consistency and flavor by adding
more vinegar and adjusting for salt, as needed; the salt will help coax out the
flavor of the peppers, so taste as you go.
Makes about half a cup
Notes:
-You’re going to want to pretty much char
the living daylights out of this pepper. It should be dark green and
blackened in spots and should shrink and shrivel down slightly from the heat of
the flames. (The peppers will deflate more once they are removed from the heat.)
-A gas grill would work just fine too here.
You could try roasting the peppers at a high temp or broiling them in an oven,
but it will lack that certain smoky quality a grill provides. If you have a gas range you could even try charring the peppers that way, on the stovetop.
-We’re deep in hot pepper season, so now is
the perfect time to bottle some up before summer officially ends. I can’t
guarantee what would happen with canning the sauce, but I’ve been keeping some in a
jar in my fridge. I’m thinking of trying this with Habaneros soon too
before the season closes.
-If you’d like to make more sauce, just up
the ratios of everything. (Depending on your love of raw garlic, you
might want to keep it at 1 clove unless you plan to drastically increase your
yield.)
