Condiments are serious business in my kitchen. Very, very serious.
I appreciated sauces and salsas and the like before I met A., but things got a little crazy once we joined forces: together we are a condiment consumption machine.
Oh look! I have more condiments in my fridge than actual food! I’m forced to consider how that will work out… seasoning my ketchup with a little mustard? Brunching on Tabasco with a side of Sriracha?
That’s just gross. Even to a condiment lover like me.
But I think we have room for just one more sauce! Our favorite sauce! Hot sauce! And we are most definitely making our own today.
The problem with store-bought hot sauces is that they are basically just a blend of vinegar, salt and some sort of heat in differing proportions. I like something with just a little more flavor and just a little less salt. Making your own is a quick and easy way to take control of your hot sauce situation.
So we’re starting with some crushed tomatoes – they’re a good base for this sauce.
Our heat is going to come from a handful of chipotles in adobo sauce. Don’t worry – we’re going to strain the seeds out so the heat will be manageable.
My super special double top secret ingredient in this hot sauce is freshly squeezed lime juice. A. likes the bright citrus up against the smoky chipotles.
For myself I add in some ground coriander, which tastes bright and fresh to me even when it’s dried. We’ll round things out with garlic and some freshly ground black pepper.
Before we bottle, we’re going to pass our processed sauce through a fine mesh sieve. Consistency matters when it comes to condiments! And now our finished sauce is seedless and smooth.
And now we bottle!
You can use jars or any other type of sealed container to store this sauce.
Just keep it close by! You’ll be reaching for some of A.’s Best when you’re having eggs, or beans, or burgers, or just about anything except maybe cake.
And trust me when I tell you that labels are worth your time.
I once heard about this girl who was storing her homemade hot sauce in unmarked bottles in the fridge. Her husband came home to make himself an ice cream sundae with, you know, that fresh strawberry sauce that he found behind the milk.
Sakes alive was he excited about that sundae!
Sakes alive is she still hearing it about that ‘strawberry sauce’!
Trust me, people. Label your hot sauce.
A.’s Best Hot Sauce
1- 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes in puree
2- 12 oz. cans chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1/4 c. lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 tbsp. garlic, dried, ground
2 tsp. coriander seeds, dried, ground
1 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
Remove the chiles from the adobo sauce, reserving the sauce from each can. For this recipe you need only 1/4 cup of the whole chiles – you can store the rest for later use. Place the adobo sauce from each can, chiles, and the rest of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until smooth and blended, approximately 30 seconds.
Working in batches, pass the processed sauce through a fine mesh sieve. You will want to use the back of a rubber scraper to force the sauce through the sieve. Ultimately all you’ll be left with in the sieve are a thick paste consisting of the seeds from the chiles and any large pieces of tomato, which you can simply discard.
Store the sieved sauce in bottles or jars (preferably glass, small-mouthed vessels) in your refrigerator.
YIELD: approximately 30 fluid ounces
You guys are too funny and cute! Not labeling the hot sauce and mistaking it for strawberry sauce would be something I would totally do! Good tip =)
wow …I love hot sauce and wt a easy recipe ..Congrats!
Love hot sauce!! I’ve got the like for this on my desktop. We’re big, big condiment eaters in our house. There’s a condiment basket in the fridge, one whole shelf on the door that’s nothing but condiments, and several areas scattered thru out the fridge with various sauces. Big, Big fans!
I love this and I love condiments and hot sauces. Definitely going to try making this. Congrats on the Top 9.
Pinning this! We are condiment whores…no shame whatsoever!
this looks great! how long will it keep for the in fridge?
Covered or sealed, up to a month. And as you mentioned, just like an opened bottle of ketchup, I would store it in the fridge.
Love making hotsauce. Congrats on top (!
ceecee
What an awesome idea — and I love that you label them. Much classier than the tape we use on our jars.
excellent sauce great for bbq you belong in texas! i ubderstahd having dozens of bbq sauces cooking in my kitchen i store them in the refrig and they outnumber the food
best wishes
alan
Wow,,,You deserve on top 9 today
great homemade hot sauce recipe !!
Homemade hot sauce is one of my favorites! I’m definitely going to try your version!
Funny, we almost never use condiments at our house. My husband refuses to eat them, and I’m not a big fan either. There are very few condiments I can see myself using, but hot sauce is one of them! Also, fancy mustard. Yum.
I cannot wait to try this! I have never met a condiment I don’t love. If I can drizzle it, cover it, or shmear it, I am SO in!
Never would have occurred to me to make this myself. Sounds like a lovely thing to try.
As an admitted hot-sauce addict, I am in love with this recipe and will definitely be trying this out. And that strawberry sauce story was priceless, by the way…
Oh I can imagine what a surprise that ‘strawberry’ sauce was – hehehe! Love your photos and definitely making this hot sauce – you are so right – commercial sauce just doesn’t measure up.
Your secret ingredient is brilliant! I love hot sauce on eggs, actually I love it on almost everything. The overhead photos are fun.
I agree that condiments are a serious business. And an endless source of great meals. Isn´t it great making your own? Such a difference. Your site is great.
I’ve started to make my own condiments for some time by now, but was always in my comfort zone. Now I am trying new sauces and enjoying it very much. Thanks for sharing, I’ll try this one too.
Up until last year, I’d never made my own condiments and such; then I made my own Thai green curry paste and my world changed. The depth of flavour in homemade is unbeatable. I think that I NEED to try this sauce to add truly flavourful hot sauce to the door of my fridge and everything I eat.
This is such a fun recipe! Love making my own condiments!