Smoky Peach & Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce: A Shelf-Stable Version

This is a sweet and smoky hot sauce, inspired by the hot sauces of the West Indies. This recipe makes 6 standard 5-oz bottles of hot sauce. The easiest place to order hot sauce bottles is on the internet, but if you snoop around there might be a bottle distributor in your neighborhood where you can get a case for cheap.

Ingredients

8-oz (1 cup) red or orange scotch bonnet peppers (you can substitute habaneros)
4-oz (1/2 cup) onion, roughly chopped
5-oz (1 cup) peaches, roughly chopped
2-oz (1/4 cup) carrot, roughly chopped
1-oz (about 4 cloves). garlic
2 tablespoons lime juice (juice from about 4 limes, bottled is fine)
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons salt

Directions

  1. Turn the oven on to 450 degrees F, and on a sheet tray, lay out the first 4 ingredients: onion, hot peppers, carrot, and the peach.

  2. Roast for about 20 minutes, then crank the oven to broil, and broil on high for 5 minutes or until they’re all slightly blistered and soft, and peppers are bursting, turning halfway through.

  3. Transfer contents to a blender and add the rest of the ingredients: garlic, lime juice, vinegar, water, salt and pulse until desired texture is reached.

  4. Pour the hot sauce into a sauce pot and bring to a simmer, checking with a thermometer that it reaches 190 degrees F.

  5. Fill bottles or jars with a funnel and cap.

  6. Invert them upside down for 5-minutes to seal and sanitize the lids.

  7. It will last unopened for about 1-year.

  8. Once open, refrigerate.

  9. Hot sauce should last at least 6-months in the fridge after opening. How do you know if it has gone bad? It will get moldy.

 

Laena McCarthy