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How to Make Your Favorite Hot Sauce at Home

From Tabasco to Buffalo, will you make your own version of your favorite hot sauce? Take a look at the basics you need to know.
Homemade Hot Sauce
Spicy tomato sauce with chili pepper, salt and herbs. View from above. Against the background of ingredientsiStockphoto / Rimma_Bondarenko / Getty Images/iStockphoto

There’s a reason why the term “homemade” is so popular in menus across the world. There’s a certain sense of accomplishment that goes along with making your own sauces, dressings and condiments, and we’re here to point out that your favorite hot sauces can be a delight to make from scratch as well. 

You only really need a handful of ingredients to make your own hot sauces. Here are some tips to keep in mind when replicating your favorite hot sauces at home:

Chilis

Chili peppers come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and heat levels. It’s the one basic ingredient every hot sauce has in common, whether it's habanero and scotch bonnets for a sweeter, tangier tropical hot sauce, or a drier, smokier flavor like poblano or guajillo.

Vinegar

Even though it’s not the main ingredient, we’d say vinegar is one of the most important ones. As with chilis, depending on the type of vinegar you use you’ll get different results. For example, apple ciger vinegar is not only good for your health, it’ll also add some sweetness to the sauce. Vinegar also serves a practical purpose, for example, Tobasco is made with vinegar predominantly because it helps prolong the shelf life and because it’s a signature in the flavor profile. 

Savory

The savory elements of your hot sauce can be achieved using a variety of elements that don’t necessarily rely solely upon salt. Worcestershire, soy and fish sauce are some good examples you can experiment with instead of your average table salt. 

Sweet

Sweetness is a “yin” to vinegar’s “yang” and you need to find the right balance in your recipe to cut the acidity down a notch. In traditional Buffalo sauce, honey is usually added for that glazed effect. You can also rely on sweeter peppers to help during the caramelization, or add tropical fruits as to not lose tanginess and acidity. 

Other vegetables

This is where it gets fun: Peppers don’t have to be the only ingredient to give life to your sauce. Tomatillo anyone? Get fun with it, just remember if you use “meatier” vegetables, you will have to strain your sauce for the final polished product.

There are many ways in which you can cook your hot sauce, but we recommend poaching it all in a good quality oil at a low heat (about 180 degrees) over a few hours.

Remove about three fourths of the cooking oil, which you can later use infused, and blend the poached ingredients until they reach a silky consistency.

You are ready to impress your friends at your next BBQ!

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