How To Make Hot Sauce: 7 Easy Recipes
Everyone wants to know how to make hot sauce…
Well now we’re going to give you step-by-step on how to make 7 of the most popular kinds of hot sauce out there.
There’s nothing quite like rolling up your sleeves and making your own fresh, delicious hot sauce right from the comfort of your own kitchen!
Before we begin, let me start by pointing out there are two different ways to make hot sauce.
The first is to prepare the ingredients, cook them, blend them, and then put them in a bottle.
The second way is to chop your chilies and then age them… often in oak barrels.
This is how the world famous Tabasco Brand hot sauce is made.
The aging process allows the chilies to ferment and extract flavors from the barrel (like a fine wine).
However, there’s one critical point I want to make…
Just because a hot sauce is cooked or fermented doesn’t make it better or worse.
There are great cooked hot sauces… and there are great fermented hot sauces.
It really just depends on you and which ones you like better. That may take a little bit of taste-testing… never a bad thing!
Ok, on to the recipes…
How To Make Louisiana Hot Sauce
Louisiana hot sauce is one of the simplest types to make. Why?
Because it’s made from only three ingredients!
These hot sauces are often fermented… but you can make a quick cooked version as well.
The most popular version of Louisiana hot sauce is made with Tabasco peppers.
But you can really use any type of hot pepper you want!
Louisiana Hot Sauce Ingredients
- 1 Pound Chili Peppers chopped
- 2 Cups White Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
Louisiana Hot Sauce Directions
- Add all the ingredients to a pan over medium high heat.
- Simmer for 10 minutes – until the chilies are soft.
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then blend till smooth.
- Strain the mixture and bottle.
Because of the vinegar, this hot sauce will keep for months.
How To Make Thai Hot Sauce
Thai Hot sauce is also called Nam Phrik.
There are thousands of variations of Thai hot sauce, many having an amazing mixture of additional ingredients.
The popularity of this hot sauce stems from the fact that in Thailand, it’s often used as both an ingredient and a condiment in cooking.
Thai hot sauce is identified from the inclusion of fish Sauce, garlic, and sugar to give it a level of sweetness and flavor depth.
The fish sauce is salty, so use sparingly.
Thai Hot Sauce Ingredients
- 1 Pound Thai Chili Peppers chopped
- 36 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 Cup White Vinegar
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
Thai Hot Sauce Directions
- Add all the ingredients to a pan over medium high heat.
- Simmer for 10 minutes – until the chilies are soft.
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then blend till smooth.
- Add additional vinegar to get the perfect consistency / taste.
- Strain the mixture and bottle.
Refrigerate this hot sauce. Because of the vinegar, this hot sauce will keep for months.
How To Make Mexican Hot Sauce
Mexican hot sauce is differentiated from other sauces by the use of dried (and sometimes smoked) chili peppers.
The hot sauce also includes the addition of onions, tomatoes, oregano, and cumin to round out the flavor.
Mexican Hot Sauce Ingredients
- 1 Pound Dried Chili Peppers chopped, A mix of Guajillo Peppers, Pasilla Chili Peppers, New Mexico Red Chili Peppers
- 5 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1/4 Cup White Vinegar
- 1 Cup Tomato diced
- 1 Cup Onion diced
- 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 2 Teaspoons Oregano
- 2 Teaspoons Cumin
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
Mexican Hot Sauce Directions
● Add all the ingredients to a pan over medium high heat.
● Simmer for 10 minutes – until the chilies are soft.
● Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then blend till smooth.
● Add additional vinegar to get the perfect consistency / taste.
● Strain the mixture and bottle.
Refrigerate this hot sauce, use within a few days.
How To Make Caribbean Hot Sauce
Caribbean hot sauce is identified by two main factors, the use of very spicy peppers, and the inclusion of sweet fruit like mangos or peaches.
Classic Caribbean hot sauces often use scotch bonnet peppers, a very hot pepper- so use sparingly.
Caribbean Hot Sauce Ingredients
- 1 Pound Scotch Bonnet Peppers Chopped (Use gloves as these peppers are hot!)
- 6 Garlic Cloves minced
- 1/4 Cup White Vinegar
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
- 1 Pound Mango cubed
- ¼ Cup Yellow Mustard
- 1 Teaspoon Cumen
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
Caribbean Hot Sauce Directions
● Add all the ingredients to a pan over medium high heat.
● Simmer for 10 minutes – until the chilies are soft.
● Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then blend till smooth.
● Strain the mixture and bottle.
● Add additional vinegar to get the perfect consistency / taste.
Refrigerate this hot sauce, use within a few days.
How To Make Salsa Verde Hot Sauce
Salsa Verde, or green salsa is another hot sauce from Mexico.
The sauce is made with green jalapenos, tomatoes, onion, and tomatillos.
Often these items are roasted over an open fire, giving the salsa a roasted, smoky flavor.
Rounding out the ingredient list are garlic, and a bunch of Cilantro giving the salsa an herb flavor.
Salsa Verde Hot Sauce Ingredients
- 1 Pound Tomatillos
- 1 Large Onion
- 1 Large Tomato
- 6 Green Jalapeno or Serrano Chilies
- 6 Garlic Cloves minced
- ½ Cup Cilantro
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup water
Salsa Verde Hot Sauce Directions
- Cut Tomatillos and Onion into quarters.
- Roast the Tomatillos, Onion and Chilies over open fire, until nicely charred.
- Add all the ingredients to a pan over medium high heat.
- Simmer for 10 minutes – until the ingredients are soft.
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then blend till smooth.
Refrigerate this hot sauce, use within a few days.
How To Make Chili Sauce
This recipe is for a quick chili sauce which can be used almost anywhere.
The Worcestershire sauce adds another level of flavor and taste.
Chili Sauce Ingredients
- 1 Pound Red Ripe Chilies (like a Red Fresno)
- 1 Cup Onion
- 2 Cups Tomato
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Cups Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons Cayenne powder (Omit if the Chilis you use are spicy)
Chili Sauce Directions
- Rough chop all the ingredients and blend thoroughly.
- Over medium high heat, bring the mixture to a boil
- Boil for 20 minutes stirring constantly.
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature, and bottle.
Refrigerate this hot sauce, use within a few days.
How To Make Vindaloo Hot Sauce
Vindaloo Hot Sauce comes from India and is characterized by it’s incredible mixture of spices that add a depth of flavor and heat that everyone loves!
Vindaloo Hot Sauce Ingredients
- 4 Cups Tomato Chopped
- ½ Cup Vinegar
- 3 Cups Chili Peppers (Red Fresno or dried chilis can be used)
- 1 Cup Onion
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Lemon juiced
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 3 Tablespoons Oil
Spices
- 2 Tablespoons Ginger
- 5 Cardamom Pods
- 3 Teaspoons Coriander
- 3 Teaspoons Cumen
- 2 Teaspoons Black Pepper
- 2 Teaspoons Fennel
- 3 Teaspoons Paprika
- 2 Teaspoons Turmeric
- 1 Teaspoons Mustard powder
- 1 Teaspoons Tamarind paste
- 3 Tablespoons Cayenne Powder (Omit if the Chilis you use are spicy)
Vindaloo Hot Sauce Directions
- Heat the oil in a big pot over medium. Add all the spices and saute until fragrant – about 10 minutes. (This is an important step as it adds an incredible depth of flavor).
- Rough chop all the remaining ingredients and add to pot.
- Over medium high heat, bring the mixture to a boil
- Boil for 20 minutes stirring constantly.
- The sauce should reach a thick consistency.
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature, then blend thoroughly.
Refrigerate this hot sauce, use within a few days.
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Ok so there you have it.
7 simple recipes to make some of the most well-known hot sauces in the world.
Once you get the hang of the basics, it’s fun and easy to add different ingredients to see if you can come up with something completely unique!
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
But if you want to skip all the work and are just looking for a great pre-made hot sauce, be sure to check out our list of the best hot sauce right here.
