Many hot sauces are chile peppers blended with vinegar and spices. For this recipe I make a super-spicy hot sauce where all the flavor is infused into the vinegar itself. This makes it a great way to selectively add drops of heat to a meal.
This recipe is more of an sous vide heated infusion hot sauce compared to the more traditional blended versions. Once strained it is a more pure vinegar hot sauce than many other versions.
I recommend wearing gloves when preparing this vinegar, the oil and juices released from the chopping of the chile peppers will stick to your skin for hours and can burn. If you are a real chile head, feel free to increase the amount of chile peppers used.
Chile Pepper Fire Vinegar Infusion Ingredients
1 habanero pepper
1 serrano pepper
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1 poblano pepper
1.5 cups apple cider vinegar
Chile Pepper Fire Vinegar Infusion Instructions
Preheat a water bath to 140°F (60.0°C).
While wearing gloves, remove the stems from the chile peppers and coarsely chop the flesh. Combine the peppers, their seeds, and the vinegar in a sous vide bag or Mason jar then seal and place in the water bath. Heat the infusion for 1 to 2 hours.
Prepare an ice bath with 1/2 ice and 1/2 water. Remove the bag or Mason jar from the water bath and place in the ice bath for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the vinegar and store in a sealed container.
Common Answers to Common Questions
What Peppers Can You Use in Hot Sauce
You can change this recipe to have the flavor profile you prefer by using different peppers.
There are many different types of peppers and they all have different levels of spiciness, and different flavors. It's important to know what kind of pepper you are using in order to get the taste that you want.
The serrano pepper is one of the most popular peppers for making hot sauce because it has a decent level of spiciness but also has a fruity flavor. It is a medium-sized chili pepper that has a very sharp flavor. The heat level can range from mild to very hot.
The chipotle pepper is a smoked jalapeno, perfect for those who like a medium-low level of spiciness because it is less spicy than other types of peppers but packs a lot of flavor.
Cayenne peppers are one of the most popular ingredients in a lot of hot sauces. The cayenne pepper has a spicy and slightly sweet taste. It is also used to add flavor to many dishes and has a distinctive flavor that is not found in any other type of pepper.
The habanero pepper is spicy and flavorful, but it can be overwhelming for some people with its high heat level.
Finally, the ghost pepper is one of the hottest peppers available and should only be used by those who can handle very spicy food!
What Vinegar to Use in Hot Sauce
There are many types of vinegar and each one has a different flavor profile.
White wine vinegar is often used for hot sauces because it has a sharp, acidic taste that works well with spicy foods. White wine vinegar is also the most common type of vinegar used in cooking.
Red wine vinegar is typically used in hot sauces to give the sauce a more complex flavor and depth. Red wine vinegar also is thought to have some health benefits, such as lowering cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
Apple cider vinegar is a bit sweeter and less acidic than white wine, but it's still sharp enough to be used in a hot sauce.
Balsamic vinegar can be used to add an extra layer of flavor to your hot sauce, but can occasionally overpower the other ingredients. Balsamic vinegars are typically aged for a minimum of 12 years before they're sold so they have a sweet, mellow taste that pairs well with spicy foods like hot sauce.
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