Being able to make a delicious hot sauce is a great thing to have in your back pocket. It’s a great addition to so many different foods and stays in season all year round. However, buying hot sauce can be a challenge, since, at most grocery stores or supermarkets, you can’t taste the hot sauce before bringing it home with you. Who knows if it’ll have enough spice or will be too spicy for you? Being able to make it yourself will give you the opportunity to fully control the sauce’s spice level, as well as any additional flavors in it. 

Keep reading for a simple red hot sauce recipe, then scroll down for some hot sauce meal ideas. 

Red Hot Sauce Recipe

There are two different kinds of hot sauce: green and red. Green hot sauces are usually less hot than red sauces, however, with the following recipe, you can control how many peppers you put into your hot sauce, so don’t worry about whether or not it’ll be too spicy for you. 

You Will Need…

  • Hot peppers of your choice (depending on how large the peppers are, you will probably need about a dozen or more peppers.)
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 1-2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder

Step 1 – Prepare your peppers. Take off the stem of all your peppers and cut off the ends. 

Step 2 – Combine your ingredients. In a pot over medium heat, pour all your ingredients. Don’t add your peppers in all at once, though. Make sure you add the peppers in a few at a time. That way you can test the sauce’s spice level as it forms. 

Step 3 – Let the sauce simmer. Keep your sauce over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Make sure you stir it occasionally so it does not stick to the bottom of the pot. 

Step 4 – Puree the sauce. In a food processor or blender, puree your sauce to get rid of any chunks. It’s okay for salsa to be chunky, but when it comes to hot sauce, smooth is better. 

Step 5 – Pour back into the pot. Now that your sauce is smooth, let it simmer for about 10 more minutes. 

Step 6 – Let cool, then enjoy! 

You can keep your hot sauce for about a month after you make it as long as you keep it refrigerated. If you decide to can and preserve it, it’ll last much longer (about 1 year). 

If you want to create a hot sauce with a more unique flavor, go back to step 2 and add in some extra ingredients. Some hot sauces incorporate fruit juices from organic foods like strawberries, pears, star-fruits, and even carrots. The peppers you use will also come with their own distinct flavors, so make sure you taste test different hot peppers to find the one that speaks to you.

Now that you have your own hot sauce, what’s next? Well, there are a ton of delicious recipes that involve hot sauce, but if you aren’t into cooking, you can add hot sauce to practically any food you eat throughout the day. You can use it to add a flavor boost to things like tartar sauce, your morning eggs, hamburgers, and you can even put a few drops into your ketchup too. 

Great Meals to Make With Hot Sauce

Hot sauce is not an average cooking ingredient, but if you have a craving for spicy foods, here are some recipe ideas that’ll let you put your hot sauce to use. 

  • Glazed chicken or turkey legs: Use your hot sauce to make a spicy BBQ sauce to coat your chicken or turkey in. This makes a great summer backyard grill meal. If you’d rather have this in the colder months, use your hot sauce and some spices to make a marinade.
  • Buffalo chicken wings: Use your hot sauce to make a homemade buffalo sauce. Buffalo sauce is incredibly easy to make, and it’s sure to taste great when it’s made with your own homemade hot sauce. Once you have buffalo sauce, you can make all sorts of buffalo sauce flavored foods.
  • Spicy New Orleans gumbo: Add a bit of hot sauce to your gumbo for a special flavorful kick.
  • Tomato salsa: Hot sauce isn’t usually added into salsa, but there’s no rule that says it can’t be. If you’re looking to make your salsa hotter without having to cut up more peppers, adding in a few dashes of homemade hot sauce should do it for you. 

There you have it, a handful of great uses for your homemade hot sauce. These are just a few of the hundreds of meals you can make or alter with your hot sauce, and I hope that you’ll feel inspired to get cooking! Hot sauce is super easy to make and doesn’t even take much time. And, you’re sure to raise some eyebrows when you show up to a party or barbecue with a bottle of your own hot sauce ready to share. 

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