Mixed Pepper Hot Sauce

We like spicy food.  In fact, we put hot sauce or hot peppers in almost everything.  I grew and harvested a lot of hot peppers this year . . . jalapenos, habaneros and Hungarian wax peppers.  Plus a friend was generous to give us cherry peppers from their garden.  

This season I've pickled peppers, stuffed peppers, water canned peppers . . . so much good hot stuff!

This year I decided to make and can my own hot sauce.  And, because I had such a mixture of peppers ripen all at the same time I wanted to utilize all of them in making the sauce.  The result was a spicy, flavorful sauce that wasn't over-the-top but indeed very spicy!

Mixed Pepper Hot Sauce (15 Pints)

8 Whole Habanero Peppers
8 Whole Jalapeño Peppers
8 Whole Cherry Peppers
10 Whole Hungarian Wax Peppers
3 Tablespoon Salt
4 Medium Onion, Halved
8 Cloves Garlic, Smashed
8 Tablespoons Olive Oil
6 Medium Tomatoes, Quartered
4 Cups Cider Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar


Wash peppers in cold water.  Remove the stems but leave whole.

Preheat your oven to 450°F. Grease or line a couple of cookie sheets.  

Distribute the onion, garlic and tomatoes in a single layer on the cookie sheets. 

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place cookie sheet in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, or until the onion pieces are well roasted.

Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and place the roasted vegetables in a blender along with the rest of the ingredients on the list.   You’ll need to do this in 2 or 3 batches.

Blend until the mixture is pureed.  Pour into a sauce pan and heat to a high simmer.

While the sauce is heating up get the canning jars, lids and rings ready.  I used pint sized jars for the hot sauce.   The jars should be either sterilized in a high temperature wash dishwasher cycle or in boiling water for at least 5 minutes.  In a separate pot, the lids should be boiled for at least five minutes, as well.  


For processing the filled jars, bring a large pot of water to a boil.  

Fill the sanitized jars within a 1/4 inch of the top with the hot sauce. Wipe the lips of the jar with a clean dry cloth or paper towel. Then put the lids and rings on.  Screw on the rings finger tight only.

Put the jars in the canner then put the lid on.  When the pot has reached a full boil set the time to process the sauce for 15 minutes (sea level).

 

When the processing time is up lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight).  I normally let them sit for at least 12 hours.   You can then remove the rings if you like to reuse.

Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. 

Finally, store them in a cool, dark place.  Enjoy all year!