DIY Hot Sauce

Thanks to Monihan for the pic!

With the last of my banana peppers sturdily clinging to the vine, I thought what better time to explore the world of hot sauce! I adapted this simple recipe from something I saw on the Bitten blog to start me out on my hot sauce adventure.

Ingredients
- A couple quarts of chile peppers (Can be a mixture of different kinds including but not limited to jalapeno, chipotle or poblano)
- Plastic gloves (make sure theyre safe for food handling!)
- White Vinegar
- Salt to taste

Once your chiles have ripened to your desired color/taste, put on your plastic gloves (The plastic gloves will save your hands from burning from handling chiles) and rinse and trim the stems and any bad spots off the chiles. It's okay if they are in different stages of dryness, you just want to remove any potential rot. Remove seeds if you'd like but I prefer to keep them in.

Place the chiles into a food processor and pour in enough white vinegar to submerge the chiles. Add about a tbsp of salt (or more to taste!) Puree until smooth. 

Transfer to a pot and bring to a boil stirring once or twice. Be careful not to inhale or stand over the boiling pot! While youre waiting for the sauce to boil, wash and rinse a bottle with a reclosable cap. Rinse the inside with the white vinegar to disinfect the bottle.

Funnel the sauce into the clean jar or bottle and cool. Cover with a cloth napkin or dish towel. I use a rubberband to secure the towel and prevent any fruit flys from invading. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for three days, undisturbed. Carefully pour off all but a thin layer of the vinegar (which true enthusiasts save for another use) and refrigerate. 

The sauce keeps for months; you’ll know if it goes off when it starts to ferment and get sort of effervescent.