Ghost Pepper SriRacha ~ AKA Revenant SriRacha

So the Ghost Pepper Project continues, now in the form of Ghost Pepper SriRacha aka Revenant SriRacha.

These peppers were quickly accumulating in my crisper drawer with many, many more still on the plant waiting to ripen. So the search was on for another way to use these inferno-like nuggets.

I decided to give hot sauce a try, but once I had the finished result, the consistency was more Sriracha like. So, Sriracha it is.

After making this, I compared the taste of my sauce with the Sriracha my daughter left here while she was home from college this summer. I could tell the store bought brand was sweeter so I checked the ingredients. Sugar was the second ingredient on the list. I didn’t want added sugar in my sauce.

Carrots and the juice of one lime is what I used to sweetened the sauce. If you compare them side by side, then yes, mine tastes less sweet. But when you are talking about something as hot as a ghost pepper sauce, I don’t really think you’re looking for sweet. You expect it to burn all the way down to the bowels of hell. And this does.

But don’t worry, it is edible. You just have to take it slow if you’re eating it straight out of the jar. But used as an additional ingredient in other recipes, it’s delicious and very palatable.

Since I had 70 Ghost Peppers in my crisper drawer, 70 was the number of peppers that went into this recipe.

I also grew carrots in my garden so I peeled and cut up 4 large carrots. I suppose you really wouldn’t need to peel these, since they’re going to end up pureed anyway, but when I was making this, I was just making it up as I went so didn’t think about that.

I added some sweet peppers to the mix. There are 3 paprika peppers and, just because the others were also in the crisper drawer, I through in a red bell and a jalapeno. Just to keep it simple in the future I would probably just stick with the paprika’s. I’m very confident it will not change the flavor.

After adding the ghost peppers, I cut up 3 large onions. You really do have to be careful. Wear gloves and don’t touch your face or eyes while working with these peppers.

4 large bulbs of garlic, cloves peeled.

Prepare your grill. I use a charcoal grill and had it at about a medium hot level of heat. I did need to add additional charcoal as I grilled to keep the temperature up.

I tossed the veggies with a little EVOO and, since my grill is a normal family sized grill, grilled in batches so there would be just a little char on the vegetables.

I grilled till the peppers and onions were soft. The carrots were not completely cooked, but that’s ok because the cooking isn’t over yet. I did use a grill pan with small holes on top the grill grate so the garlic cloves wouldn’t fall into the coals in case you hadn’t figured that out. But I’m pretty sure you did. I think you’re a pretty smart bunch.

I left the peppers whole and did not seed them (with the exception of the paprika peppers). I did, however, remove the stem as I took them off the grill. I brought them in the house and threw everything into a large stock pot, added 10 cups of apple cider vinegar, and brought to a boil. Open windows and take advantage of any ventilation you can.

Then I decided to add the juice of one large lime. I don’t know, I just thought it would be the right thing to do. Then simmered the mixture for 30 minutes.

Once the 30 minutes was up, I pureed the sauce in a blender in batches till it was smooth.

And there it is, smooth as a baby’s bottom. At this point add salt and pepper to taste. Taste carefully, just sayin’. This is some hot stuff. Then bring back to a boil.

This time I opted to preserve this in pint jars in a hot water bath. So you would need to prepare your jars and canner prior to or during the cooking process.

Canning Safety

Jars must be sterilized and jarred properly to avoid any chance of botulism. I felt that since this sauce is a 5% vinegar base, hot water bath was the route I wanted to go. There isn’t a whole lot of information out there on preserving hot sauce at home so use your own judgement, do your research, and use safe canning procedures. Peppers are a low acid vegetable so if not in a vinegar base, you cannot use a hot water bath method.

For this, I will refer you to the Ball Canning company Website.

I processed mine in pint jars for 25 minutes. You can also check in to using the pressure canning method if you feel safer doing so.

Since this was an experiment for me, I opted not to buy special bottles or jars to store this in. I went with the pint jars I already had. But now that I am happy with the end result this year, I will definitely be ready with smaller bottles next year. The good news is that, once opened, this should last in the fridge for a few months barring any contamination from other foods.

I cannot impress enough, in addition to the safety measures above, to use gloves. Just washing the dishes after I made this made my hands burn and tingle for hours afterward.

Ghost Pepper SriRacha aka Revenant SriRacha

70 Ghost Peppers washed and left whole
4 Papkrika Peppers (seed after grilling or cut open and seed before grilling)
3 large onions cut into wedges
4 large carrots cut up
4 large bulbs of garlic (cloves peeled)
About 2 or 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
10 cups apple cider vinegar
the juice of 1 large lime
about 2 Tbsp Kosher salt or to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Prepare grill to medium hot temperature. Wash and prepare vegetables as indicated above.

Grill vegetables till peppers and onions are slightly charred and soft. Carrots will still be firm.

Remove stems from ghost peppers but do not seed.

Place vegetables in a large stock pot, add 10 cups apple cider vinegar and the lime juice. Bring to a boil and simmer 30 minutes.

Puree in batches till smooth. Return to boil, add salt and pepper, and place in prepared jars or bottles.

In you are not using a hot water bath or pressure canner to preserve. Keep this in the refrigerator. It should last up to 1 year unopened, and 6 months after opening if not contaminated from other foods after opening.

It’s amazing to me some of the things we can come up with from our own back yards. Everything, except the vinegar, lime juice, salt and black pepper, was grown in my backyard garden!

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