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Garlic-Habanero Hot Sauce

Name: Garlic-Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 6-8 habanero peppers (stemmed and halved); 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 cup water; 4 cups white vinegar; 20 garlic cloves (peeled and coarsely chopped); 1 onion (chopped); 1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste); 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce; ½ cup lime juice; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon salt

by Mike Hultquist · Apr 6, 2015 · 102 Comments

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A spicy habanero hot sauce recipe made with fiery roasted habanero peppers and plenty of garlic, ideal for spicing up your favorite foods.

Time for hot sauce, my friends! As as spicy food lover, I already know you love a good hot sauce. There are so many wonderful artisan brands out on the market, and I love so many of them, but I also LOVE making my own hot sauce at home.

Today we're making a wonderful Garlicky Habanero Hot Sauce with lots of fiery habanero peppers and loads of fresh garlic. I think you're going to love this one. It is huge on flavor with just the right combination of fruity heat and wonderful garlic.

Habanero peppers are no slouch when it comes to heat. These babies pack around 300,000 Scoville Heat Units on the Scoville Scale, and that is still plenty hot enough for some, even too hot for many, though it is somewhat tamped down in this recipe.

You will certainly get the heat and fruity habanero flavor, but the garlic is quite pronounced and somewhat vinegary with nice citrus tones. I was very happy with both versions. This is more of an everyday sauce, something you can splash on just about anything that needs a bit of moisture and would benefit from some garlic flavors, as well as heat.

For me, everything needs a little bit of heat and zestiness.

I would encourage my superhot loving readers to try this with scorpion peppers. 7-Pot chili peppers would be nice as well, with their gentler blooming heat that builds to a powerful crescendo, though habaneros are still plenty good here, and they're much easier to find.

Let's talk about how we make it, shall we?

Garlic Habanero Hot Sauce Ingredients

6-8 habanero peppers, stemmed and halved - I used orange habaneros, though you can use red habanero peppers, or any variety of your preference. Try it with Scotch Bonnets, too.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup water - For thinning the sauce to your preferred consistency.
4 cups white vinegar
20 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped - yes, 20 garlic cloves! I love this nice and garlicky.
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar or to taste
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
½ cup lime juice - Use 1/4 cup for less lime flavor.
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt

How to Make Garlic Habanero Hot Sauce - the Recipe Method

Roast the Habanero Peppers. Preheat oven to 425°. Set peppers on a baking sheet and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Roast in the oven 15-20 minutes or until soft and skins begin to blister.

Cook Down the Ingredients. Heat a large pot to medium heat and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes, or until onion and garlic soften. Add roasted peppers and simmer about 5 minutes.

Process. Transfer mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Alternatively, use an immersion blender and puree directly in the pot. Simmer another 5-10 minutes.

Serve it Up! Serve, or strain into sterilized bottles until ready to use.

Boom! Done! It's time for hot sauce, my friends! Drizzle it over your next plate of tacos, over sandwiches and burgers, spice up grilled meats, pretty much anything you're eating. I love this hot sauce. Such a great recipe.

Recipe Tips & Notes

Heat Factor. You'll definitely get a good level of heat from the habanero peppers. If you're looking for a milder version, use only 1-2 habanero peppers along with 1-2 bell peppers. You'll still get some wonderful flavor and heat. For an even hotter version, go with superhots, like the ghost pepper, scorpion peppers, or the Carolina Reaper.

Frequently Asked Hot Sauce Questions

Here are answers to some of the most common questions I get on other sauces:

How long will this sauce keep?

It should keep a few months easily in the fridge, or even longer. It's all about the acidity. To be technical, target level ph for shelf stable foods is below 4.6 ph, but should probably be lower for home cooks, around 3.5 or so, to account for errors. If you're concerned, add more vinegar to lower the ph. Sauces made with fermented chili peppers will last even longer.

The best ph meters that I recommend are from Thermoworks. Get yourself a ph meter from Thermoworks today. I am a happy affiliate.

Where'd you get that sauce bottle?

I find them locally sometimes, but I also order through Amazon. Here is a link to some bottles I like (affiliate link, my friends!): Swing Top Glass Bottles, 8.5 Ounce - Set of 4. If you like the smaller bottles that most hot sauce makers use, here's another link: Hot Sauce Bottles, 5 Oz - 24 Pack.

Can I process this hot sauce for longer storage?

Absolutely. Just be sure to use proper canning/jarring safety procedures.

What should I do with hot sauce?

Aside from drizzling it over anything you please, here's a post I did about How to Cook with Hot Sauce. As if you need even MORE reasons to eat hot sauce. LOL. I hope you find it helpful!

Check out more Hot Sauce Recipes or learn more about How to Make Hot Sauce.

Try These Other Popular Habanero Hot Sauce Recipes

If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.

Garlic-Habanero Hot Sauce Recipe

A spicy habanero hot sauce recipe made with fiery roasted habanero peppers and plenty of garlic, ideal for spicing up your favorite foods.

Save Recipe

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: habanero, hot sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Calories: 11kcal

Author: Mike Hultquist

Servings:

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4.81 from 41 votes

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Ingredients

6-8 habanero peppers stemmed and halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup water
4 cups white vinegar
20 garlic cloves peeled and coarsely chopped
1 onion chopped
1 tablespoon sugar or to taste
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
½ cup lime juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°.
Set peppers on a baking sheet and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Roast in the oven 15-20 minutes or until soft and skins begin to blister.
Heat a large pot to medium heat and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes, or until onion and garlic soften.
Add roasted peppers and simmer about 5 minutes.
Transfer mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Alternatively, use an immersion blender and puree directly in the pot.
Simmer another 5-10 minutes.
Serve, or strain into sterilized bottles until ready to use.

Notes

Should keep about a month.

Heat Factor: Hot.

Try Yellow Scorpion peppers for this recipe if you're looking for some REAL heat.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 11kcal Carbohydrates: 1g Protein: 1g Fat: 1g Saturated Fat: 1g Sodium: 40mg Potassium: 14mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 1g Vitamin A: 10IU Vitamin C: 2mg Calcium: 4mg Iron: 1mg

Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.

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