This homemade Carolina Reaper hot sauce recipe is incredibly hot, made with roasted Carolina Reaper peppers, the hottest peppers in the world, garlic, and onion. If you love your hot sauce “hot”, it doesn’t get any hotter!
Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce Recipe
This is for you, my true chilihead friends. I know you love your hot sauce HOT, and it really doesn't get much hotter. I'm sure you have your own collection of artisan Carolina Reaper hot sauces in your stash, and there are a lot of great ones out there for sure.
I've tried so many and enjoyed a lot of them
But like anything, it's fun to make hot sauces on your own, like this one - my Homemade Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce. Yes!
This hot sauce is made exclusively with Carolina Reaper Peppers, one of the hottest pepper in the world, according to the Guinness world records. Yes, there are many other superhot peppers out there in the world and I have cooked with many of them.
Some of them can match the heat of the reaper pepper when comparing pod for pod, and some even seem hotter, but this pepper has achieved the peak heat of 2.2 Million Scoville Heat Units. That is incredibly hot!
If you'd like a comparison, consider it next to a typical jalapeno pepper, which averages about 5,000 Scoville Heat Units, and you'll find that the hottest Carolina Reaper is up to 440 times hotter. Or consider the ghost pepper, which you know is very hot. It reaches around 1 Million SHU, making the hottest reaper over twice as hot.
Talk about heat.
The Carolina Reaper is more comparable to other superhots like the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Pepper or the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T.
Here's a little information about the Carolina Reaper.
About the Carolina Reaper
The Smokin’ Ed's Carolina Reaper® is currently the hottest pepper in the world. It is was developed by a grower named Ed Currie by crossing a Pakistani Naga with a Red Habanero type from St Vincents Island in the West Indies.
It was bred in South Carolina and tested at over 2.2 Million Scoville Heat Units (with an average of 1,641,000 SHU) by Winthrop University. It is also called HP22B pepper. As of 2013 it was over 7 generations old.
Despite the heat, which some people love, it is surprisingly fruity with a touch of sweet. It makes an excellent hot sauce.
Learn more about the Carolina Reaper here, including flavor profile, heat levels, and much more.
Let's talk about how to make Carolina Reaper hot sauce, shall we?
Homemade Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce Recipe
- First, heat your oven to 400 degrees. Set 8 ounces of Carolina Reaper peppers, 1 head of garlic (top slices off) and halved onion on a baking sheet. Bake them for 15-20 minutes, or until the skins slightly char. Keep an eye on these. You don't want them to burn, and watch out for any fumes. You may want to turn on the oven fan and open some windows. See my safety notes below.
- Add the peppers and onion to a food processor. Squeeze garlic out of their skins and into the food processor they go.
- Add in the vinegar and salt. Process until you get a chunky mixture. Watch out for the fumes!
- Add in a half cup of water and process again until the sauce starts to smooth out. Check it for thickness. If you’d like a thinner sauce, add in a bit more water a little at a time, processing, until you reach your desired consistency.
- If desired, you can strain the sauce to smooth it out, or use it as-is. If you do strain it, you can discard the pulp or dehydrate it to make a superhot seasoning powder.
- Pour into sterilized bottles and enjoy. The longer you let it sit, the more the flavors will meld.
That's it, my friends! This is pretty much the hottest sauce around. It will truly bring on the heat! Go for it, you crazy chilihead, you! I know you love cooking with hot peppers.
Safety Tips for Working with Carolina Reaper Peppers & Other Superhots
- Wear Gloves. Chili peppers, and superhots in particular, contain oils that can cause burning sensations on your skin if you touch them directly, particularly when you chop them or cut them open. It is best to wear gloves when working with them. Try not to touch other parts of your skin, like your face or elsewhere. If you do, see my page on How to Stop the Chili Pepper Burn.
- Avoid the Fumes. You're most likely cooking indoors in your kitchen, so beware of the fumes. These peppers give off fumes that can make it difficult to breath, a bit like pepper spray wafting into the air. Open up as many windows as you can, and use a fan to combat the fumes. Try baking the peppers outside, on your grill, for example, if possible.
See my page for further tips on Cooking with Superhot Chili Peppers.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Cooking Method. I decided to roast my Carolina Reapers along with onion and a lot of garlic, but there are different ways to make this hot sauce. Alternative methods include chopping them and cooking them in a pan, boiling them and processing them, or processing them raw with other ingredients then cooking the resulting puree. You can also ferment the peppers to make hot sauce.
- Other Ingredients. I kept this rather simple with few ingredients in order to focus on the flavor and heat of the Carolina Reapers. Consider this a basic starter sauce. Feel free to incorporate other ingredients to your preference that you feel will compliment the flavors. Some ideas include fresh or dried herbs, ginger, cumin, chili powders, fruit like mango or habanero, or perhaps a citrus like lime juice or lemon juice. Try it with roasted carrots. You'll be surprised at the resulting body and mild sweetness.
- Vinegar. I've made this and recipes like it with a variety of different vinegars. It just depends on your flavor preference. Just make sure it is a good quality vinegar you enjoy. Using cheap vinegar will result in a cheap sauce. I often use white vinegar that is distilled, but I also enjoy apple cider vinegar for the extra tanginess and touch of sweet.
Frequently Asked Hot Sauce Questions
Here are answers to some of the most common questions I get about other hot sauces:
How long will my Carolina Reaper Hot sauce keep?
This hot sauce 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.
This particular sauce measured 4.3 pH for me, so if you'd like it to last even longer, add more vinegar or a citrus (such as lemon juice or lime juice) 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 those Hot Sauce Bottles?
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 (woozy bottles) that most hot sauce makers use, here's another link: Hot Sauce Bottles (Woozy 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. Also, I would lower the pH to 3.5 if you're running them through a water bath.
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. I hope you find it helpful!
Try Some of My Other Popular Carolina Reaper Recipes
- The Hottest Damn Hot Sauce I Ever Made (made with Carolina Reapers and other superhots)
- 5-Alarm Superhot Chicken Wings
- Reaper Chips (superhot tortilla chips)
Try Some of My Other Popular Hot Sauce Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. 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.
Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Carolina Reaper peppers stems removed - NOTE: go by weight, not size. This was about 20 pods for me, but mine were small this year
- 1 large bulb of garlic top sliced open to expose most of the garlic
- 1 medium white onion sliced in half
- 3 tablespoons good quality vinegar distilled white, champagne or apple cider vinegar for more tangy
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 1 cup of water or more, as desired
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Set the Carolina Reaper peppers, garlic and onion on a baking sheet and bake them about 15-20 minutes, or until the skins slightly char. Keep an eye on these. You don't want them to burn, and watch out for any fumes.
- Add the peppers and onion to a food processor. Squeeze garlic out of their skins and into the food processor they go.
- Add in the vinegar and salt. Process until you get a chunky mixture. Watch out for the fumes!
- Add in a half cup of water and process again until the sauce starts to smooth out. Check it for thickness. If you’d like a thinner sauce, add in a bit more water a little at a time, processing, until you reach your desired consistency.
- If desired, you can strain the sauce to smooth it out, or use it as-is. If you do strain it, you can discard the pulp or dehydrate it to make a superhot seasoning powder.
- Pour into sterilized bottles and enjoy. The longer you let it sit, the more the flavors will meld.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Boo says
This was my first attempt at making hot sauce and I loosely followed the instructions here. My variation was adding habaneros and red jalapeños to the Carolina reapers. I added juice from a freshly squeezed lime and a dash of apple cider vinegar.
It turned out GREAT! Thank you for the videos and recipes. I can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Mike Hultquist says
Perfect, Boo! Glad you enjoyed it!
Tyler says
Is it possible to swap the water for more vinegar to get the PH lower for shelf stable version?
Thanks
Mike Hultquist says
Yes, Tyler, absolutely.
ann says
I like to always add some citric acid powder along with the vinegar. It makes it more acidic without adding volume and imparts a somewhat citrus note.
DaveNVaBch says
Mike,
I made this sauce for the first time and it is hot! Extremely hot! I ate some on Mississippi Pot Roast the first day and then put the sauce in the refrigerator for a couple of days as recommended. Wow, after two days it seemed as though the sauce got even hotter. I made it exactly as the recipe calls for, was wondering if some fresh lime juice added at this might tone it done just a little? The flavor is fantastic but the heat actually took my voice away for a short time, did I say it was hot? LOL.
Mike Hultquist says
Definitely hard to tone this one down. Dilution is the best bet! Glad you enjoyed it!
Aaron says
Hi Mike, this is my first year attempting to make some sauce/powder. Do you have instructions on how to turn the used pulp into the powder? Or is it as simple as drying it out and putting it in the food processor until finely processed? Thank you!
Mike Hultquist says
Hi, Aaron. I have a post for this exact thing. Here you go! https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/seasonings-from-hot-sauce-pulp/
William says
I'm 70 years old and raised 6 plants from seed.
Now I'm the type of person who like hot things hot and cold things cold. I made up a triple batch and was precise on my measurements tithe T !
Well let me tell you I tried abouta half teaspoon after it reached room temperature and at first it was what I thought was delicious. 10 seconds later my lower lip began to burn then the back of my throat felt like it was on fire. Then my tounge and throat burned so bad Not only did tears came running out like a crying baby -then I got a nose bleed ! Never in my life have I ever had a burn like that and I swear I will never try or make it again. I gave a bottle to 4 different neighbors that are not nice people and I hope they went through what I did.
Thank you for sharing but no thank you as far as making it again.
Mike Hultquist says
Sorry it was too hot for you, William! Oops! They ARE the hottest peppers in the world.
Donnie says
Thank you. Will let you know how it turns out
Leigh says
My 16 year old decided to grow jalapeños and reapers in the garden this year. The reapers aren’t ripe yet but we have a ton of jalapeños. Made this recipe with the jalapeños to see how it would come out. It’s hot (I’m a wimp) but really good, added a bit more salt. Will make with the reapers when they’re ready. What is the shelf life for the hot sauce? I apologize if someone already asked that. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Mike Hultquist says
Nice! Thanks, Leigh. The hot sauce will last months or longer because of the vinegar content, especially refrigerated. Enjoy the reaper version!
William says
Be careful what you ask for. HaHa.
Donnie says
Do you think balsamic vinegar would do well in this
Mike Hultquist says
It will work, Donnie, though balsamic is pretty dark and is more sweet and sour, with a more complex flavor, which can affect the flavor of your final hot sauce. I'm sure it will taste good, but you'll get more pepper flavor with a simple white or white wine vinegar. Worth a try, though! Let me know how it goes! I'd love to hear.
Mia says
Hi!
Just found this when looking for recipes for our (my husband's...) soon-to-be ripe carolina reapers. I'm terrified of them, but even more terrified to let my husband handle them in the kitchen by himself
Do you think I could use an airfryer? Thinking about using it on the balcony, in stead of gassing our small apartment. Hoping none of the neighbors will call the fire department, this kind of spicy food isn't so common in Denmark.
Mike Hultquist says
Hi, Mia! Yes, you can use an air fryer, but YES, doing it outside would be very wise. Inside you'll get a lot of fumes. You could also skip the roasting step, and just add all of the ingredients to a small pot, then simmer for 10 minutes to soften, then process until smooth. You can thin with more vinegar or water to your preferred consistency.
Annette Way says
Hoe many average size Carolina Reapers should I use?
Mike Hultquist says
Annette, try 12-15.
M says
Can I use ghost pepper instead or a combination of ghost nd Carolina reaper?
Mike Hultquist says
You surely can!
Connie says
Hello, I do not have a food processor, can I use a blender for your recipes? There are a few I want to try.
Mike Hultquist says
Connie, absolutely. Blender is perfect.
David Dollard says
Hey Mike,
Just making a second wave of your awesome recipe. I’m roasting everything first and hopefully the frozen state of reapers will not diminish flavours and heat too much. The recipe was so liked I got a request for 3 more jars from a co-worker. Thanks! -David
Mike Hultquist says
Very nice! Thanks, David!
ann says
Inspired so ordered some reapers. I've been making and selling hot sauce for years. I prefer to use fresh chiles but can't find reapers anywhere except dried online. I don't mind dried chiles. They can easily be adapted. There's just something about tasting the fresh chile before it's made into sauce. When I finally got my hands onto some fresh bhut jolokia several years ago, I was elated. I cut one into thin strips including seeds, let briefly marinate in vinegar and salt, then ate it! Mouth on fire but I enjoyed the flavor. Well worth the pain and bragging rights.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing, Ann. Yes, quite hot for sure!