If you make your own hot sauce, there is no reason to throw away the strained pulp that sometimes remains. Dehydrate it to make a flavorful seasoning blend to sprinkle over your meals. Nothing goes to waste. Here is the recipe method.
I've been making homemade hot sauces for quite some time now. I ferment chili peppers sometimes for making hot sauces and sometimes make them from fresh peppers plucked straight from the garden.
I make some hot sauce recipes that are nothing but peppers, vinegar and salt, and some that incorporate any number of interesting and flavorful ingredients like other vegetables, fruits, and different seasoning blends. Sometimes I like to strain my processed hot sauce mixture to achieve a smoother consistency, and what remains is all that leftover pulp from the ingredients sitting in the strainer.
Don't throw that pulp away!
I used to toss mine into the garbage disposal and always felt bad because it seemed those ingredients still had plenty of life left in them. You know what? They certainly do. Now I use my dehydrator to dry them and grind them into a unique seasoning blend.
SCORE!
Think about it. You've gone to all the trouble of choosing your preferred ingredients to make a wonderful, flavorful hot sauce to drizzle over everything.
Why not use those very same ingredients to make a seasoning blend that you can sprinkle over foods? Or cook into your meals?
I LOVE THIS.
The process is super simple, though it does require a dehydrator. If you do not have a dehydrator, I strongly encourage you to get one. As you know (possibly), I am the author of "The Spicy Dehydrator Cookbook", so I can't recommend enough that you acquire one asap.
You can create MANY MANY MANY interesting recipes with your dehydrator, from homemade spice blends to jerky of all kinds to healthy snacks and especially homemade seasoning blends that you'll never find in any store.
Let's talk about how we make this recipe.
Making Seasonings from Strained Hot Sauce Pulp - The Recipe Method
After you’ve blended and strained your hot sauce, reserve the leftover pulp. Your amounts will obviously vary based on your recipe.
Spread the pulp out over dehydrator sheets to a maximum of ¼ inch thickness. Use extra trays if needed.
Dehydrate the pulp at 125 degrees F. for 8-10 hours, or until the pulp is completely dried through. It should be very crumbly to the touch with no moisture anywhere.
Grind up the dried mixture with a mortar and pestle, or use a spice grinder. Sift out any larger chunks and process or grind until nice and smooth.
Use as you would any seasoning blend.
BOOM! You've just invented a brand new seasoning blend! Isn't that exciting? It is for me.
Go Get a Dehydrator!
If you do not yet own a dehydrator, I urge you to order one up. I LOVE my dehydrators (yes, I own two) and use them all the time. They're essential for making leathers, jerky, spice blends, preserving in general and more. Here are links to the two that I personally own (Affiliate Links, my friends! FYI):
The Nesco is a smaller dehydrator that is perfect for general home use: Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator, White
The Excalibur is a larger 9-tray dehydrator that is ideal for larger batches: Excalibur 3926TB Food Dehydrator, Black
I use and highly recommend both of these.
Safety Advice
When working with hotter peppers, including superhots, it is important to wear gloves when handling the peppers both in raw and dried forms. The oils can get on your skin and cause burning sensations. See above.
Need help? How to Stop the Chili Pepper Burn On Your Skin.
Also, the fumes from the chili peppers and/or the fine powders may get into the air if you are not working in a well ventilated room, so you may want to wear a mask and goggles. Superhot chili peppers, truly, are called superhots for a reason.
The Spicy Dehydrator Book
I hope you'll check out my cookbook! Here is the link: The Spicy Dehydrator Cookbook, by Michael Hultquist.
Check Out Some My Other Popular Dehydrator Recipes
Check Out Some of My Popular Hot Sauce Recipes
- How to Make Louisiana Style Hot Sauce
- Homemade Sriracha Hot Sauce (Fermented and Non-Fermented Versions)
- Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
- The Hottest Damn Hot Sauce I Ever Made
Check out more Hot Sauce Recipes or learn more about How to Make Hot Sauce.
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.
Making Seasonings from Strained Hot Sauce Pulp
Ingredients
- 1 cup strained hot sauce pulp
Instructions
- After you’ve blended and strained your hot sauce, reserve the leftover pulp. Your amounts will obviously vary.
- Spread the pulp out over dehydrator sheets to a maximum of ¼ inch thickness. Use extra trays if needed.
- Dehydrate at 125 degrees F. for 8-10 hours, or until the pulp is completely dried through. It should be very crumbly to the touch with no moisture anywhere.
- Grind up the dried mixture with a mortar and pestle, or use a spice grinder. Sift out any larger chunks and process or grind until nice and smooth.
Notes
Nutrition Information
James says
hi, I've just found your chilli recipes while looking for a fermented chilli sauce recipe for my home harvest. I thought I'd let you know I also re-use my dried sauce pulp- I also felt bad throwing it away and figured I'd try making something from the pulp! . I dry at a low temperature in the oven, turning the pulp a few times. Then once it's crisp-dry, I powder the dry flakes in a clean coffee grinder. This gives a really flavoursome chilli powder. Becuase my sauce is made with garlic, onion, a little sugar and vinegar, the chilli powder has a depth of flavour not available in store bought powder.
Also, becuase the sauce was cooked, this powder is already mellowed slightly and doesn't need cooking out like normal raw chilli powder
Mike H. says
Thank you for the feedback, James. That’s a clever idea, sounds great!
Justin says
I tried this method and my seasoning barley has any flavor. Do you have any suggestions?
Mike Hultquist says
Justin, you can mix it with other stronger powders to make more of a blend.
Tracy says
Can you use the dried mixture to make a spicy chili oil?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
You sure can, Tracy! Enjoy!
Jo says
Wondering can we use the pulp from a fermented hot sauce after the fermentation or only from fresh pepper?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sure, Jo, you can use the pulp, or "mash". It's the important stuff for making the hot sauce, the substance of your efforts.
Karen G. says
I have often wondered how.to use the leftover bits from processing tomato sauce, I'm going to try this with my next batch in a couple days. I could probably also mix some of it with the hot sauce leftovers after grinding. Loving your website!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Karen. I know, I hate to see all that flavor go to waste. Glad you found me!
frugal hausfrau says
You only have to look at the name on my site to guess how much I LOVE this idea!! I save some of my seeds to use instead of red pepper flakes when I want a little heat but this is inspired!! Genius!!
Mollie
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great way to reduce waste and get some spicy seasoning out of it!
Sarah says
How long can I store the pulp before I have to dehydrate it?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sarah, it should last a few weeks easily in the refrigerator, because of the vinegar content. I would try to dehydrate it right away, though. You can also freeze it for 3 months.
June says
I have been doing this for ages in my oven on parchment.
First year just ground it even more and added garlic and oil and made a chilli garlic paste , but trying loving the powdered hot sauce
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome! I love your ideas.
karen says
Great idea! Love your recipes.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Karen! I appreciate it.
Kurt says
Just did this with some leftover pulp from my latest hot sauce batch. I usually strain my sauces and always feel bad about tossing the pulp. Great idea to dehydrate it! I actually do have a dehydrator but it's up the in attic, and I didn't feel like getting up there and digging it out and cleaning it up, so I just spread the pulp out on a couple layers of foil and set it over low indirect heat on my Weber grill. (Also sparing my wife from even more pepper fumes indoors...) The peppers (jalapeno and habanero) were previously smoked with hickory wood chunks (just for a couple hours, enough to pick up smoke flavor and wrinkle them a bit, but not enough to dry them) and the pulp probably picked up a teensy extra charcoal smoke flavor from this. A couple hours in indirect heat was enough to dry it out. This stuff will be great on popcorn and unsalted peanuts and mixed nuts. (The pulp was a mix of the stuff that went into the sauce: jalapeno, habanero, vinegar, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and salt.)
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
That's great, Kurt! Glad it worked! I appreciate the comment. Enjoy.
John says
Great idea!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, John!