Try Turbo-1's Habanero Sauce - Hot Stuff!

[Math Jeans]

It really depends how much heat you can tolerate. With our hot home-grown habaneros, I doubt that you'd dip it like salsa. At least not more than once.

lol. So you use red habaneros and not orange ones?

 

[turbo]

lol. So you use red habaneros and not orange ones?

I like to let them ripen fully, but the Maine climate does not allow me to fully ripen the whole crop, so we have to back down and process some orange and green ones, too, as frost threatens. I'm thinking of doing some large-container planting on our back deck next year to give them as much reflected sun and heat as I can, just to see if I can get a higher percentage of them to ripen together = bigger batches of relishes.

 

[Math Jeans]

Well. I'll make up some of the relish as soon as I can and give you the results once iv gotten the materials for it. But ur talkin so someone who eats plain habaneros . I can't wait.

 

[turbo]

Well, we ran out of habanero sauce earlier this year and had to resort to using peppers from the store, which are WAY wimpy compared to the ones on our garden. That relish from store-bought habaneros, you can eat on chips, crackers, etc as a snack with cheese, oysters, etc. Tasty, but not blistering hot. Our home-grown habanero relish will make you break out in a sweat, even if your mouth can stand the heat. Beware! (see the link I posted a few posts ago) Pepper vary greatly in hotness, even within types/species - if you can eat raw habaneros from a store, you would be well-advised to approach ours with some caution.

 

[turbo]

Today, I processed a huge bag of sweet corn that my sister-in-law gave us last night, so I was shucking, boiling, slicing, and freezing this afternoon. She didn't leave empty-handed - we picked a large plastic shopping bag of apples from our largest apple tree and she'll be making pies, breads, and tarts for a while. While I was shucking corn, my father came down with a bag of buttercup squash that are too large for a single person to cook and eat, and we will supply him with more reasonable-sized squash as ours mature. While we were talking in the driveway, my vegetarian/organic gardening neighbor stopped by with his dog, and I gave him a couple of little jars of the new habanero relish. It's fall and the food is flying!

When my wife got home from work, she picked all the red lipstick peppers and a few jalapenos, so I made up another batch of chili relish using those and lots of Russian garlic. I may have to save a jar for Christmas - the bright red lipsticks and the rich green jalapenos look very festive. Not blistering hot, but pretty darned hot, and very flavorful. I dropped off a jar of that at my neighbor's place tonight - we owe him, since he is providing all our German and Russian garlic cloves to help us establish our own sustainable yearly garlic crop.

 

[Math Jeans]

I would love to live on your block. So jealous.

 

[turbo]

Well there are about 10 houses on this 3-mile stretch of road, so I don't know if you could call it a block.

 

[Math Jeans]

well. my main point was...I want your food.

 

[Math Jeans]

Habanero relish is easy.

Get a couple of dozen habanero peppers and a whole bulb of garlic. Remove the stems from the peppers, leaving the seeds, placentas, etc intact (that's where the heat is!), separate and peel the cloves of garlic and chop the peppers and garlic thoroughly in a food processor. Cook the chopped stuff in about a cup of vinegar, until it's the consistency you want, and add about a tsp each of salt and sugar, and a couple of tbs of molasses. Spoon into sterilized jelly jars, top with sterilized lids and rings and process the sealed jars in boiling water for 20 minutes. You might get up to 4 little 1/2 cup jars of relish, depending on the size of the habaneros.

Well, I just ran into a problem. My parents won't allow me to do the canning process (mainly because one of my relatives is a biologist and now they are paranoid about bacteria), so if I make a small batch and eat it within a couple of days, could I avoid it?

 

[Math Is Hard]

Wow. I got to try some of that habanero relish ;-). The spiciest salsa that I hav access to is store bought hot salsa which I drown in cayenne pepper. I got to step up :D.

I knew you were one of us right away.

We have some serious hotsauce/salsa fans here.

 

[turbo]

Well, I just ran into a problem. My parents won't allow me to do the canning process (mainly because one of my relatives is a biologist and now they are paranoid about bacteria), so if I make a small batch and eat it within a couple of days, could I avoid it?

The little canning jars are made for canning and freezing. Make as much as you want, and freeze it. Take one jar at a time out of the freezer for use and keep it refrigerated - you'll be fine. The thing about bacteria is that if you keep the food chilled, the bacteria can't gain a foothold or multiply.

The concern about home-canning is that you are going to store those jars of food at room temperature, and if you haven't properly processed the food and sterilized the jars and lids, some bacteria can multiply and produce toxins. Probably the worst one is listeria, that thrives in de-oxygenated environments. This is not a concern with frozen foods, so have your parents talk to the biologist and confirm what I have told you, and they'll probably let you use the alternate method of preservation - freezing. Good luck.

If you want to make up really small batches, refrigerate it, and use it in a timely fashion, you are no more at risk of food poisoning that you are from eating some salad or casserole from the fridge that is a few days old, especially since the vinegar drives the pH so low that most bacteria can't get a foothold, anyway, and you're boiling the relish to cook it. Normal kitchen hygiene is sufficient to keep you safe if you aren't going to jar it and store it at room temperature. We HAVE to can our salsas, because there is no other reasonable way to store it. We already have two chest freezers full and the big freezer in our fridge is full of food, so cupboards and pantries and tables down cellar have to be our storage facilities. If I shoot a deer this year, we may have to shuffle a lot of food to my father's freezer to make room for the venison.

 

[Math Jeans]

The little canning jars are made for canning and freezing. Make as much as you want, and freeze it. Take one jar at a time out of the freezer for use and keep it refrigerated - you'll be fine. The thing about bacteria is that if you keep the food chilled, the bacteria can't gain a foothold or multiply.

The concern about home-canning is that you are going to store those jars of food at room temperature, and if you haven't properly processed the food and sterilized the jars and lids, some bacteria can multiply and produce toxins. Probably the worst one is listeria, that thrives in de-oxygenated environments. This is not a concern with frozen foods, so have your parents talk to the biologist and confirm what I have told you, and they'll probably let you use the alternate method of preservation - freezing. Good luck.

If you want to make up really small batches, refrigerate it, and use it in a timely fashion, you are no more at risk of food poisoning that you are from eating some salad or casserole from the fridge that is a few days old, especially since the vinegar drives the pH so low that most bacteria can't get a foothold, anyway, and you're boiling the relish to cook it. Normal kitchen hygiene is sufficient to keep you safe if you aren't going to jar it and store it at room temperature. We HAVE to can our salsas, because there is no other reasonable way to store it. We already have two chest freezers and the big freezer in our fridge full of food, so cupboards and pantries and tables down cellar have to be our storage facilities. If I shoot a deer this year, we may have to shuffle a lot of food to my father's freezer to make room for the venison.

So I can make a full batch and put it in a can, but freeze it instead of having to process it? Then when I'm about to eat it I can just stick some in the fridge?

 

[turbo]

So I can make a full batch and put it in a can, but freeze it instead of having to process it? Then when I'm about to eat it I can just stick some in the fridge?

That's the idea. If you can get a case of the little Ball jelly jars with lids and rings, you'll be all set to experiment with chili relishes. The jars are designed to be used for freezing or canning. Freezing the relishes promptly after you jar them, and keeping them refrigerated as you thaw and use them is a good way to go. My wife and I just don't have the freezer capacity to put up all our pickles, salsas, and chili relishes, so we can't use that method, unless we have a walk-in freezer installed. That picture I posted was of our smallest cupboard. We have another much larger one under the counter that is full, and we are putting salsas and other processed canned food in our ceiling-to-floor pantry cupboard with sliding doors.

 

[Math Jeans]

I'm going to attempt to get the materials for the habanero relish this weekend (I know they arn't as good as home grown. Don't rub it in). But before I do, do you have a really really hot salsa recepes we well? (Tell me if I'm being too nosy). .

 

[turbo]

It's really pretty loose around here. My wife and I just grab what we've got and go with it. We might have a few gallons of red tomatoes or green ones, and we'll scald them in boiling water then shock them in cold water. That makes peeling them easier. I think it's helpful to quarter the tomatoes so they de-water more easily, and start simmering them down with a few cups of vinegar. Once the tomatoes are simmered down to about the consistency that you'd consider using for salsa you chop and add onions and every kind of peppers (bell, sweet, and chilies) you can get with LOTS of garlic and some salt. Simmer until the chilies are getting cooked down and incorporated, and then season to taste. You may want to add more hot stuff, maybe some herbs, and CERTAINLY some cilantro before canning. This can take hours spread over a couple of days, so save your fresh herbs for the last hurrah, so their flavors will be strongest in the finished product.

People up here run rafting companies, guided snowmobile tours, etc to encourage tourism. Maybe I should start a school of salsa... With all the variables, there's no real formula, but until you've done it a few times how do you know what works?

David, if you lived here and wanted some of our hot foods, I would make you tend and weed my peppers, and harvest them, but in return I'd teach you how to make them into fantastic foods that you cannot find in stores anywhere.

 

[Evo]

turbo, do you wear gloves on your hands when you cut the peppers? That stuff can really linger on your hands.

 

[turbo]

turbo, do you wear gloves on your hands when you cut the peppers? That stuff can really linger on your hands.

Nope. But I don't rub my face or eyes after, either. I generally handle the peppers by rinsing them under cold water, removing stems (slicing or otherwise) and chopping them either with knives or a food processor. Once, when I was snapping stems from habaneros, I scraped off the little "skirts" of those stems with my thumbnail. Once was enough.

 

[Math Jeans]

It's really pretty loose around here. My wife and I just grab what we've got and go with it. We might have a few gallons of red tomatoes or green ones, and we'll scald them in boiling water then shock them in cold water. That makes peeling them easier. I think it's helpful to quarter the tomatoes so they de-water more easily, and start simmering them down with a few cups of vinegar. Once the tomatoes are simmered down to about the consistency that you'd consider using for salsa you chop and add onions and every kind of peppers (bell, sweet, and chilies) you can get with LOTS of garlic and some salt. Simmer until the chilies are getting cooked down and incorporated, and then season to taste. You may want to add more hot stuff, maybe some herbs, and CERTAINLY some cilantro before canning. This can take hours spread over a couple of days, so save your fresh herbs for the last hurrah, so their flavors will be strongest in the finished product.

People up here run rafting companies, guided snowmobile tours, etc to encourage tourism. Maybe I should start a school of salsa... With all the variables, there's no real formula, but until you've done it a few times how do you know what works?

David, if you lived here and wanted some of our hot foods, I would make you tend and weed my peppers, and harvest them, but in return I'd teach you how to make them into fantastic foods that you cannot find in stores anywhere.

I would definitely attend your salsa school . It also appears that you saw the link to my hermit crab gallery. I think that for me, at this point salsa is not in my cooking range. I'll work on that relish though.

 

[turbo]

The salsa/chili relish stuff really pays off. I'm in the midst of lunch - fresh garden tomato slices on Jewish rye bread with Cain's mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and a 50:50 mix of red tomato salsa and habanero relish. Mmmm! I might have to make another one.

 

[Math Jeans]

Turbo, I got so jealous of your food that I ordered seeds and I'm starting a pepper garden. I even got Savannah red habaneros which rate 525,000 Scovilles (almost twice that of home grown regular habaneros). Its going to have some mild peppers, medium, and 3-4 types of habaneros :D. Do you have any tips on growing them?

 

[Astronuc]

Pretty much the same soil that works for tomatoes, works for peppers.

Just apply a little Miracle Grow plant food periodically. Soil should be organic and well drained, but not dry.

 

[turbo]

Good for you!

Yes, habaneros grow well in a soil that is not too rich in nitrogen. If you use fertilizer that is heavy in nitrogen, the plants will spend most of their energy putting on extra leaves instead of blossoms and fruits, and the peppers may develop so late that they will not ripen quickly. Peppers love hot temperatures, so if you can grow them in a raised bed or in containers near a south-facing wall (for reflectance) they will thrive. If you can grow them in a hot glassed-in porch or patio, that's OK too. If you're using containers, you'll have to check the soil moisture every day. Containers lose water faster than raised beds or garden spots. Peppers can tolerate fairly dry soil compared to other vegetables, but you can't let the soil get too dry. If the soil is dry to the touch on the surface, but feels a bit moist and sticks to your fingers when you poke your finger in an inch or more, that's probably just about right. For a couple of bucks, you can get a little pH test kit at any good garden shop. A soil pH of 5.5-6.0 less is probably fine, but check the recommendations that come with your seeds - there may be some variation in preferred pH with some of the more exotic peppers. I keep my whole garden spot (~1800 sq ft) a little under pH 6.0 and everything seems to do well.

I have a big batch of red tomato salsa simmering right now - it's got 2 huge white onions, 3 large bell peppers, 3 large habaneros, 9 lipstick chilis, 6 jalapenos, and all the cloves from 2 large bulbs of German garlic. Looks like it will make about 10 pints canned + a little extra for more immediate use. Good luck with your peppers, MJ!

 

[Math Jeans]

It is a huge relief that peppers love hot temperatures. I live in Arizona . Unfortunately the crazy hot time of year just passed last week (we were over 110 degrees every day for weeks). I got a book on raising peppers when I got the seeds, so I hope that will help. However, first I'm only going to start with two plants to see if I can even grow anything. One potted on the porch, the other in the ground in the backyard (I want to test if the soil here works).

Just out of interest, do you have any pure Capsacine in your house, turbo?

 

[Evo]

Just out of interest, do you have any pure Capsacine in your house, turbo?

OH NO NO! That's BAD stuff. Seriously.

 

[Math Is Hard]

OH NO NO! That's BAD stuff. Seriously.

No doubt! DANGER WILL ROBINSON!

 

[Math Jeans]

OH NO NO! That's BAD stuff. Seriously.

Yup. 10 million Scovilles kicks a punch .

 

[turbo]

Evo, MIH, and MJ, I grow all of my heat, and I tend it and blend it into food that we can use neat or combined with other sauces or diluted in other foods. There is no sauce, relish, pickles (most are hot) that cannot be pressed into service at parties and get-togethers, apart from standard warnings. If someone has been told that putting a tiny bit of habanero relish on a cracker with cheese and a pickle might cause them discomfort, I can't feel too much guilt.

 

[Math Jeans]

Well, I'm a little bit different. When I have a really spicy dish, I tend to not give warnings and say that the particular food is amazing in large portions. I'm just that kind of guy .

 

[NateTG]

Well, I'm a little bit different. When I have a really spicy dish, I tend to not give warnings and say that the particular food is amazing in large portions. I'm just that kind of guy .

You seem like the sort of person that would serve peanut butter filled jalapenos or jabanero ice cream.

 

[turbo]

Well hot and sweet are not mutually exclusive. About the only sweet jellies my wife makes (apart from blackberry) are hot pepper jellies made with jalapenos, habaneros, or a blend of both. It goes really well on crackers with cheese, pickles, sardines, smoked oysters, cream cheeses - whatever you have for snacks when company pops in.

 

[turbo]

I made up my latest (not last, I fear) batch of red-tomato salsa today. Since our dill got a late start this year, the heads have not gone to seeds, but still feature the tiny yellow florets that are so pungent-tasting compared to the dill weed. I decided that in addition to jacking up the heat with above-normal chili amounts, I'd tweak the overall aroma and taste with these florets, and picked a bunch of dill heads, trimming only the florets for the salsa. I added them first so that the flavor would "lock in" while I was chopping and adding onions, chilies, garlic, and sweet pepper. What a great batch of salsa. There was almost 1/4 of a half-pint jar left as overage after I canned the batch, and we used almost all of it tonight on two cheeseburgers. I marked all the lids before jamming the jars (not much room left - have to start running them down cellar) into what space I could find in the cupboards, so when we have special company for a cookout, we can get out some "premium" cheeseburger salsa. Most of our salsas leave nothing to be desired when served at cookouts, but this batch is special, like that 1966 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon that I bought 1/2 case of instead of getting out the checkbook and buying every case in the store. This was back in 1978 and it was going dirt cheap - $3.6? a bottle IIR.

Note to self: plant WAY more dill next year, and plant it in shifts to make the florets coincide with pickle production and the (later) pepper relish and salsa production. Killer stuff. If you are at a farmer's market and see some fresh dill, try to get the flowering heads with the tiny yellow florets instead of the dill weed or seeded heads. Pay extra, if you must. The taste is killer. Pinch and taste a tiny sprig of the weed (leaves) and pinch and taste one floret of a flowering head. You'll thank me. My family always either used the weed and/or the matured seeded heads for pickling/canning, etc. If my French-Canadian great-aunts Gertrude and Isabel were alive, they'd smack me up against the side of the head for saying that in this one case, they didn't have a clue about the best use of this herb. To be fair, they let their crops go to seed and dried them to get seed for the next year's crop, but they should have planted extra to take advantage of the rich, pungent florets.

Edit: I'm thinking that using the florets to make up little batches of herb butter to use on steamed vegetables and on garlic bread, etc, might be a really good idea. If I could stand being around people (fragrance chemicals cripple me), I wouldn't mind doing a little of this stuff at farmer's markets just to see how it would fly. I already know that the hot pepper jellies, the salsas, and the pickles would be a hit, but when you figure the work, the cost of the canning jars, lids, rings, processing, etc, I'd have to charge people $10 for a jar of pickles or salsa to make the numbers work out for a business. That's more than most people would pay, though my neighbor gave me over $30 worth of brand new never-opened canning jars, asking that I just give him a "few" little half-pint jars of habanero relish, like I gave him last year. He's a serious chili-head.

 

[Math Jeans]

Well. I finally compiled the ingrediants for the habanero relish. I plan on making some up tonight.

 

[turbo]

Well. I finally compiled the ingrediants for the habanero relish. I plan on making some up tonight.

Please chime in ASAP!

 

[Math Jeans]

Ok. I have officially finished the habanero relish. I'll be sampling it with lunch tomorrow. I think I did it right (although I got the number wrong and accadentally started putting in double habaneros, but caught myself at the end. However, I still put in more habaneros than recommended). I havn't tasted it yet, but I believe that it is spicy as it has a REALLY strong smell. It was going throughout the house. My brother walked into the kitchen and asked me if I was trying to kill him . I'm looking forward to having some tomorrow.

 

[turbo]

I've been blathering on about making salsas, etc, so here is a snapshot of my little postage-stamp-sized kitchen. In the SS stock pot to the left is a batch of my home-made pizza sauce simmering down. It takes all day to thicken properly. The stock pot is sitting atop a perforated aluminum pizza dish to spread the heat more evenly, so the sauce doesn't scorch (took me a couple of years to figure that one out). The next pan to the right is the one I used to scald the tomatoes so the skin comes off easily, then they go into the sink to cool, and lastly into the remaining pot after I skin them and cut out any bad spots. That pot is full of tomatoes and just found its way onto a burner. I will simmer that and reduce the tomatoes by at least 1/2 before adding garlic, onions, green peppers, chilies, herbs, etc for yet another version of red tomato salsa. We've got lots of green tomatoes, still, so a batch of green tomato salsa is probably in the cards for this weekend. In the back is a white plastic bucket full of stems, skins, bad spots that I cut out, etc, and that's headed for the compost bins. Our last house had a big kitchen with tons of counter space, but I'll take these cramped quarters any day for the opportunity to garden, make up pickles and sauces, and process and freeze produce. With so little space, you just have to plan a bit.