Custom's Louisiana Hot Sauce

Custom Catering's

Custom’s Louisiana Hot Sauce
Yield about 2/3 of a quart

Ingredients
1 QUART FRESH CAYENNE PEPPERS
1 CUP RICE WINE VINEGAR
1/2 CUP PLAIN SALT
1/.4 CUP ADDITIONAL PLAIN SALT

One year later;
1 PINT RICE WINE VINEGAR

Method
Remove any green stems and discolored areas from the peppers, wash the peppers thoroughly under cold water. Set aside to drain. Meanwhile, heat the vinegar in a microwave to the boiling point.
Place the peppers, vinegar and ¾ cup salt into a blender. Blend on high for 1 -2 minutes or until all peppers are evenly emulsified. Pour into a sterilized glass jar, sprinkle remaining ¼ cup salt over the mixture, cover and reserve in a dark-cool location for 1 year. Check about once a month by removing lid. (Sometimes pressure from the fermentation builds up in the jar). But do not stir or mix the ingredients.

After about a year, use a spoon to remove the top ¼ inch layer from the jar, discard.

Force the pulp trough a fine wire mesh strainer into a blender (Reserve seeds and large pulp by products remaining in the strainer). Heat the pint of vinegar to a boil and add to the strained pulp. Set the blender on high and emulsify the sauce. Cool and funnel into a sterilized hot sauce bottle. Store in a cool-dark pantry.

Alternate Method:
If the peppers are too hot (in taste) for you, I suggest that before you blend the peppers (use surgical gloves and a sharp paring knife) and cut the peppers lengthwise. Then remove the seeds and veins, this is where most of the pepper’s oils are located. This procedure will reduce the "heat" from the peppers by about a factor of 3.

Plate Presentation
Serve as you would any other hot sauce.

Chef's Notes:
1. Ultraviolet light affects the color of red peppers. (It turns the peppers into a rust color.) To prevent this store the jar in a cool-dark cabinet.
2. Use only plain salt, iodized salt will also discolor the peppers.
3. Cleanliness is very important. Use only clean sterilized bowls, bottles and utensils.
4. The reserved pulp is a great seasoning and should be saved for crawfish and shrimp boil seasoning.
5. Other types of peppers can be substituted for this recipe. Tabasco, Bird’s eye, and Tai peppers work great! You can even use green japlaenos to make a Verde Hot Sauce.
6. Ground red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper can be substituted for the fresh peppers. I have done this with mixed results.

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Chef Emile L. Stieffel, Custom Catering, Inc. email address: custom@acadiacom.net
Copyright © 1995 Custom Catering, Inc. All rights reserved.
4016 Red Cypress Dr., Harvey, LA 70058 Phone (504) -362-0220
Revised: .