re: Anyone into growing hot peppers?

As promised, here's my easy recipe for hot sauce:

I use Habanero and Trinidad Scorpion Butch T Peppers when making this, but a lot more Habanero since I have more than the Butch T's. I put the peppers whole, seeds and pith included but do cut off any leftover stem end attached to the peppers.

Ingredients depend on the amount of hot sauce I'm making but it is pepper heavy per jar with each pint having at least 10 or more peppers in it.

My basic recipe is as follows and I generally make this when I have at least 50-75 peppers to fool with:

Put a pot on the stove with enough water to cover the jars you are going to use by 1 in. and add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the water. The vinegar will keep the jars from clouding on the outside due to minerals in the water. This is especially true if living in N.O.
Let the water come to a boil while preparing the following.


20 whole peppers
1 whole onion chopped coarse--medium size is good
4-5 cloves garlic whole
1 fresh lemon juiced, no seeds
1 1/2 cups vinegar---I use plain distilled vinegar
1 tbsp. mustard seed
Several sprigs parsley, stems and all (cilantro can be used, but I don't care for the taste of it)
Salt to taste but I probably use about 1/4 cup worth per batch

Turn on blender and let the ingredients puree to a liquid state and make sure all ingredients are well blended. With the amount of peppers I use, I do this at least 2 to 3 times.

Remove from blender and put it in a stainless steel pot and let it come to a slow boil and cook it for about 10 minutes.

Make sure your jars are clean, you have new seals and enough lid rings for the job of canning. I use Mason brand jars.

Ladle the boiling pepper sauce into the jars until about 1/2 inch from the top, make sure the top of the jar is wiped clean and secure the seal with a screw on ring and set aside until all jars are full.

Place the jars of pepper sauce in the pot of boiling water and let that cook for 15 minutes. Remove the jars and set them on a towel on your countertop to cool and they will then draw a vacuum and seal. Chances are you will hear them pop a bit when this happens.

Never set the hot jars on a cool/cold surface or they may break when coming directly out the boiling water.

Once they seal, you can store them in a pantry for later use. I have just a couple small jars left over from last summer and that stuff is still as good as the day it was made.

The folks that can handle the heat are always asking for more of it and can't wait until I get to making it as my peppers start producing.