Shelf Stable Hot Sauce Recipe

Are you facing problems with the shelf life of your homemade sauces? We can understand your situation. People try to make different delicious sauces at home. Homemade sauces are more secure than processed market sauces. Yet shelf life is a serious issue for these homemade sauces.

But, it’s time to solve the issue. So, we bring an amazing Shelf Stable Hot Sauce Recipe. You can preserve this sauce for up to 1 year. The condition is you need to follow our recipe strictly. Besides, you have to maintain the proper storage process.

After reading this article, the issue with your prepared sauce will be gone. Hence, we recommend reading this article carefully from beginning to end.

What Makes Hot Sauce Shelf Stable?

Few ingredients and processes can make the hot sauce shelf stable.

1. Vinegar
2. Fermented Chili Peppers
3. Ascorbic Acids
4. Pickling Salt
5. Heating Treatment
6. Hot-Filled-Hold Process

How to Make Hot Sauce Shelf Stable

If you keep 3 rules in mind, you can easily prepare a shelf-stable sauce. Let us explain these 3 useful rules given by our experts.

• Use 5% Vinegar

The P^H of 5% vinegar is 2.4 which is highly acidic. Acidic P^H deters microorganisms. Besides, very few microorganisms can grow at this P^H level. So, the risk of spoilage is minimal. You should use 5% vinegar in the sauce preparation, then the sauce will be shelf stable.

• Heat Treatment

Giving a heat treatment to your prepared sauce is another way of making the shelf-stable sauce. The heat treatment process involves heating the sauce at 180F for 10 minutes. It helps to kill bad bacteria. Besides, this process inactive the enzyme activity of Peppers.

• Use Ascorbic Acid

Many professionals recommend using a small amount of ascorbic acids. It retains the flavor and color for a long time.  Moreover, it also works as a natural preservative for the sauce.

Shelf Stable Hot Sauce Ingredients

1. Fresh Hot Peppers – (10 – 15 pieces)

You can take any type of pepper according to your heat preference. For example, you can prepare the shelf-stable hot sauce with Jalapenos or Serranos.

2. Garlic – 2 cloves

Garlic will add a good flavor. So, you should use 2 cloves of garlic.

3. Onion – Half of a medium-sized onion

You also can use onion to add extra flavor to the sauce. Half of a medium-sized onion is adequate. 

4. Pickling Salt – 1 tablespoon

Salt is mandatory for sauce recipes. You need 1 tablespoon of salt for this sauce recipe. Salt not only balances the taste, it also works as a natural preservative. 

5. Distilled White Vinegar – 1 cup

Distilled white vinegar is the most essential element for making this shelf-stable sauce. You will require 1 cup of vinegar. 

6. Water – ½ cup

You should keep ½ cup of water to adjust the consistency.

Note: Many professionals suggest not to use water when you want to make a shelf-stable hot sauce.

7. Seasoning Ingredients (Optional)

Adding ½ teaspoon of sugar, paprika, and black pepper to the sauce can be a cherry on top.

How to Prepare Shelf Stable Hot Sauce Recipe

Now, we are going to tell the valuable step-by-step recipe for a shelf-stable sauce.

Step 1: Prepare the Pepper, Garlic, and Onion

• Peeled the garlic & Onion.
• Wash the peppers, garlic, and onion properly.
• Now, dry them with a clean towel.
• Cut the stem of the peppers.
• Lastly, cut the peppers into the middle.

Step 2: Aging the Peppers, Onion, and Garlic with Salt

• Take a plastic bag and put the hot peppers, onion, and garlic into the bag.
• Then, measure the weight of the bag.
• Now, you have to add 4% salt to the total weight. ( For this recipe, 1 tablespoon of pickling salt is enough)
• After that vacuum seal the plastic bag.
• Keep the bag at room temperature for 3 – 4 weeks.

Step 3: Blending for a Making Smooth Puree

After a month, you have to open the bag. The peppers, garlic, and onions are aged properly.

• Now, take a food processor.
• Blend the aged peppers, garlic, and onion with the juice produced after aging, for 3 – 5 minutes.
• If you want to make the sauce very flavorful, now you should add the seasoning ingredients.
• Then, add 1 cup vinegar to the mixture and blend again.
• You can add ½ cup of water to get a nice consistency of the sauce. If the consistency is fine, we recommend not adding any water.
• After blending, you will get a smooth puree of the hot sauce.

Step 4: Heat Treatment

Heat treatment is a necessary step for making the sauce shelf stable.

• Take a saucepan and pour the puree into the pan.
• Then, heat the puree for 10 minutes at 83°C – 88°C.
• During heating, constantly stir the sauce to avoid burning.

Step 5: Cooling

After heating, bring down the saucepan from the induction and let the sauce be cooled at room temperature. After cooling the sauce is ready to serve.

How to Store Homemade Hot Sauce?

Proper storing is very important to increase the shelf life of the sauce. So, our experimenters have found storing rules to make the sauce shelf-stable.

• Use glass or stainless steel bottles or jars.
• Sterilize the storage bottles or jars.
• Keep the sauce moisture-resistant.
• Use tools to airtight the bottles.
• Keep the bottle in the refrigerator.

Conclusion

The article on Shelf Stable Hot Sauce Recipe gives a chance to prepare a customized homemade hot sauce that lasts for up to 1 year. If you use the product and apply the process our experts advise, we guarantee, you can prepare a delicious shelf-stable hot sauce.

Moreover, don’t forget about the proper storing process which is another vital process to increase the shelf life of the sauce. Therefore, prepare once a year and enjoy all over the year.