Belizean Style Hot Sauce

Some of you may recall from this post that I love hot sauces, especially those that use habaneros. I have acquired a lot more sauces since my last little chili inquest:

 Recently, I was lucky enough to get ahold of some habaneros to make my own!

Oh Marie Sharp

Picking a type was a no brainer. Of all my sauces, Mary Sharp's Habanero Pepper Sauce is my favourite. The ingredient list is pretty straight forward so I acquired the few other ingredients besides habaneros and kind of winged it; essentially I did what I would do if I were to make a bbq sauce out of the ingredient list, except keeping the chilis raw in all their painful glory.

A simple Belizean Style Hot Sauce:

Ingredients

- Habanero chilis x 5 small raw ones. Stems removed, but seeds and placental tissue (which holds the seeds) kept in. I'm aware this is where the capsaicin is at its meanest, but I don't get to use these chilis often so might as well bring the pain.

- Carrots x 2 chopped up

- Garlic x 2 cloves

- Lime juice x 2 limes worth

- Onion x 1/4

- Vinegar x 2 tbsp

- Salt x a good pinch

- bit of water to soften up sautee'd ingredients


Directions

1) Chop up onion, carrot, and garlic and sautee until fragrant. Add a bit of water and allow to simmer until the carrots are soft.

2) Add mixture to a food processor along with habaneros, lime juice and a good pinch of salt. Puree until smooth.

3) Add mix to a sanitized jar, add vinegar, seal the jar and give it a shake. Sample for seasoning (and to experience the capsaicin euphoria...after the pain) and store in fridge to mature.

Result

This sauce is one BAD hombre!

Well it was absolutely delicious. The flavour I experience with bottled hot sauces seem to be a little more mellow and complex - probably the result of maturing for a few weeks, but I now firmly believe that every food lover needs to experience a good Belizean style habanero hot sauce while its still warm. The almost tomato-y fruit flavour of the habanero is much more bright and intense and worth celebrating. The colour is also incredible. It was an almost electric orange. The picture doesn't do it justice but it looked like orange gelato served in a dully light bowl. Is capsaicin slightly hallucinogenic?  

Anyways, it wasn't all puppies and sunshine. I'm a man that prides himself in being able to handle some heat, but experiencing this sauce while it was still fresh was something new to me. I had to take my socks off and even just rinsing my hands in luke warm water half an hour later somehow made my tongue hurt.

Here is a gratuitous shot of me in pain

I wasn't lying on the floor, its supposed to be right side up, but I every time I load this pic it ends up this way. Whatever.