Some Like It Hot

The record setting Texas heat wave of 2011 is finally broken! In order to celebrate its end let's break out some hot chiles!

Dangers aside, I really like cooking with chile peppers. Caution must be followed when handling chile peppers. For instance, you will tearfully regret touching your eyes while handling chiles. Remember, there's a reason for police to use pepper spray. Chiles are hot because they produce the chemical capsaicin and that is the same chemical used in a pepper spray.

This recipe results in a flexible hot sauce that supplies two nice culinary attributes, spiciness and acidity. For a recipe featuring another method of chile preparation, check out this previous blog post: Mexican Meatball Soup.

Texas Heat Wave Hot Sauce

Ingredients:

• 10 habanero chiles
• 1 red bell pepper, halved, seeded, coarsely chopped
• the zest from one medium orange
• 4 tablespoons Triple Sec liqueur*, divided
• 2 tablespoons salt, divided
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup Champagne vinegar
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided

Preparations:

Halve and seed chiles. Puree chiles, red bell pepper, orange zest, 2 tablespoons Triple Sec liqueur, 1 tablespoon salt, and garlic in a blender. We want to ferment this chile mixture for 12 hours, so, transfer the blended ingredients to a bowl then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Don't refrigerate, just let it ferment at room temperature.

12 hours later . . . . combine the fermented pureed chile mixture in a blender with the Champagne vinegar, 2 more tablespoons of Triple Sec liqueur and another tablespoon of salt. Puree this mixture until smooth. 

Set a fine mesh strainer over a small saucepan. Pour the mixture into the strainer, pressing on solids to extract the hot sauce. Remove the strainer, discarding solids. Heat the hot sauce over medium-low heat. While the sauce is cooking, stir 2 teaspoons of cornstarch and 2 teaspoons of water in a small bowl until smooth. Whisk this cornstarch mixture into the heating hot sauce, simmer while whisking constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in 3 tablespoons of butter. Add more salt to taste if desired. Serve warm.

Comments:

Nice hot sauce. Don't be discouraged by the tartness of this sauce when tasted plain. When used atop any meat the tartness will tame down. This sauce would be a winner on chicken wings but also serves nicely with fish.. Leftovers can keep in the refrigerator for a good while and make a good sandwich spread.

* Much of this recipe idea came from one seen in the magazine "bon appetit". They used St. Germaine liqueur instead of Triple Sec. Both liqueurs are very sweet.