Okay, I am all about sampling and experimenting with new chili sauce brands and hell there seem to be as many as grains of sand on the beach these days.   One good thing is that we now have more healthy option to choose from made made with natural ingredients.  Evolving from with those who’s ingredients list looks something from a science experiment.  Well in say that sometimes when it comes down to it you just want the basics.  Just Jalapeno, just Habanero,  just Naga Jolokia(if you are lucky to get it), just scotch bonnet made from fresh chillies.  Allowing us to enjoy each peppers own particular characteristics. If someone were to ask you, “what does a Jalapeno or Habanero(any chile for that matter) taste like?, what would you answer be?  Could you even answer the question?  This is why its always good to start from the beginning giving you a pure understanding of each chili.  Once you have accomplished this you can move on to your next step of creating a sauce with more ingredients for a more complex flavored sauce constructed from the base flavor of the chili.  This is all giving a more rounded and harmonious taste experience.   Cause anyone can make “HOT” sauce, but the challenge is can you make a great tasting sauce.  Most fall quite short or don’t even come close and just get the “HOT” part right… WRONG!

So, let start with the basics, the beginning, the egg or the chicken, in this case the chile.

For all you chili head out there and “wanna-be” sauce makers, here is a basic chili sauce recipe that can be used for any chile.  I am all about using nothing but the best and freshest ingredients possible. If you want to use cheap ingredients you get s%#t for a product.  That’s just me.

Donte’s Back to Basics Chile Sauce

Ingredients

1lbs FRESH chiles(your choice) stemmed

2C White distilled vinegar (Second batch try Apple cider vinegar, I use Braggs Apple Cider or Katz Apple Cider Vinegar)

2T Sea Salt(Fleur de Sel or Sel Gris)

Construction

You can do the next step one of two ways…

Rinse the chilies in a colander under hot running water(you may want to use a veggie wash so to get any chemicals or waxes removed.  We want to eat the chili not the farmers chemical treatment.); pat dry. Transfer chilies to the bowl of a food processor along with the salt. Process, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until finely chopped, about 1 minute.

or

Add chillies and salt to tall container or pitch blend using immersion blender( I live by my immersion blender. works great and less clean up.)

Next

Transfer the chilies mixture to a glass jar. Cover and let sit in a cool place to ripen for 2 days, without stirring.

Uncover and stir in the vinegar. Cover and let sit in a cool place for 5 days to let age and allow the flavors to meld.

Set a mesh strainer over a bowl. Pour the chilie mixture into the strainer and press it through the mesh screen with the back of a spoon. Discard solids (If you want you can disregard this step to keep the sauce thick).Pour sauce into a glass bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for up to 6 months.

Shake before each use.