# Hot Sauce 101



## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 20, 2018)

Well the garden really produced this year and the harvest is over. We had great success with our cucumbers, beans, zucchini, different varieties of leaf lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers, peppers, peppers!!!

I wish I had taken some pics of the garden this year. Probably our best one yet. The tomatoes, leaf lettuce, and beans were enjoyed all summer long. The cucumbers were eaten and turned into a variety of pickles as usual. We pulled and ate a lot of peppers. But we had so many and we were on frost alert last week so I had to pick them quick. That meant it was hot Sauce time!

Here’s a quick tutorial on how to make an easy hot sauce. This is the way we do it around Wonder Dog Ranch every fall. 







Here’s a tray of the hot peppers I pulled the day before the frost. Left hundreds of habos out there. Just didn’t need them. They produced like champs this year. 






The sweet bell and carmine peppers in another tin. 







More bells on the kitchen window ledge. 


I did a to many sauces this year and took more pics on some and less on others. You get busy and forget. Sorry about that. I have the most pics of the last Sauce i made this year which I named 13 Ghosts. Because of this place I’m going to use this sauce as the tutorial.

Wonder Dog Ranch 13 Ghosts Hot Sauce:







Here’s why’s it’s named 13 Ghosts. 







Ghost peppers with seeds removed. I don’t waste a ton of time getting every single seed out. If I miss a few it is what it is. 







Keeping with the 13 theme let’s add 13 habos to the mix.







Pots starting to look hot. 







Add garlic. 







Add bell peppers. 







Add onions, jalapeños, and a few salsa peppers. 







Cover all ingredients with water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10-15 minutes on high then bring down to a simmer. 

CAUTION: these hotter peppers will turn your home into a police, pepper spray training course! I cannot over emphasize this. If you have kids or anyone who is sensitive to this take it outside and use the grill. After making this sauce my wife complained and coughed for a few days. Tender times at the ranch....







Simmer until almost all the water is gone. But be careful you don't want to burn on the bottom. 







Put what’s left in the blender. Again be careful with this. Hot in The blender can bad. BE SAFE.







All blended up.







Strainer ready.







Sauce strained.







Nice smooth sauce.







Salt, pepper & some honey added. 







Add vinegar and distilled water to reach your desired flavor & consistency.







Wash & Boil your bottles. I also reheat the sauce in a pan before bottling. It thins it out and helps it to pour better. 







13 Ghost sauce bottled up! These were the last of over 75 bottles I had this year. I made this overly hot, hot sauce just to use them up. 







Bottle labels being printed over at xtreme robs. Rob is out local graphics guy and he can do anything from decals, to shirts. To banners. Thanks a lot rob for the great decals for this years hot sauce! 







Ladies & gentlemen I give you the 2018 hot sauce’s from Wonder Dog Ranch. 

We started with Orange Habanero, Peach Habanero, Cherry Bomb, and Ghost Mango. 

We used a great pic of Wonder Dog Ranches Hooper the Wonder Dog in Arkansas hunting last January for the hot sauce labels. Here it is:






I love this pic of ole hoop! Eyes to the sky! Any duck hunter can tell this dog is all business! Dogs my best friend and it’s killing us both that she tore her acl the day after the fattie contest and lost this years hunting season. For those who want to know she’s doing well, and healing up pretty good. 

The Cherry Bomb sauce was cherries, and cherry peppers. The heat got lost durning the process. I think it just wasn’t enough heat with those mild peppers and then adding the vinegar....

Orange Habo is a habanero based sauce with real oranges and some OJ used for the sweetness. 


Peach Habo sauce was a Habo based sauce with white flesh peaches used for the sugar. Some honey as well. 

Ghost Mango was a ghost pepper sauce that used mangos to offset the heat. It’s not nearly as hot as the “ghost” makes it sound. I really added a lot of mangos to offset the heat. 


On the last day of early goose season my buddy Robby, @chocdog , myself, and Wonder Dog Ranches Super Champion Scout limited out in 28 minutes and took this great pic:








I knew I had to make a special hot sauce for this occasion. So we made Wonder Dog Ranch Limited Out 2018. This sauce was cherry peppers mixed with Habos, and a few ghosts. I believe there’s a bit of molasses in this one as well. No fruit. Just heat for this limited edition sauce. Here’s the label:






Scout sitting with her retrieves like a champion! This day was worth a special sauce!


No label for the 13 Ghost sauce as I already bothered xtreme rob twice for labels. And the 13 sauce was only a few bottles for a few people I know who like to torture there mouth. 

I hope y’all enjoyed this post and I hope it might have taught somebody something. It’s no @Bearcarver tutorial but it’s the best I can do. I think it shows the basics of making hot sauce and I hope it inspires someone who wouldn’t give it a try to jump into it! It’s easy and a great gift! 

Quick note: xtreme rob asked me how much I sell this stuff for... told him I always give it away. When we started looking at what I had into it I needed a few more beers. Lol! He said I should sell it. I think that’d take all the fun out of it! 


Enjoy SMF,
Scott, Hooper, and Scout


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## chilerelleno (Oct 20, 2018)

Wish I could *LIKE *this thread a dozen times.


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 20, 2018)

Appreciate it chili! High praise from a member like you!

Scott


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## gmc2003 (Oct 21, 2018)

Scott that is a fine tutorial, Nicely done, and the sauce looks out of this world. Great Job. I'm glad Hoop is mending well - it's tough for a pooch to understand they have to take it easy sometimes. 

Point for sure.

Chris


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## tropics (Oct 21, 2018)

Nice job on the sauce I have a bunch of reapers to pick still.Going to save this I have a ferment going with the reapers.
POINTS
Richie


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## SmokinAl (Oct 21, 2018)

Great thread!
Great tutorial!
Very nicely done, Scott!!
And it sure looks good on the carousel!!
Al


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## bill ace 350 (Oct 21, 2018)

nice! How long will it keep? does it have to be refrigerated?


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## Braz (Oct 21, 2018)

I can taste the heat coming off my computer screen. All looks great. We did an emergency pepper harvest yesterday in advance of a freeze warning (got to 23* overnite).


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## handymanstan (Oct 21, 2018)

Very nice tutorial Scott.  I am still waiting for mine;). Glad Hooper is getting better. I might have to come out to the parlor Thursday night to sample the sauces.

Stan


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## dr k (Oct 21, 2018)

Nice!  I made a batch of Choc Hab hot sauce and was wondering about bottles and labels but ended up getting a two pack of white/transparent condiment bottles at the Dollar Tree.  It turned out pretty smooth but can cut the tips to size depending on consistency.  It seems to be the year of the pepper with about 1,000 peppers on two plants.


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## SonnyE (Oct 21, 2018)

My tongue is burning just looking at this thread!
Whew Hoo!

I hope Hoop heals up good.
My little guy is my best friend, too. He's almost 15 years old now.


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## WaterRat (Oct 21, 2018)

Looks great and I can feel my taste buds burning! That tailgate full of sky pigs looks fantastic too ;)


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## TomKnollRFV (Oct 21, 2018)

I'll take a Cherry bomb and Orange Hab and give you a more then a few beers rofl!

Looks great. Glad you guys had success with Scout. Some day I'll learn how to hunt bird and ask you guys to take me with. Never hunted with a dog before, my cousin claims his dog can do it, but the thing spends more time trying to get in the lunch cooler then trying to get the squirrels we shot.. LOL


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## AllAces (Oct 21, 2018)

TomKnollRFV said:


> I'll take a Cherry bomb and Orange Hab and give you a more then a few beers rofl!
> 
> Looks great. Glad you guys had success with Scout. Some day I'll learn how to hunt bird and ask you guys to take me with. Never hunted with a dog before, my cousin claims his dog can do it, but the thing spends more time trying to get in the lunch cooler then trying to get the squirrels we shot.. LOL



If you eat those ghost peppers, you will be sitting in a cooler of ice.

My no name ghost pepper sauce:

About two cups ghost peppers
A cup of apple cider vinegar
A cup of molasses
Liquify in blender, strain, simmer and reduce to about one cup.


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## TomKnollRFV (Oct 21, 2018)

AllAces said:


> If you eat those ghost peppers, you will be sitting in a cooler of ice.
> 
> My no name ghost pepper sauce:
> 
> ...


I don't think I'd eat the ghost pepper stuff. I mean..actually if Chocdog got me going on a dare I probably would. I think if I spent a weekend with those guys I'd be having a blast until some one got me to eat ghost pepper hot sauce. Then I'd be living in the cooler.. LOL!


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Holly,

Heat level not what you expected? Too hot? I think these things are pure fire. 

Scott


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Appreciate it chris. 

Yeah ole hoop just doesn’t get it when I take scout out hunting every weekend. Makes you feel bad. But in the long run it’s helping her. What can you do?

Scott


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## TomKnollRFV (Oct 21, 2018)

hillbillyrkstr said:


> Appreciate it chris.
> 
> Yeah ole hoop just doesn’t get it when I take scout out hunting every weekend. Makes you feel bad. But in the long run it’s helping her. What can you do?
> 
> Scott


Don't look at the sad puppy eyes. Then you are doomed Scott.. LOL!


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Richie,

I grew one Trinidad scorpion plant this year. It didn’t do to well. Only produced 3 peppers. I froze them. Not sure what I’m gonna do with them yet. 

Make some sauce with some of yours and let me know how it turns out!

Scott


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Appreciate it al!

Figured this thread could help people see how easy making hot sauce is and get some more people to jump in. 


Scott


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## SonnyE (Oct 21, 2018)

AllAces said:


> If you eat those ghost peppers, you will be sitting in a cooler of ice.



AllAces,
You left the "h" out of "sitting in a cooler of ice...."

Come on Ice Cream! :eek:


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## TomKnollRFV (Oct 21, 2018)

hillbillyrkstr said:


> Appreciate it al!
> 
> Figured this thread could help people see how easy making hot sauce is and get some more people to jump in.
> 
> ...


What I need to do is steal some of your excess peppers if I get back out to visit. LOL!


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Bill ace,

I’ve kept bottles for almost a year. It has a lot of vinegar in it. I know people I’ve given them to who keep them over a year. And yeah i tell everyone to refrigerate them. 

Scott


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Braz,

Make some hot sauce!! You won’t regret it!

Scott


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Stan,

Come on out!! Your always welcome! I’ll  keep a few bottles for you! 

Scott


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Dr K,

I hear yah! My Habo and ghost plants were loaded! And I had like 8 Habo plants! I always use the hot sauce bottles because I give them away. But those clear squeeze bottles work great if it’s not just for home use. 

Scott


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Sonny,

I hear yah bud. We treat the girls like queens around here. You can’t name your place Wonder Dog Ranch if the Dogs don’t rule the roost. LOL.

Scott


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

LOL water rat!

We call them sky rats around here. 

Scott


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## kelbro (Oct 21, 2018)

After looking at that tutorial, all I can think of is 'Come on ice cream!'


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Lol tom! 

Ole Hoop, and Scout are pretty well trained. They get the job done and enjoy doing it. 

Scott


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## TomKnollRFV (Oct 21, 2018)

hillbillyrkstr said:


> Lol tom!
> 
> Ole Hoop, and Scout are pretty well trained. They get the job done and enjoy doing it.
> 
> Scott


Yah see. If I bring my dog next year..I'm leaving her till she's a bit more useful ... LOL


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## tropics (Oct 21, 2018)

hillbillyrkstr said:


> Richie,
> 
> I grew one Trinidad scorpion plant this year. It didn’t do to well. Only produced 3 peppers. I froze them. Not sure what I’m gonna do with them yet.
> 
> ...


Scott if you want some seeds please PM your address,I dried alot fro real ripe peppers.
Richie


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## bluewhisper (Oct 21, 2018)

My ingredients, methods and results are very similar. You beat me by a mile on the labels.

One lesson I learned is, if you mix red and green pods you get a brown sauce. If you stay with only red or only green pods for a particular batch of sauce, you get a distinct red or green color.

Edited to add, thanks for making the effort to post all that narrative and images. Isn't it fun to compose a how-to like that?


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Pm sent Richie!


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Blue,

Yeah the colored peppers and fruits you use and mix give you your color. I usually mix my fruit and peppers based on taste but also a second thought is color. I did a great pineapple ghost last year that was a great yellow/orangish color. Great flavor too!


The 13 ghosts turned the ugly shade of tan because I used a few jalapeños & a few green peppers with the orange and red hots. It was something I could have avoided by using red or orange bell peppers but it’s what I had left from the garden. And when I saw it I kinda liked it. This sauce is ugly! It deserves to look ugly to! 

Side note to the 13 ghosts sauce: we had our annual pumpkin party at the farm today where a hundred or so families come and the kids pick pumpkins from the field. I brought a bottle of 13 sauce and hurt a few people. It’s not killer on the front but them ghosts don’t go away. They linger and hurt.... lmao! 

Scott


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## TomKnollRFV (Oct 21, 2018)

hillbillyrkstr said:


> Blue,
> 
> Yeah the colored peppers and fruits you use and mix give you your color. I usually mix my fruit and peppers based on taste but also a second thought is color. I did a great pineapple ghost last year that was a great yellow/orangish color. Great flavor too!
> 
> ...


Aww hell yer making me wanna try it now.


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 21, 2018)

Tom,

trust me you want nothing to do with 13 ghosts. I don’t know why anyone would want anything to do with this stuff. But i  know a few who do. 

Scott


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## TomKnollRFV (Oct 21, 2018)

hillbillyrkstr said:


> Tom,
> 
> trust me you want nothing to do with 13 ghosts. I don’t know why anyone would want anything to do with this stuff. But i  know a few who do.
> 
> Scott


I'm crazy. I mean I've eaten crazy spicy food before. There's a part of me that just wants to prank people with it too. Though I know guys who think Scotch Bonnets qualify as 'fairly mild'


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## bluewhisper (Oct 21, 2018)

That brown 13 sauce would be perfect for spiking a pumpkin pie filling. Like if you use maybe 1/4 teaspoon, maybe less, in a whole pie filling. Or maybe a batch of pumpkin cookies. It would take a few seconds to start to kick in, and then it would be a glow without overwhelming the other flavors.

Or, you could pour a whole bottle into the World's Largest Pumpkin Pie and cause a panic. 

Habaneros are really good for that, but ghosts have a much longer sustain. For me anyway, habs take about 10 - 15 seconds to come on and then I'm lit for about 5 or 10 minutes. 

When I was first getting used to them, it was like stepping through a portal  I could sort of see the world, poorly through a blur of tears, but I was not actually in the world which you ordinary humans know.  Ghosts take about the same amount of time to hit but they last as a mouth and lip burn for half an hour or so.

Funny story: There is a hot pepper festival in Madison, Indiana (over several years). One sauce maker had a table with sauces etc., and as a teaser he had a plate of THE BREAD which was diced into 1/2-inch cubes. Some boys about 15 years old or so walked in all confident and when they came back out they had steam blowing out of their ears. 

They appeared to be in a humbled condition.

Here we go, copied from the ChileHeads list:
-----

Ingredients
1½ cup Whole wheat flour
1½ cup White flour
½ cup V8 or similar veggie juice
½ cup Water
1 teaspoon Salt
1½ tablespoon Evaporated dried milk
1½ tablespoon Brown sugar
1 tablespoon Honey or sorgham
1½ teaspoon Fast rise auto bread yeast (2 tsp normal yeast)
2 tablespoon Butter
2 - 5 ounces    Ground dried Red Savina™ Habanero, (If you've used the stuff, you know how insane this is...)

Preparation

(all wheat may be used, but not all white- the Savina (tm) seems to go good with wheat breads while white has too little flavor for it IMHO)

Heat liquid ingredients to about 100 F. Pour into cannister. Put in dry ingredients, yeast last. Set machine to desired finish. Done. I'll leave it to individuals to try and figure out how to adapt this to their own style of breadmaking. Like I said, this is for one of those auto bread machines simply becuase I don't know how to bake bread otherwise. If it ain't easy, I ain't got time to do it. I'm sure there are lots of different herb combinations that could be used as well.

Hope you all have fun with this! - ~Jim


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## Jeff Wright (Oct 22, 2018)

Like for the great write up and post.  I will take your word for it as to the tastiness of some of your suaces.  Ultra hot just not for me.  Might like some of those fruitier ones though.  Looks like it must have been some hunt!


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## TomKnollRFV (Oct 22, 2018)

Jeff Wright said:


> Like for the great write up and post.  I will take your word for it as to the tastiness of some of your suaces.  Ultra hot just not for me.  Might like some of those fruitier ones though.  Looks like it must have been some hunt!


I'm already begging Scott for those fruit ones. I love combining fruit with heat like he did. Though ghost any thing seems a bit much to me...maybe I'm a whimp ;)


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## Jeff Wright (Oct 22, 2018)

TomKnollRFV said:


> maybe I'm a whimp



When it comes to sadistically burning my lips, I know I am a whimp!!!


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 23, 2018)

Blue,

Oh man I can’t imagine this brown stuff in a pumpkin pie.... lol! I could see trips to the emergency room!

Scott


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 23, 2018)

Appreciate it Jeff.


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 23, 2018)

Sorry tom not sending the sauce by mail. If you make the fattie contest next year I’m sure we will have some left.

Scott


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## indaswamp (Oct 24, 2018)

Curious as to why you don't ferment your hot sauce a couple of days prior to boiling?


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 24, 2018)

You know I’ve just never done it that way. This is the way I was taught years ago and I’ve always done it this way. Maybe I’ll look into that next year for a batch or two. But no real reason as to me not liking it. Just doing what I’ve always done. 

Scott


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## browneyesvictim (Oct 24, 2018)

Nice write-up! I can feel the habanero hangover already just lookin at the pictures. I really like your process. I like simple. When I used to make it, I never boiled or cooked it at all. Just salt and garlic with enough vinegar in in blender to desired consistency. I think max potency and flavor was achieved that way. I think I burnt my whole system out now though... Too late. Then I finally matured enough to realize I don't have anything to prove like I did in my younger years


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## indaswamp (Oct 24, 2018)

10-4... I've always fermented because it's traditional here in louisiana. Seeing your thread reminded me that I needed to pick red jalapenos from the garden and make sriracha. I just finished the mash, it's in the jar until the bubbles stop and fermentation is complete.
Kudos on the sauce, looks good, but too hot for even this ole coonass! LOL! Like.


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 24, 2018)

Thanks brown!

I hear ya on the hot. I dumb my hottest peppers down with fruit a lot. I heard a few people I have sauce to tell me it wasn’t hot enough that’s why I made the 13 ghosts batch. It’s not for me. 

Scott


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 24, 2018)

Yeah it’s something I wouldn’t mind trying Inda. And like I said I’m not making crazy hot sauce for me. I’m too old for that myself. You definitely lose your ability to handle that stuff over the years. At least I did. You guys crack me up down there with your “coonass” references.

Scott


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## indaswamp (Oct 24, 2018)

I've made Louisiana hot sauce with cayenne peppers and 1% sea salt and let it ferment for 3 years. That was a pretty good batch. Need to grow more cayenne and do that again.


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 24, 2018)

I’ve never seen cayenne plants here inda. I’d love to grow them! Might have to do an online search for some seeds.

Scott


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## indaswamp (Oct 24, 2018)

Cayenne is the pepper used to make Louisiana hot sauce while the tabasco pepper is used to make it's name sake-Tabasco sauce. Tabasco pepper is a little hotter than a cayenne.


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## indaswamp (Oct 24, 2018)

BTW, love the fancy labels....sure beats my masking tape and a marker labels! LOL!


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## TomKnollRFV (Oct 24, 2018)

I had to google Coonass when I first joined because of Foam. Now I have to explain to people why I mark some things down as 'Coonass version' or not.. 

Also Scott you aren't that much older then me!


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## smokininthegarden (Oct 25, 2018)

How do you get habaneros to produce in your growing zone? I live in Montana, so similar zone but I have never 
had any plants produce. They grow great but no fruit. Do you have a secret?

Cal


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## SmokinVOLfan (Oct 26, 2018)

Finally ran across this man those sauces look great! I’ve always wanted to do it I think you might have just inspired me. We love hot stuff around here would love to try a sauce with the Carolina reaper pepper.


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## Bearcarver (Oct 26, 2018)

Nice Job, Scott !!
Great Pics!!
And Who Doesn't love Labs?!?!
Thanks for showing.
Like.

Bear


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 26, 2018)

Appreciate it inda! 

I used tape in the past as well or could just tell by color. Nice to have graphics guy around. 

I definitely want to try Tabasco and cayenne seeds next year. I branch out a little more every year in the hot sauce department. 

Thanks again, 
Scott


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## browneyesvictim (Oct 26, 2018)

Im no pepper plant expert, but I have learned...
1. They like full sun
2. Don't water them too much- Over watering is the most common problem. Wait until you start to see them wilt.
3. They like lots of room. Plant in the ground or us a BIG pot.
4. Grow several plants (not just one or two) for pollinating.
5. I believe in a product - Alaska fish fertilizer/Morbloom. It lowers the PH of your soil to increases the yield.


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 26, 2018)

Smokininthegarden,

I’ve never had an issue with habanero plants. They’ve always produced like crazy. Crazy like 50-100+ peppers per plant and I usually plant 6-10 of them. 

Now my scorpion only produced 3 peppers this year. It wasn’t looking healthy at all. I did that one in a pot. 

And about 4 years ago my first ever ghost peppers were lousy. But ever since then they each produce dozen and dozen of peppers. 

I till the garden every year, and mix in fertilizer. Then I cover the whole thing with black plastic and stake it down. This helps weeds from growing and also soaks up the sun and keeps the ground warm. This I assume really helps with the hot peppers as they love the heat. Then I cut holes in the plastic, scoop out dirt, and put a plant followed by good garden mixed with the soil i scooped out in the hole. Usually once a summer I hit the plants with another dose of fertilizer. 

Seems to work for me. Pick peppers through October most years. 

Good luck with your garden peppers next year!

Scott


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 26, 2018)

I like it vol!! 

This is exactly why I posted this tutorial. I hope to see your sauce on this page soon! Let me know if you have any questions. 

Scott


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 26, 2018)

I Appreciate it bear!

Agreed, labs rule the roost at WDR. 

Scott


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 26, 2018)

All great advice brown!


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## smokininthegarden (Oct 26, 2018)

hillbillyrkstr said:


> Smokininthegarden,
> 
> I’ve never had an issue with habanero plants. They’ve always produced like crazy. Crazy like 50-100+ peppers per plant and I usually plant 6-10 of them.
> 
> ...


 
Thanks for the suggestions maybe I’ll give them another try next year, I love habaneros.
It was probably 30 years or so ago when I tried them, long before most people had even heard of habaneros, at least they weren’t common in grocery stores then, like they are now. 

Maybe it was just a bad pepper year that year, who knows.

Cal


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## indaswamp (Oct 28, 2018)

pepper seeds love heat. I put my pepper seeds in a wet paper towel then in a plastic bag. I put this on top of my water heater where the heat is 85~90*. This starts the germination with 90% of seeds starting. I pick the best ones with the longest tap roots and plant those in flats. Shoots spring up in about 5~7 days. Water from the bottom until plant has at least 8 leaves. Those very hot peppers are finicky to germinate, this has a high success rate. Happy gardening....


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## indaswamp (Oct 28, 2018)

browneyesvictim said:


> 5. I believe in a product - Alaska fish fertilizer/Morbloom. It lowers the PH of your soil to increases the yield.


I trench compost all the fish remains after cleaning from the fish I catch over the summer. This year I guess I have buried close to 300# of fish parts in one of my 24'X4' raised beds. That along with the yard of compost, makes one great garden come spring time....


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 28, 2018)

Great info inda! I guarantee this helps a lot of pepper growers next season including myself! Thank you!

Scott


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## indaswamp (Oct 28, 2018)

BTW, I finished my sriracha yesterday...best batch I've made in a while. I let the peppers turn very very ripe red, almost to the point where the peppers were wrinkling on the vine then I picked and processed them. Money! I will keep doing this from now on as it makes a big difference in the quality of the sauce.


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 28, 2018)

Sounds light out inda! Wish I could sample it my friend! 

Scott


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## forktender (Oct 29, 2018)

Damn, that looks good Scott.
What are those ugly grey and black things on your truck?:D:rolleyes:


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 29, 2018)

Fork,

We call them sky rats out this way. Lol! 

Scott


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## indaswamp (Oct 29, 2018)

hillbillyrkstr said:


> Great info inda! I guarantee this helps a lot of pepper growers next season including myself! Thank you!
> 
> Scott



Forgot to mention that it takes about a week for the seeds to germinate on the water heater in the bag. The super hot varieties might take a little longer. Doing this will speed germination by a couple weeks for the hot varieties.


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 29, 2018)

I’m gonna try this next spring!


Thanks


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## gruntz13 (Oct 30, 2018)

I want to try every one of these.  I'm really interested in the Cherry bomb . Any chance of sharing that recipe?  

Well done


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 31, 2018)

Gruntz,

I don’t ever write down my quantities. I did two batches of ghost mango sauce this year and they are two totally different colors. 

I can tell you cherry bomb ingredients are:

1. A lot of cherry peppers. Probably 4-6 dozen.

2. 3-4 bell peppers

3. 1 whole onion

4. 1/2 dozen or so garlic cloves

5. 1/2 or so habaneros 

6. Cherries. I used frozen cherries as I couldn’t find any fresh ones this year. 

This is a Sauce I’ve made for 3-4 years now and this is the first year I’ve actually added cherries. The cherries or something else really put a dent in the heat of this sauce. It’s almost non existent. This was the one sauce that disappointed me this year. If I had it to do over again I’d add at least a dozen habaneros, and I wouldn’t cut the seeds out. I’d probably add a few ghost peppers as well. 

Good luck with your batch! Add more heat! 

Scott


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## gruntz13 (Oct 31, 2018)

Thank you much!  Can't wait to give this a try.


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## hillbillyrkstr (Oct 31, 2018)

Not a problem. Let me know if you have any questions. 

Scott


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## gruntz13 (Sep 4, 2019)

hillbillyrkstr
 Sorry to revive an old thread, but I wasn't able to send you a dm.  Do you do anything special when bottling the sauces or just boil to clean then add the sauce, close the lid and be done with it?




hillbillyrkstr said:


> Well the garden really produced this year and the harvest is over. We had great success with our cucumbers, beans, zucchini, different varieties of leaf lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers, peppers, peppers!!!
> 
> I wish I had taken some pics of the garden this year. Probably our best one yet. The tomatoes, leaf lettuce, and beans were enjoyed all summer long. The cucumbers were eaten and turned into a variety of pickles as usual. We pulled and ate a lot of peppers. But we had so many and we were on frost alert last week so I had to pick them quick. That meant it was hot Sauce time!
> 
> ...


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## hillbillyrkstr (Sep 5, 2019)

I wash and then boil the bottles. Fill them when they and the sauce is hot and then cap them. I store them all in the basement fridge. They keep well like that. I still have a few bottles from last year. Use them weekly.

Good luck,
Scott


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