Name: Simple Hot Sauce
Total time: 1 h
Ingredients: 6 ounces red jalapeño or Fresno chiles; 1 carrot , peeled and chopped; 1 shallot , quartered; 6 garlic cloves , peeled; 2 ounces habanero chiles , stemmed; 1 cup distilled white vinegar; 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar; 1 tablespoon salt

Why This Recipe Works

We liked the clean flavor of habanero chiles, but we found that it was best to temper their intense heat with milder (but still plenty spicy) jalapeños. Brown sugar, shallot, and garlic also balanced the heat and added depth while white vinegar lent a clean, sharp brightness. We started by broiling the aromatics and the peppers since we didn’t like the flavor of an uncooked sauce. Our sauce was a little thin once blended, so we turned to a unique ingredient for the fix: a carrot. Some commercial hot sauces include carrots, and we found that just one gave our sauce the right body, as well as a nice touch of sweetness.

Before You Begin

You can remove the seeds from the chiles if you prefer a milder sauce. Although it’s tempting to store this sauce in plastic squeeze bottles, it’s better to store it in glass since plastic can add off-flavors.

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack 8 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Place jalapeños, carrot, shallot, and garlic on aluminum foil–lined baking sheet. Broil vegetables, turning jalapeños once, until jalapeños are black and blistered, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Transfer jalapeños to bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for 10 minutes. Transfer remaining broiled vegetables to blender jar.
3. Stem and seed jalapeños and remove most of blackened skin. Transfer jalapeños to blender jar with other vegetables. Add habaneros, vinegar, sugar, and salt and process until smooth, about 1 minute.
4. Using funnel and ladle, transfer hot sauce to 2-cup glass bottle. Let sauce cool completely. Cover and refrigerate or serve immediately. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 months; flavor will deepen over time.)