You can, but it won't taste the same. Tabasco sauces are fermented peppers which are aged in oak (I think.) barrels. A fermented sauce acquires an entirely different flavor.

Each can be good in its own way, but replicating or even coming reasonably close to any Tabasco sauce requires using a similar method.

Carol

taz,

I make a lot of hot sauce based on the recipe below, which is from a book by Jean Andrews, apparently once the Hot Pepper Queen of food-dom. ;-) It doesn't taste exactly like Tabasco sauce but it sure is good, and you can use whatever kind of hot pepper you like the flavour and heat level of.

I use mostly Hot Portugals. I don't know exactly how much a tabasco weighs, but to get the "consistency of rich cream" with 1/2 to 3/4 cup vinegar as described below I use about 1.5 ounces chopped hot peppers.

I use cider vinegar, and double the garlic cloves. Sometimes I add a peeled tomato or two (with red peppers; if you do this with a green hot pepper the sauce comes out a yucky brown colour). And I've never bothered with a sieve. I like the bit of texture of the occasional small shred of pepper.

Jean Andrews' instructions go on to suggest open-kettle sealing in a "sterilized bottle" and keeping on the shelf.

I personally have canned this hot sauce in 4-oz jars and processed in BWB for ten minutes; in 100% vinegar I, me, personally feel comfortable with it. But I have not found a recent, USDA-approved source that has tested it so I'm not recommending that.

It keeps for at least a month in the fridge (I've never had a small jar last longer than that!), and freezes well (you could do it in ice cube trays to have serving-size portions all ready to go).

And hot peppers themselves freeze well, so you could freeze them and make batches of hot sauce as needed.

I will warn you that making this stuff makes breathing in one's kitchen a little interesting! Ventilation highly recommended.

Z

******************************
Homemade "Tabasco" Sauce
Jean Andrews

12 Tabasco chiles
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 to 1 cup herbed chili vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

In a small nonreactive saucepan, boil the
chiles and garlic in 1/2 cup of the vinegar until tender. Place in a blender with the salt and sugar and puree. Run through a metal sieve if necessary.

Dilute this paste with more vinegar until it is the consistency of rich cream.

**************************

Happy hot saucing!

Z

Thank you! I don't really care if it tastes different, just wanted another easy way to preserve the peppers so I can use them to spice some meals up later on and certain foods will benefit from the addition of vinegar. I already have plenty dried and frozen. I could be wrong but I think it's just the red pepper sauce that's aged in barrels. The vinegar/liquid is fairy clear in the bottles I'm thinking of. It could be pure vinegar w/o water in fact.

taz,

I think you'll like it!

Rereading my post above I see I wasn't necessarily clear that this is an old recipe---I think from the 80s---and that I DON'T recommend the author's suggestion of "open-kettle" canning. (That's why I cut that part off the recipe.)

And I don't have a recent, USDA-approved source for a recipe like this being canned in in a boiling water bath. I do it but my tolerance for canning risk is not zero, only very very low (which means around here I am considered something of a cowboy. ;-) )

But it sounds like you're looking for something to keep in the fridge or freezer, in which case it'd suit you just fine.

Z

Ummm - isn't that "cowgirl" Zab? I thought I was the cowboy here ;-)

Funny to see your post today as I just made some tabasco sauce yesterday, and coincidentally used the same recipe (and I was winging it!). Came out real nice. Hopefully I'll get some more Tabasco peppers to ripen before the hard frost - these peppers sure ripen slowly!

TomNJ

Howdy, Tom! Nice to see y'all over here.

The problem with anything ending in "girl" is it's hard to get respect. And somehow "cowwoman" doesn't exactly inspire any either.... ;-)

Hey, if you have some real life tabasco peppers, maybe you can answer a question for me: how much do they weigh?

Jean Andrews' original recipe called for 12 tabascos, and I've been winging it in converting to the peppers I grow. I've never had a real-live tabasco, and online research revealed all kinds of info about these peppers, including length, history, and days to maturity, but nowehere a typical weight (way more research than the question was worth, as I got stubbornly annoyed I couldn't find it!).

As for ripening peppers, up here in the True North Strong and Free we've had hard frost for weeks. Had to pick a lot of my peppers green; I made a green batch and a red batch of Hot Portugal hot sauce.

Cheers,

Z

Hi Z,

How about "cowlady"? Better yet, Wildlady! After all, the crazy chances you take with unapproved recipes is truly wild! ;-)

This is my first year with Tabasco peppers. The plant is huge, and the peppers grow pointing up instead of down - looks weird but pretty. The peppers are a light creamy color, and eventually ripen to a soft red. Takes forever though as I picked my first lot just yesterday.

Tabascos are the only peppers that are juicy and solid, i.e. not hollow. They are very small - mine are only about 1" long, although I believe they can get a little larger under ideal conditions. It's dark and rainy here now, but I'll pick and weigh some tomorrow to get you a weight per pepper.

TomNJ

It sounds like you want hot pepper vinegar (whole unripe peppers in vinegar) similar to sport peppers. When I lived in Louisiana, Trappeys sold tabasco peppers in vinegar, but I don't remember the Tabasco brand selling them. Basically you just pack the peppers into a jar and pour boiling vinegar over them, cap and put in the refrigerator and wait several weeks for the flavor to develop before using.

Google hot pepper vinegar for recipes.

I poke each pepper with a knife first, add a little pickling salt or kosher salt (non iodized)--optional, pour in the vinegar, cap and and cover with boiling water for ten minutes to set the lids/can them. With straight vinegar you don't have to worry too much about spoilage.

Okay Zabs, I picked some Tabasco peppers today and weighed them. There are 29 peppers to the ounce, or 1 gram each. Mine are only one inch long, so they may be a little smaller than typical, but I'm not sure.

I don't worry about the exact ratio of peppers to vinegar since the recipe calls for 100% vinegar with no water. The batch I made used about 3/4 cup on Tabasco peppers with 1 & 1/2 cups of vinegar, 2 cloves of garlic, and a teaspoon of salt. I added it all to a blender and liquified it, then poured it into a small pot and simmered it (covered) for about 20 minutes. When cooled, I poured it through a fine strainer, pressing the solids with a spoon to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. I keep mine in a squeeze bottle in the refrigerator - it lasts all year.

BTW, don't discard the solids in the strainer. I place this "mash" in a ziplock bag, press it flat into a thin "book", and freeze it. It's easy to just break off pieces as needed to add to dishes I'm cooking.

TomNJ

Thanks, Tom!

I haven't ever even bothered straining---I like a little texture in my hot sauce. Means I apply it with a spoon rather than from a squeeze bottle, though.

You method does sound very efficient. And removing the solids with a strainer might remove any lingering hesitation any of my less cowlady-like friends might have about the safety of canning this.

I think I read that the typical Tabasco pepper is 2 inches long (presumably they are native to a climate hotter than yours, let alone minme!), so if yours are an inch, a "typical" one might be about twice that. Jean Andrews' recipe might reasonably be considered to call for an ounce or so of peppers.

Thaks much! Happy hot sauce!

Z

spiced ham you are right. It was Trappeys brand. I tried google first but couldn't find one to my liking.

Tom yours sounds doable for the ripe peppers. Have you tried this with green ones? Freezing in sheets also a good idea for me, a single guy.

Z I like a little texture also. That's why I wanted to keep the peppers whole. I'll have to look for this book by Jean Andrews though and at least thumb through if I can find it.

Hi Taz,

I have not tried making a hot sauce from green peppers, but it should work just as well. Some peppers will ripen quickly when placed in an oven and warmed just by the pilot light. My Tabascos reddened in just two days.

Tom

I've owned the Jean Andrews book for years too.

A must-have book (IMO) for heat lovers is "The Hot Sauce Bible" by DeWitt. Many recipes for sauces, salsas, chutneys, ketchups, curries and pastes.

Goodness only knows how many hot sauces I've sampled in the last dozen years from all over the world. Over a hundred for sure. My fav commercially mfg one is made with datil peppers.

jt

for good discussions on hot sauce making both vinegar and fermenting.

There is much more on this web site on hot peppers. I am linking you to the sauce making. look over the entire site.

http://www.thehotpepper.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: hot sauce making

i've been making hot sauce for 30 years under the unmarketed name of 2 hot 4 u maybe you've tried it.here's a trick i learned from an old moonshiner who wanted his shine to taste like real whisky. dont put your sauce in barrels put the barrel in your sauce. cut a nice fresh clean piece of oak the right size for your container and smoke it a little in your bbq with your favorite fruitwood. i like apple and grapevine but mulberry is good too.put it in your sauce to age.if you ferment the sauce too it should taste a lot like mclehenneys. they just ferment thetabascos in salt and water in a barrel and strain them. i dont think they smoke their barrels but i like a bit of smoke.in 30 yrs i have never gotten sick from all the experiments in canning fermenting and processing. dont know what all the fuss is about. use salt and the wild yeasts that are blowin in the wind

Good tip ricjo22 I was wondering the other day if a few wood chips wood add more of an original flavor. Sorta like they use in wine and beer making.

Tabasco makes a mash first and then makes the sauce. They also sell mash - last time we went to Avery Island we bought some.

Found 6 Tabasco sauce recipes

The Original McIlhenny method
1947 Tabasco Sauce Recipe
Homemade Tabasco Style Sauce " Dave DeWitt
Homemade Tabasco Sauce " Jean Andrews
Fermented Pepper Sauces (Tabasco)
Quick & Easy Fermented Tabasco Sauce

Here is a link that might be useful: 6 Tabasco sauce recipes

I grew herbs and vegetables in containers this season, which included a Tabasco pepper plant. I tried my hand at making a Tabasco sauce and used this method: only use fully ripe, red peppers. Stem them and cut them into pieces into a sauce pan. Add enough distilled vinegar to cover and add a couple of tablespoons of sea salt. Gently simmer for ten minutes. After it cools, pour it into a mason jar and refrigerate for at least three weeks, shaking the jar every couple of days. Then strain the mixture through a fine metal drive. I had a large Tabasco bottle, so I just poured it in and viola! I like the flavor, but it isn't the same as the original. I plan to make another batch, letting it ferment with lightly toasted oak chips. I don't have the discipline to wait three years, but I hope the fermentation will enhance the flavor.

Love your post.... It's interesting that the peppers in your method. How will you infuse the oak chips? I made a batch (my first) and just threw in everything we had.. anaheims, jalapenos, gypsies, a half of habenero... among others... then added vinegar, salt and garlic.... it is in the fridge.... until I am ready to give it a try. It smelled good and had a good flavor so hopefully it will stay on that track. Let us know how yours turns out. :)

Thanks, canfan! I read on chef Hank Shaw's website about how he uses toasted oak cubes purchased from home distilling suppliers to flavor his pepper sauce. I plan to simply place the oak in the mason jar with the pepper mash while it ferments. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I think the oak gives up some tannic acid to the wine or mash. one can get tannic acid from simple tea. if you make the tea strong then a few drops might do it. I dont bother with oak because I dont think I could taste any difference in hot sauce.

Imagine my mouth is on fire with tabasco peppers. and I take a sip of tea. can I notice the subtle flavor of the tea. Not me. hahaha. My mouth is still on fire all I can taste is the tabasco burning me up.

I believe all the discussion about aging hot sauce in oak is sales baloney to help sell the sauce. not to improve taste that can be noticed. that way when anything is different they can claim well you did not age it 3 years in oak. what a laugh that is. it is con game. I dont believe a word of it. it is all a scam to get your money.

anyone who is selling a hot sauce with oak in it is doing it not for flavor but to differentiate himself. It is all just EGO from the salesman trying to make a name for himself. how exclusive he is and how much better is his sauce. it is all a scam.

the same with aging the hot sauce. just a scam. give me fresh fermented mash every day.