Take No Prisoners Hot Sauce Recipe
When it comes to hot sauce, our photographer, Chris Rochelle, likes it fiery. For the faint of heart, we suggest using his sauce as a light seasoning in things like chili, tacos, eggs, hummus, and curry. A little goes a long way.
This recipe was featured as part of our DIY Holiday Gifts Advent Calendar.
- 2 medium carrots (about 6 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch rounds
- 16 serrano peppers (about 4 ounces), stems removed
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 5 to 6 limes)
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and boil until easily pierced with a fork, about 12 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside to cool slightly.
- Place the carrots and remaining ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a glass container, cover, and refrigerate for 2 days to allow the flavors to meld.
- Thoroughly clean and dry 2 (6-ounce) glass bottles. Transfer the hot sauce through a funnel into the bottles and seal. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

What, No Vinegar...??? This recipe needs some professional help, from someone like me :) btw, I never take out the seeds when I'm making sauce at home. And @Chris, be careful with the Ghost...!!!!
Hi willysfan57, I didn't de-seed the peppers. Oh, you've got to post the recipe made with ghost peppers! Chris of chow
Maybe that's the problem, carrots were small and peppers large. I'll add more carrots. It's HOT with good flavor. Did you de-seed the peppers. I'm growing Jolokia ghost peppers and can't wait to try them with this recipe. Thanks for the reply.
willysfan57, Did you use 2 carrots? There should be more carrot than pepper! I used small serranos. How does it taste? Heck, if it tastes good it doesnt matter what color it is! Chris of chow
My sauce came out green. The one in the picture is red. Was I suppose to use dried chili peppers.
Great recipe,I find myself making hot sauce all the time. My 14 year old twins go thru a 10 oz bottle of habanero sauce a week. I grow my own(indors in winter) to keep up but always looking for new recipes they'll like.Thanx!
Sad that it's taken me so long to get back to this, but thank you for the bottle links!
Steve2 in La, is it smooth? it should have the consistency of El Yucateco (one of those thicker sauces). Try adding water a tablespoon at a time into the sauce until it gets to the consistency you like. I added 3 additional tablespoons water to a 6 ounce bottle that I made 2 weeks ago and it pours nicely.
Going to be a great addition to my Christmas list of Homemade gifts for friends and family. Crushedewe
I made this recipe but wound up with mush instead of sauce. What did I do wrong?
Thanks Helmut
It would be appropriate, I think, to mention that the recipe for this sauce appears to be incredibly similar to the hot sauces from Belize. But I think they use habaneros there?
meowzebub, it does need to sit for a couple days for the acid to cook the peppers a bit! all the flavors come together during that time. d and l jeffrey, with regular doses of this hot sauce you wont need central heating at Christmas.
shisolovely, we picked up the bottles from container Store: http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10025887&N=&Nao=112&Ntt=glass mtomoto, I think adding a couple tablespoons white vinegar to up the acid content would be enough to extend the life for longer. i made some other hot sauce that lasted 2 months. Not sure if it was all the habanero that kept it good for longer: http://www.chow.com/food-news/45783/how-to-make-hot-sauce/ meowzebub, you should totally throw in a habanero--I'm going to try that next with this recipe. I stopped using jalapenos because they are so inconsistent in heat!
@ 2shisolovely - your link didn't work.
That sounds neat and I think it would make the perfect spike to a Bloody Mary.
Is there anything that can be addd to make this last a little longer than 1 month, without turning into a science project???
@ shisolovely - I googled "clear glass swing-top bottle" and found this: http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=117 Alternatively, if there is a beer/winemaking supply store convenient to you, check with them. These types of bottles are commonly used by homebrewers, and while the store may not have small, clear ones in stock, they can probably order some for you from their bottle suppliers.
Happily captivated by this recipe - will try with Christmas/Thanksgiving dishes if the weather is cold!.
The bottles used for the photo shoot are great. Any idea where they came from? I've been looking for bottles for a hot sauce project but haven't been able to find anything nearly as nice.
Sounds great, though for flavor, I'll add some habaneros for fruity-ness. Question: does the sauce need to be aged? or is it meant to be used immediately?