Afterburner Hot Sauce

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Afterburner Hot Sauce

 

1/2 dried chile ancho

1 fresh red Dutch, Thai, or jalapeno chile

16 fresh Scotch bonnet or habanero chiles

preferably orange or golden yellow

1 cup coarsely chopped yellow onion

4 medium garlic cloves

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon light or amber rum

1 cup distilled white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

 

Submerge the ancho in a pot of hot water and soak

until soft, about 20 minutes. Chop ancho finely and

reserve. Roast and peel the Dutch chile. Stem, seed,

and finely chop the chile.

Stem and seed the Scotch bonnets, leaving the inner

membranes (and, if desired, a few seeds). Combine the

Scotch bonnets with onion and garlic in a food

processor and process until very finely chopped.

Combine lemon juice, rum, and vinegar in a nonreactive

pan and bring to a boil. Pour liquid into processor,

add the oregano and Dutch chile, and process lightly.

Add the ancho teaspoon by teaspoon, processing briefly

in between, pulsing only enough to obtain a smooth,

yellow-orange sauce, highlighted by red flecks.

(Overprocessing or adding too much ancho will result

in a redder sauce, which is also quite beautiful.)

Refrigerated, this sauce will keep 6 weeks.