Honey Whiskey Soaked And Smoked Serrano Hot Sauce Recipe

The most amazing flavor comes from soaking the peppers in honey whiskey. Paired with a smoky reverse seared tri tip to top it off with.

Ingredients:

25 serrano peppers

5 garlic cloves

1-1/2 c honey whiskey

1/2 c sherry vinegar

1 tsp cumin

2 tbsp black peppercorns

1 sprig fresh mint

Tools needed:

Sharp knife

Cutting board

Small stock pot with lid

Measuring cups and spoons

Nitrile gloves

Mason jar with lid

Mesh strainer

Blender

How to make it:

Wash peppers and let air dry on clean kitchen towel. Cut peppers in half and inspect each pepper to ensure freshness. Seed and placenta removal is optional. Place the pepper halves in a mason jar tall enough so that the peppers can stand upright. Pour enough of the honey whiskey into the jar to cover the peppers. Let soak on the countertop for 24 hours.

Next, strain out the peppers and reserve the whiskey for later use in the recipe.

I smoked the peppers with the garlic cloves (peeled) on my offset smoker. For the temperature, I hold it at 200-225 f. For the heat source, my go to is lump charcoal and I use a blend of oak and applewood for smoky flavor. The peppers will take about 1 to 1-1/2 fully soften. If you don’t have a smoker, you can bake the peppers and garlic in an oven at 350 F for about 30 - 45 minutes or until nice and soft. The peppers and garlic need to be cooked to able to get blended smooth.

In a small stock pot add the whiskey, cumin and peppercorns. Bring the liquid up to a boil, reduce heat and continue to simmer for about 30 minutes over low heat. When you reduce the heat to keep it on simmer, add the fresh mint. Continue to simmer until the volume of the whiskey is reduced to about a quarter. This whiskey will release some airborne capsaicin. I suggest that you either make this sauce outside or turn your hood vent on to help reduce the fumes as they can irritate your eyes and throat. The alcohol will simmer off therefor there is no need to ignite the alcohol. Once the whiskey is reduced, turn off the heat and add in the vinegar. Remove the mint at this point and let the whiskey cool to room temperature while the peppers are smoking/cooking.

Add the peppers and garlic to a blender. Add half amount of the whiskey/vinegar at the beginning. Sauce consistency is a personal preference and can be achieved by adding more liquid while the blender is running. It is always easier to add more liquid than it is to reduce the sauce if too much gets added. Once the ingredients are fully blended, strain the sauce through a mesh strainer. In my video that is linked above, I show how to make a tasty seasoned salt using the pulp from straining the sauce.

Store the sauce in a hot sauce bottle or a mason jar. This will last a bit longer if stored in the refrigerator.

I made a smoky reverse seared tri tip that was awesome with this sauce. Basically, I seasoned the meat with my general purpose seasoned salt and smoked it at 225 f for about and hour for a smaller tri tip. I have a thermometer that I stuck in the meat while it was smoking and had it set to go off at 125 F. After it reached that temperature, I let it rest on a plate for about 10 minutes. Then I placed a cast iron skillet over high heat until it started smoking. Then, the tri tip got hot sear on all sides of the meat. My go to oil for searing beef is either tallow or avocado oil. Once it got a good crust, I let it rest on a cutting board for about 20 minutes before slicing into, against the grain of course. For the finished cook temperature, searing the meat brought the temperature of the thickest part to about 130 F.

Enjoy!

Logan