Smoked Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce

Step 1

Dry fresh, ripe ghost peppers. I used the same method The Chopping Block's Owner/Chef Shelley Youngdid when drying her espelette peppers and tied string to the peppers' stems and hung them in my pantry until they completely dried, which took about a month. Make sure the peppers don't touch each other so that air can circulate around them.

Step 2

Smoke ghost peppers on a smoker for 10-20 minutes. Just keep an eye on them so that they don't get too charred.

Step 3

Remove as many seeds and stems from the ghost peppers as you can. If you open a pepper and there is mold growing inside, throw it out. This can happen if they are dried in a humid environment. Be sure to wear gloves when doing this step. My hands are not usually sensitive to peppers, but these aren't normal peppers. You will seriously regret if you don't wear gloves during this process!

Step 4

Puree everything in a powerful blender, like a Vitamix.

Step 5

Heat the sauce in a large pot on medium heat and reduce to about 80% of the original volume. Be prepared to cough as this cooks, and make sure you have some ventilation going in your kitchen!

Step 6

Strain through a fine sieve.

Step 7

Funnel into jars.

Step 8

Serve over everything with discretion.

Step 9

Cut off top of heads of garlic and cut off top of individual cloves.

Step 10

Place garlic in small baking dish and drizzle with olive oil.

Step 11

Wrap dish with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour until soft and caramelized.

Step 12

Scoop individual cloves out and use in above hot sauce, mashed potatoes, pastas, salads or simply spread on bread.