peppersauce

Here’s yet another spicy pickle to serve as a side to your fav curry dishes or as in my case, with Chicken Pelau. Using freshly harvested hot peppers from my garden as the growing season comes to an end, it was an excellent use of the final produce for 2024. While these pickled peppers can be used immediately, the remainder will keep for months in the fridge and warm me up during those cold winter nights in Canada.

You’ll Need…

2 Habanero Peppers (sliced thin)
2 Scotch Bonnet peppers (sliced thin)
1 cup Wiri Wiri peppers (rough chopped)
10-15 Bird’s Eye peppers (sliced)
1 medium onion (sliced thin)
5 cloves garlic (smashed)
1 inch Bitter Melon (sliced thin)
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
4 lemons (juice)

Notes! It’s important that you wear gloves and wash your hands immediately after with soap and water when handling such hot peppers. May I suggest that you follow along with the video below as much more about the recipe is discussed there. Especially which variety of peppers you may use.

Wash and prep everything.

In a bowl, place the peppers, garlic and bitter melon (we say Carilie in the Caribbean).

Spread the thinly sliced onion on the top, then sprinkle on the salt. As explained in the video, this will take away some of the direct rawness of the onion. You may let it sit like this for 20 minutes or proceed immediately.

Pour the lemon juice over everything and give it a good mix. You may use lime juice or white vinegar if you don’t have lemon juice. Please try to use freshly squeezed juice and not the bottle stuff for best results.

You may use this immediately and store the remainder in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for a few months. Keep in mind that the acid from the citrus will continue to soften everything as it age and some of the ‘heat’ will be lost during that time. Treat it as you would any spicy condiment and NOT as a dish itself.

Pickled Bird’s Eye Peppers.

May 27, 2025August 31, 20233 Comments

Over the years I’ve shared countless Peppersauce Recipes with you, and while this pickled bird pepper is not technically a sauce, in the Caribbean it would fall into that category. Yea, I grew up knowing these peppers (while a bit smaller in size) Bird Pepper (since birds would feed on them in your garden and later on the droppings would sprout pepper tress at the start of the rainy season) and not Bird’s Eye Pepper. We also had a variety known as Kiskedee peppers, named after the bird which would also feed on them.

You’ll Need…

1/4 lb red Bird’s Eye peppers
1/4 lb green Bird’s Eye pepper
4-5 Scotch Bonnet peppers
3- 3 1/2 cups white vinegar
4-6 cloves garlic (smashed)
1 teaspoon white sugar
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Notes! Wear gloves when handling such hot peppers and wash you hands immediately after with soap and water. I opted to add a punch of HEAT with the Scotch Bonnet peppers.. that is optional or use any variety of hot pepper you enjoy or can source. I did cut them open so the vinegar could get into direct contact with the insides to add that KICK I wanted. If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary requirements.

Place the vinegar (yes, plain white vinegar) in a pot on a medium flame and add the peppercorns. As soon as you start seeing tiny bubbles on the edges, turn off the stove and let it steep for 5-10 minutes. The goal is to get the peppercorns to release it’s flavors with the warm vinegar.

As mentioned in the video below, I like adding a bit EXTRA HOT peppers to further add a kick to this pickle, as I make full use of the liquid on my grilled meats. I used 3 Scotch Bonnet and one Fatali peppers from my garden. They were cut in half.

Those cut peppers were added first to my jar (sterilized) followed by the red and then the green peppers. You may add them in any or no order as you like. I just find that it looks more attractive in the jar in this way.

Top with the salt and sugar .. if you want you may add a few wedges of lemon should you want a subtle citrus flavor to the pickle.

Tuck in the smashed garlic.

All that’s left to do is to pour the vinegar into the bottle and try and cover everything with it. Add a bit more vinegar should you need to.

FYI the green Bird’s Eye Pepper will have a different flavor and heat level than the red ones, since the green color signifies that they are not fully mature. Seal the bottle, give it a shake and store in a cool dark spot in your kitchen. It will last a few months. For a longer shelf life, store in the fridge. When removing the peppers, use a clean/dry fork or spoon.

If you wanted to add some sliced carrots in here, that would work. Additionally you may add a few cloves and/or some Szechuan peppercorns to change up the flavor profile a bit.

Gluten Free

Grilled Caribbean Pineapple Peppersauce.

May 28, 2025September 26, 20213 Comments

I’m not a huge fan of ‘cooked’ pepper sauces (say peppersauce – one word), as I find that the cooking process subdue the true flavors of the ingredients, especially the peppers. So you’ll notice that most of the pepperauce (hot sauce) recipes I’ve shared over the years were mostly raw. However in this recipe the charring of the pineapple on a hot grill (propane, wood or charcoal) makes a huge difference in the overall flavor of the sauce.

You’ll Need…

30-40 scotch bonnet peppers
12-18 cloves garlic
3 leaves shado beni
1 ripe pineapple
1 teaspoon sea salt
2-3 cups white vinegar

Important: Please wear gloves and wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such HOT peppers.

How to tell if a pineapple is ripe and sweet.

Peel and slice the pineapple into 1 cm slices, then head over to your grill and grill over a 375-400 fire. Basically until you see the grill marks, it’s softened and the edges are a bit charred. This will help the natural sugars of the ripe pineapple to heighten and the sauce will also get a gentle kiss of smoke from the charred bits.

Set the grilled pineapple slices aside and lets start to work on the other ingredients.

WEAR GLOVES! Wash the peppers, remove the stems and give them a rough chop to help the food processor or blender that you’re using, to have an easier time making this into a sauce that we can bottle.

Now give the grilled pineapple slices a rough chop and place it into the food processor along with the other ingredients.

Yes, do give the garlic and Shado Beni a rough chop too.

Basically all you have to do now is pulse it until you get a consistency you like. For me it had to be a bit chunky.

Add more vinegar if you feel you need it a bit more runny and do puree completely if you wish.

Pour into sterilized glass container’s and store in a cool, dark spot in your kitchen for up to 6 months. Or in the fridge for at least a year. The vinegar will act as a natural preservative. Should you want to cook the sauce, bring it to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes (lid slightly ajar). Store the cooked version of the sauce in the fridge.

You may need to adjust the salt after a couple of days.. I do recommend giving the pepper sauce about 3 days to come together before using. So at this point you can taste and adjust the salt… especially if the pineapple you used was not fully ripe and there’s a tartness.

From experience I know that if you were to store it in the fridge, if may get less HOT over the months. DO NOT use a wet or dirty spoon when taking out of the glass container. Yes, Habanero peppers will work just as well and should you want to increase the heat level, toss in a few Scorpions, Reapers or any of those insanely hot peppers.

If you cannot source the shando beni, use cilantro.

Note! To tame the heat of the finished sauce, remove the seeds and white membrane surrounding the seeds and discard when you chop them. Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

Fiery Hot Pepper Sauce in three jars surrounded by peppers on a cutting board

Sauces & Condiments

Simple Fiery Caribbean Peppersauce (hot sauce)

May 28, 2025March 21, 20211 Comment

Yes you would have seen me make this in the past, but with the abundance of peppers from my garden and the fact that older recipes tends to get archived in Google search.. why not rock it again and share? Peppersauce (yea one word) or Hot Sauce is one of those condiments we make and enjoy across the Caribbean and anywhere we call home. Everyone will have their own signature way of making theirs, but this is the sort of base version you can later tailor to your own liking.

You’ll Need..

30-35 hot peppers (as described in the video)
2 head garlic (12-16 cloves)
6 limes (juice)
1 teaspoon salt
10 leaves shado beni (culantro)
3/4 cup white vinegar

Important! Wear GLOVES and wash your hands immediately after with soap and water. If doing this recipe gluten free, go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they all meet with your specific Gluten Free dietary requirements. Finally, I used a variety of scorching hot peppers from my garden.. use peppers you have access to and those you enjoy.

Wash and dry the peppers. Remove the stems and give them a rough chop so it’s easier work for your blender or food processor.

Peel and smash the garlic and give the shado beni (or cilantro) a rough chop. If you can’t get CULANTRO (shado beni), feel free to use CILANTRO (about 1/2 cup). Juice the limes.

Basically, everything goes into the blender and puree until you have a consistency you like.

This is a raw peppersauce as the vinegar and acidity of the lime juice will be enough to cure it. Store in sterilized glass containers in a cool dark spot. Or for a longer shelf life, store in the fridge.

I did use the seeds from the pepper in the sauce for maximum heat and rather than use a food processor, I opted for a blender as I wanted something more smooth. But if chunky is what you like, so be it. Feel free to add a bit more vinegar should you want to thin it out a bit more

Click on the Recipe Index for more pepper-sauces, some of which can be bit more complex in flavors.

Gluten Free Sauces & Condiments Vegetarian

Caribbean Pineapple Peppersauce (hot sauce).

May 28, 2025November 17, 20191 Comment

With another season of abundant peppers in my garden and with all the requests for more peppersauce (hot sauce) recipes, I thought I’d share one influenced by the amazing CoCoPine Sauce that my good friend (and chef) Barry B market in the Caribbean. Chef B’s is a bit more complex and it reflects in the overall flavor. However this version can hold it’s own and will tantalize your taste buds.

You”ll Need…

3/4 small pineapple
10-15 assorted hot peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 lemons (juice)
1 teaspoon grated horseradish
4 large cloves garlic
4-6 leaves shado beni (culantro)

Important: Wear gloves and wash your hands immediately after handling such hot peppers. If you cannot source Shado Beni (chadon beni) feel free to use cilantro (coriander) . To tame the heat you can remove and discard the seeds and white membrane surrounding the seeds of the peppers and discard.

Basically all you have to do at this point is to prep the ingredients. Wash and remove the stems off the peppers (you can give them a rough-chop if you wish). Peel, core and cube the pineapple, then juice the lemons. And finally.. grate the horseradish.

Please everything into the food processor or blender that you’re using to make the puree. Keep in mind that you can make this smooth or as I prefer, a bit chunky. Thus the reason I went with using a food processor. Feel free to give the Shado beni a rough chop too.

Since I wanted a bit of chunky consistency, I went ahead and pulsed the food processor. Stopping to scrape down the sides a couple times. Be sure to have the windows in your kitchen open as the scent of the peppers can be a bit overwhelming.

It’s that simple. An incredibly fiery and tasty peppersauce one would expect from the Caribbean. I used a combination of Ghost, Habanero, Scotch Bonnet, Chocolate and Scorpion peppers. Watch the video below for the exact peppers I used. Feel free to use peppers you can handle and/or have available in your region.

Place in a clean container and store in the fridge. You will notice that after a week or so the heat will subside, the flavor of the pineapple will decrease and you may need to add a bit more salt. This is all natural. For a more pronounced pineapple flavor you can go in a with a pineapple juice reduction.

Gluten Free Sauces & Condiments

Fiery Bajan (Barbados) Pepper Sauce.

May 28, 2025December 3, 20161 Comment

After a week of enjoying some of the best (probably debatable) peppersauce while tasting Barbados, I thought I’d share my take on this classic Caribbean hot sauce. We were in Barbados for the annual Food and Rum Festival and like the rest of the Caribbean, there were an assortment of pepper sauces to accompany every dish we had. Bajans (Barbadians) are VERY passionate about their pepper sauces and while this recipe is not as “traditional”, it could rival any we enjoyed while in Barbados.

You’ll Need…

16 Scotch Bonnet Peppers
3/4 cup white vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon chopped turmeric
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
3/4 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used Sea Salt)

Note: While this recipe falls under the gluten free category I ask you to go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Also note that this is a “PepperSauce” so it’s meant to be VERY spicy, however you can leave out the seeds of the peppers to tame things down slightly. Wear gloves and wash your hands with spaod and water immediately after handling such hot peppers.

Wash and remove the stems from the Scotch Bonnet peppers (works well with Habanero peppers as well), then give them a rough chop. Smash the garlic and also give the cilantro a rough chop. If you’re in the Caribbean and have access to shado beni, you can use a couple leaves of that instead of the cilantro. Peel or scrape the skin off the turmeric and give it a rough chop as well. Please note that the turmeric may stain your fingers a brilliant yellow/orange color.

Then it’s just a matter of placing all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and working until it’s smooth (or you can pulse it if you want the peppersuace a bit chunky).

While speaking to people in Barbados, there seemed to be as many people who agree on cooking this sauce as there were people who said to leave it raw. I left it raw as I find that cooking takes away some of the heat of the sauce and since I used fresh turmeric, I wanted to maintain most of it’s health benefits. I must mention that the use of turmeric in not necessarily traditional to Bajan pepper sauce, but since I’m not a huge fan of mustard, I went this route (we found Bajan pepper sauces to have strong mustard undertones). If you prefer to cook this hot sauce, bring it to a boil and immediately reduce it to a gentle simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Since we used white vinegar as a base this will be fine in a bottle on your counter for a couple months or in the fridge for about 4 months. Also note that I’ve found that placing hot sauces in the fridge also tapers the heat level as time goes by.

Look for more recipes inspired by our trip to Barbados in the coming weeks. Are you following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram yet? Join in on the fun today!