Louisiana-Style Hot Sauce

Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking

• 1-1/4 lb. fresh red chiles, such as Cayenne, Tabasco, Habanero, Thai, or Serrano
• 4 medium cloves garlic, sliced in half and peeled
• 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh oregano
• 1/4 tsp. ground celery seed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar

Tip:

Capsaicin is the compound that makes hot chiles hot. It can irritate your skin, so be sure to wear gloves when handling chiles. Ventilate the kitchen, as well, to keep the chile fumes from building up and becoming too intense
 Roast chiles on parchment lined baking sheet in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally until they are slightly charred and tender. There is no need to peel them, just remove stems before chopping and blending . . . .since they will be put through a sieve there is no point in peeling. Don’t seed them. Put the chiles, garlic, basil, oregano, celery seed, a big pinch of salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a food processor. With the machine running, slowly add the vinegar through the feed tube and process until smooth. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and season to taste with more salt. Transfer to bottles. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Make Ahead Tips

The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for at least 1 month.