Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce

Hot sauce enthusiasts beware! This Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce is en fuego! Have your fire extinguisher ready. It will melt your face off!

If you’ve read some of my latest posts, you’ll know that Jim decided to buy two Carolina Reaper pepper plants for me this year. One would have been perfectly fine, since Jim and the kids won’t even touch them with a 10 foot pole! One plant can grow up to 50 peppers! Don’t know what he was thinking?? However, he does know that I LOVE HOT PEPPERS. So much so, that once when we were in a specialty hot sauce store I had to sign a waiver in order to try their hottest sauce. He thinks I am crazy and yes, with good reason. I love burning my mouth off when eating hot foods and this one will melt your insides too!

I have an array of specialty hot sauces. But since I have so many home grown Carolina Reapers, what better way to use them up. So today, I decided to make a small batch of Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce. This hot sauce is primarily made with Carolina Reaper Peppers, that are now officially the world’s hottest peppers. If you don’t know much about peppers, they are measured on the Scoville Heat Scale. For example, most jalapeños measure between 2,500-10,000 Scoville Heat Units. But this nasty little pepper measures up to 2.2 million Scoville Heat Units. That is seriously HOT! So if you think jalapeños are hot then I’m warning you now, maybe you shouldn’t try this hot sauce. Or if you are crazy enough to try it than proceeded with caution.

Fun Facts about the Carolina Reaper

• Currently, the hottest pepper in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records
• Reaches a peak heat of 2.2 million Scoville Heat Units
• It’s 440 times hotter than a jalapeño, which averages about 5,000 Scoville Heat Units
• Twice as hot as a Ghost Pepper
• If it were’t so HOT, you’d taste fruity and sweet flavors
• “Smokin” Ed Currie created the Carolina Reaper pepper plant by cross breeding a La Soufiere pepper from the Caribbean and a Naga Viper pepper from Pakistan
• In 2013, it was already over 7 generations old
• The inside membranes are the spiciest part of the pepper
• The “pain” of consumption begins about 5-7 seconds after tasting and about 12-24 hours after digestion
• One plant can grow up to 50 peppers
• They are about 1-2 inches in size, with a long tail and wrinkly skin, they look as lethal as they taste

Recommended safety tips when working with Carolina Reapers

• Wear Gloves: Hot peppers contain oils that can cause burning sensations on your skin. In addition, if your hands and skin are not washed properly and you touch your eye, it will NOT BE GOOD!
• Avoid the Fumes: I recommend grilling the reapers outside where there is more ventilation. If cooking indoors, make sure to open windows and ventilate as much as possible. Beware of the fumes as they may make it difficult to breath and/or see.
• Be careful: Be aware of escaping fumes, when opening the grill, oven or when taking the lid off the food processor/blender.
• Consume at your own risk! This sauce is extremely hot! You will only need a drop or two to get some fire! Use with caution!

Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce-Ingredients

• 4 oz Carolina Reaper Peppers (about 20 depending on size)
• 1/2 Vidalia onion (small, peeled, baked/grilled)
• 5-6 garlic cloves (roasted)
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4-1 cup water (or more if needed to thin out the sauce)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees or grill to 400-500 degrees. 
• Wash and dry reapers. Cut off stem and slice reaper in half.

• Cut onion in half and peel. Place garlic cloves in foil. Add reapers, onion and garlic cloves to the grill basket (if using a grill) or baking sheet (if using the oven). I used the oven to roast my garlic.

• Watch out for fumes and gasses emitted when you open the grill or oven. If baking inside make sure area is well ventilated. I recommend using a grill!
• Grill or bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the skins are slightly charred. 

• Add the reapers, onion, garlic, apple cider vinegar, paprika, salt and water to a food processor or blender.
• Blend until the mixture is smooth. WATCH OUT FOR FUMES & GASSES! You may need to add more water if mixture is too thick. Blend until you get the desired consistency.
• Pour into a sterilized bottle or mason jar. 
• Refrigerate sauce for up to 3 months.

For other great hot pepper recipes try:

Easy Air Fryer Jalapeño Poppers

Green Jalapeño Sauce

Jalapeño Simple Syrup

Spicy Paloma Cocktail