Steve's Scorcher

There are a couple of challenges with the "long" way.  First, obtaining enough RED jalapeno peppers can be a challenge.  For me, there was a 3 week period that NONE were available.   The second challenge was roasting them enough to obtain the proper "char".   The below makes 3 cups of mash.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds red jalapeno chiles

• 1.2 cup fine kosher salt

• 1 cup of purified water

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

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1. Set three chiles aside. Spread out the remaining chiles on a baking sheet and put them in a sunny spot for 2 days, or until soft and wrinkled.

2. Stem the softened chiles, slice them lengthwise, and put them in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the salt. Using a potato masher, smash the chiles until only large chunks remain. Set aside at room temperature uncovered for 24 hours.

3. Transfer the chiles and any liquid in the bowl to a 1-quart Mason jar with a two-piece lid. Put any mashed chiles that don’t fit into a separate container for later use. Pour the water into the jar, loosely screw on the lid, and place the jar on a plate. Let the mixture sit at room temperature until it begins to fizz over and the peppers shrink, 1 to 2 days.

4. Add the leftover reserved mashed chiles to the jar. Place the three reserved whole chiles at the top of the jar and make sure the mashed chiles are submerged under the liquid. Loosely replace the lid and let sit at room temperature to ferment for at least 1 week and up to 2 weeks. (You may need to add more purified water to the jar to keep the chiles submerged.)

5. Transfer to a food processor fitted with a blade attachment.

6. Process the chiles. Add the vinegar and any leftover liquid from the jar. Process until smooth. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 months. (The mash will continue to ferment and fizz a bit.)

7. Add enough water and vinegar to the mix to reach 5 total cups

8. Take mixture and go through wire mesh to separate liquid from pulp.

After trying the "long" way I opted to shorten the process but this opened a new process.

First, I purchased a 5 gallon drum (the smallest) of red jalapeno mash from the following web site:

Pepper Mash/Puree

​Because of the ingredients of this item I had to do the following:

• 3 cups of Mash

• 2 cups of water

• Blend thoroughly

• Take mixture and separate liquid from pulp through wire mesh to obtain sauce

• Take left over pulp and dehydrate

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On the side, I purchased several 1 gallon containers and filled them with the sauce and refrigerated until ready for the rest of process.​