Dad's Green Dragon Breath Hot Sauce

I concocted this recipe with my dad. We make hot sauce together every year, with creative variations and lots of bickering for each batch.

 This is a beautiful, vibrant green, smoky, fruity hot sauce that hits all my hot sauce rules: fruity, vegetal, smoky, a teeny bit sweet, and sour. And you can make this from start to finish in less than 1 hour! I love to eat this hot sauce with eggs, or drizzled on fish tacos. Truth: I put this shit on everything.

 This recipe calls for two types of common peppers: habanero and jalapeno. But feel free to experiment with other pepper varieties! Try to keep them green! During this crazy time, I encourage you to get creative with what you have and can safely acquire. I will be clear about what you must include, and where you can swap things out.

 Note: habanero peppers are extremely HOT, so please be careful. Always use latex gloves—or dish gloves or even a plastic bag over your hands—when handling any hot peppers. Do not forget Laena’s cautionary tale from class. These babies can BURN!!

This recipe is a small-batch adaptation for socially distanced cooks, and makes 6 (2oz) bottles of hot sauce, or one 12 oz jar, whatever you have around! You can re-use old jars for this recipe.

Ingredients

3 large tomatillos (these are really important for the flavor, but you could substitute regular sweet green peppers if you must in this pandemic)
1 small onion or half a big one, halved
3 green habanero peppers (its fine if you have to use red or orange, but green is ideal for your final color)
8 green jalapeno hot peppers
1/2 cup frozen pineapple (you can substitute fresh or canned but make sure it is unsweetened! You can also just use a cup of chopped apples if you can’t get pineapple)
1 small bunch fresh cilantro, torn up with your hands, stems included (about 1 cup)
3 fresh kiwis, peeled (you can substitute frozen or fresh pineapple, or frozen or fresh mango)
3 tablespoons lime juice (juice from about 6 limes, bottled is fine)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt
Optional: add 1 tablespoon white rum or mezcal

Directions

1.     Turn the oven on to 450 degrees, and on a sheet tray, lay out the first 6 ingredients (lefthand column): tomatillos, onion, jalapenos, habaneros, pineapple and roast for about 20 minutes, then crank the oven to broil, and broil on high for 10 minutes or until they’re all slightly blistered and soft, and tomatillos are bursting, turning halfway through.

2.     Transfer contents to a blender and add the rest of the ingredients: cilantro, jalapeno, kiwi, lime juice, vinegar, salt and pulse until desired texture is reached.

3.     Too thick? You can add a bit of water, adding 1 tablespoon at a time, if it’s too thick. Do not exceed 4 tablespoons of water. Still too thick? You can add 1 or 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Taste it! Add more salt if needed.

4.     Fill bottles or jars with a funnel and cap.

5.     Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate. Hot sauce should last at least 1 year in the fridge. How do you know if it has gone bad? It will get moldy.