Make your own Tabasco Sauce

Instructions for making your own Tabasco sauce with a vinegar base

Many believe that the most well-known chili sauce in the world, Tabasco sauce by McIlhenny, is based on a secret recipe and is impossible to copy. However, it is astoundingly easy to make your own Tabasco sauce. Fresh Tabasco chillies are crushed, mixed with salt, and stored in oak barrels for 3 years. This process is called fermentation and today describes any kind of bio-reaction. Fermentation is used in the food industry, for example, to preserve foods (Sauerkraut), to develop flavours (Soy Sauce) and to extract tannins (cocoa, tea). The fermentation of chillies is mainly carried out for preservation, although the changing of flavours also plays a significant role. After the ageing period in the oak barrels, the mash is mixed with spirit vinegar and then stored for another 4 weeks. After they are filled with the mixture, the bottles of Tabasco sauce are sold worldwide. There is only one recipe for the world market, and not a special one for the US market as is often claimed.

What tools and ingredients will I need ?

You will need fresh red Tabasco chillies, sea salt and vinegar (6% acidity) according to taste. The ratio is 1kg chillies, 100g salt and 150ml vinegar. If you cannot obtain any fresh Tabasco chillies, you can use Bird Eye (Piri Piri) or other small and spicy chillies. You will also require a mixer or a blender, jars, a fine sieve, and small bottles to fill with your sauce.

Make your own Tabasco Sauce - Step by Step

Wash the chillies thoroughly and remove their stems. Then use a mixer or blender to crush the chillies into a coarse paste. Mix the chili paste with the sea salt, and fill it into the sterilised jars up to the brim. Sterilise the jars with hot water or heat them for 15 minutes in the oven at 200 degrees. Important: Sprinkle a thin later of salt on the surface of the chili paste to ensure that bacteria and fungi have no chance. Close the jars and store them at a room temperature of 20-25 °C for 4 weeks. After the fermentation process is complete, mix the chili paste with the vinegar and store for a further week in the fridge. Then put the chili-vinegar mixture though a fine sieve and fill it into sterilised bottles. To be completely safe, you should keep the bottles in the fridge.

The choice of vinegar is decisive for the taste of your sauce

McIlhenny use spirit vinegar for their famous chili sauce. We recommend a neutral spirit vinegar or a white wine vinegar. Quality and flavour differences are enormous in vinegar, so you will need to find the right vinegar for your taste. It’s clear that even a simple recipe can contain many secrets.