Grilled Caribbean Pineapple Peppersauce.

May 28, 2025September 26, 20213 Comments

I’m not a huge fan of ‘cooked’ pepper sauces (say peppersauce – one word), as I find that the cooking process subdue the true flavors of the ingredients, especially the peppers. So you’ll notice that most of the pepperauce (hot sauce) recipes I’ve shared over the years were mostly raw. However in this recipe the charring of the pineapple on a hot grill (propane, wood or charcoal) makes a huge difference in the overall flavor of the sauce.

You’ll Need…

30-40 scotch bonnet peppers
12-18 cloves garlic
3 leaves shado beni
1 ripe pineapple
1 teaspoon sea salt
2-3 cups white vinegar

Important: Please wear gloves and wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such HOT peppers.

How to tell if a pineapple is ripe and sweet.

Peel and slice the pineapple into 1 cm slices, then head over to your grill and grill over a 375-400 fire. Basically until you see the grill marks, it’s softened and the edges are a bit charred. This will help the natural sugars of the ripe pineapple to heighten and the sauce will also get a gentle kiss of smoke from the charred bits.

Set the grilled pineapple slices aside and lets start to work on the other ingredients.

WEAR GLOVES! Wash the peppers, remove the stems and give them a rough chop to help the food processor or blender that you’re using, to have an easier time making this into a sauce that we can bottle.

Now give the grilled pineapple slices a rough chop and place it into the food processor along with the other ingredients.

Yes, do give the garlic and Shado Beni a rough chop too.

Basically all you have to do now is pulse it until you get a consistency you like. For me it had to be a bit chunky.

Add more vinegar if you feel you need it a bit more runny and do puree completely if you wish.

Pour into sterilized glass container’s and store in a cool, dark spot in your kitchen for up to 6 months. Or in the fridge for at least a year. The vinegar will act as a natural preservative. Should you want to cook the sauce, bring it to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes (lid slightly ajar). Store the cooked version of the sauce in the fridge.

You may need to adjust the salt after a couple of days.. I do recommend giving the pepper sauce about 3 days to come together before using. So at this point you can taste and adjust the salt… especially if the pineapple you used was not fully ripe and there’s a tartness.

From experience I know that if you were to store it in the fridge, if may get less HOT over the months. DO NOT use a wet or dirty spoon when taking out of the glass container. Yes, Habanero peppers will work just as well and should you want to increase the heat level, toss in a few Scorpions, Reapers or any of those insanely hot peppers.

If you cannot source the shando beni, use cilantro.

Note! To tame the heat of the finished sauce, remove the seeds and white membrane surrounding the seeds and discard when you chop them. Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

Sauces & Condiments

The Ultimate Scorpion Green Goddess Sauce.

May 28, 2025February 16, 20201 Comment

Along with cooking, gardening (being in the outdoors) is probably my second passion and my way of dealing with everyday stress. While I can’t (I do try though) grow many of the tropical fruits and vegetables I grew up enjoying in the Caribbean, I’ve been VERY successful at growing some of the most insane (HOT) peppers in the world. With that in mind, I give you my Green Goddess Sauce.

You’ll Need…

peppers (assortment | 15-20)
1 teaspoon grated horseradish
5-7 leaves shado beni
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup mayo
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 lime (juice)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 small bitter-melon (rough chop)
4-6 cloves garlic

Warning! This can be VERY spicy. Please wear gloves, work in a well ventilated room and be sure to wash your hands with soap and water IMMEDIATELY after handling such hot peppers.

I used a food processor to make this insanely spicy (but flavorful) sauce, but I strongly believe that you’ll get better results (more smooth/creamy) from a high speed blender.

Remove the stems off the peppers (I used all green peppers, except for 1 ripe or red Ghost to give the sauce some specks of red) and give them a wash with cool water – drain/dry. Then you’re basically adding all the ingredients mentioned above into a food processor or blender.

While horseradish is not something you find, nor see being used in Caribbean style peppersauce (hot sauce), it adds a wonderful heat profile the peppers cannot deliver.

In case you’re wondering, I used Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, Pimento (aka seasoning peppers), Habanero and Green ghost (Bhut jolokia) peppers. But you can tame things down with less spicy peppers and of course you can use peppers you have available to you. No bell or sweet peppers will NOT work.

Run everything in the food processor or blender until smooth or to the consistency you like.

The mayo + garlic undertone is just outstanding.. without taking away from the HEAT of the peppers and horseradish. The bitter melon is another key addition which helps to bring all the flavors together and the sugar will help to mellow things a little. Honey would be another great addition if you want to play around with the recipe.

This green goddess sauce will last in the fridge (once you use a sterilized glass container) for 5- 8 months. And if you want to change the flavor a little, warm about a teaspoon full in the microwave (not on a metal spoon obviously) and get ready for a totally different taste… it’s as if it awakens the Caribbean Sunshine!

If you can, please support. And should you have questions about this recipe or anything food related, be sure to Ask Chris.

Gluten Free Sauces & Condiments

Traditional Caribbean Peppersauce (hot sauce) Recipe.

May 28, 2025February 6, 201527 Comments

This is as old school as a recipe could possibly get on CaribbeanPot.com. Not just the recipe but the tool and technique I’ll be using. Before the days of blenders and food processors, we had food mills. Used to grind the dhal for making dhalpuri roti, preparing the dried fruits for making traditional black/rum cake, making homemade pepper sauces, grinding dried corn for making chilli bibbi and various other uses in the kitchen. Luckily my mom brought a mill for me many years back and with the abundance of fiery hot peppers in my garden last summer, I thought I’d dust out the Mr. mill and share this recipe with you all. Hopefully I’ll give you a glimpse into a glorious past.. something we seem to be losing touch with.

You’ll Need…

Hot Peppers (about 4-6 cups chopped)
6 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup white vinegar

Note: As mentioned this past summer I had an excellent crop of Scotch Bonnet, Habanero, Chocolate Scotch Bonnet and Trinidad Moruga Scorpions… all deadly peppers. But you can use any 1 or do a mix as I did. Traditionally in the Caribbean we would use Scotch Bonnet peppers for this recipe.

IMPORTANT: Be mindful that these peppers are extremely hot and the oils can cause serious irritation (and pain). Do wear gloves and wash your hands immediately after with soap and water. Do not touch any sensitive areas after handling these peppers.

Wash the peppers and trim off the stems and give the peppers a rough chop. For a fiery peppersauce leave the seeds, if not do remove them if you wish to tame things down. Give the cilantro (traditionally in the Caribbean you’d use Chadon beni) and garlic a rough chop as well.

Now it’s time to set up the mill on a sturdy work bench (I used the desk in our kitchen). Assemble the mill, then adjust the settings at the back (2 screw-like things) to control the texture of the ground pepper. Once you start turning the handle with the peppers in the catchment area you’ll be able to better determine the coarseness you want. When clamping down the mill to your work surface I would recommend using a piece of cloth or paper towels to protect the area from getting damaged as you tighten it.

Place a deep bowl under the area where the ground peppers will fall, then start adding a mixture of the garlic, peppers and chopped cilantro into the mill and start cranking. Keep a wooden spoon handy as you may have to press down on everything for it to work through the mill. (watch the video below).

Remember this is when you can adjust the coarseness.. so adjust accordingly.

I would even recommend using safety goggles when cranking and pushing down on the peppers in the event you get hit in the eye with any of the juices. To finish up all you have to do is mix in the vinegar, salt and lime (or lemon) juice and mix well with the ground peppers.

This recipe is as traditional and basic as you can get when it comes to peppersauce in the Caribbean. You can now get creative and add other ingredients like papaya (green), bitter melon, carrots and other herbs. Since we used vinegar this pepper sauce can remain on your kitchen counter as the vinegar will act as a preservative. For a longer shelf life you can certainly keep it in the fridge, but I’ve noticed that when you leave hot sauces in the fridge it somehow tames the heat factor! Store in a clean glass container.

Back in the day I remember my Uncle B (I spoke about him in my cookbook) would handle all the peppers with his bare hands and he’d be cool with it. My man hand hands of steel.. and everyone sought his help when they were making peppersauce!

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5 from 1 vote

Traditional Caribbean Pepper Sauce

Courses: Sauces, Condiments & Marinades

Ingredients

4-6 cups Hot Peppers (chopped)
6 cloves garlic
¹⁄₂ cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup white vinegar

Instructions

Video

Wash the Scotch Bonnet Pepper (6 cup) and trim off the stems.
Give the peppers, Garlic (6 clove) and Fresh Cilantro (1/2 cup) a rough chop.
Place a deep bowl under the area where the ground peppers will fall, then start adding a mixture of the garlic, peppers and chopped cilantro into the mill and start cranking. Keep a wooden spoon handy as you may have to press down on everything for it to work through the mill.
Adjust coarseness based on your preferences.
Continue grinding until everything has been passed through.
Finally mix in the Distilled White Vinegar (1 cup), Sea Salt (1 teaspoon), and juice from the Lime (1) with the ground peppers.
Since vinegar was used, this pepper sauce can remain on your kitchen counter as the vinegar will act as a preservative. For longer shelf life, you can certainly keep it in the fridge. Enjoy!