Double Smoked Peach Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce.

May 27, 2025September 27, 20232 Comments

With some of the BEST peaches in the world (say hi Georgia) grown in the orchards about a 30 minute drive away from me, from time time I do put them to use use in my kitchen. Admittedly I’m not a fan of Peach (pie, drink, ice cream, cobbler etc), however, with the addition of Scotch Bonnet peppers… it the perfect combination for a wicked pepper sauce (hot sauce). Add a kiss of smoke and look how you just elevated the ting!

You’ll Need…

3 large ripe peaches
18 Scotch Bonnet peppers
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup white vinegar
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (powder)
1/2 lemon (juice)

Notes! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary requirements. Remember to wear gloves and wash your hands IMMEDIATELY after with soap and water. In the video below I explained why I prefer using a food processor and not a blender in making this peach scotch bonnet pepper sauce.

Set you grill to 350 F and grill/smoke the peaches (cut in half and stone removed). It really doesn’t matter if they’re place skin or cut side down. In my case I used my Traeger Smoker and went with apple wood. Any fruity wood will be great.

While the grill/smoker does it’s thing, wash the peppers, remove the stems and give them a rough chop. Besides Scotch Bonnet peppers, you may also use Habaneros as they have a lovely kick along with an undertone of fruitiness.

Once the peach halves comes off the grill and they cool enough to handle, give them a rough chop as well.

May I recommend that you vent your kitchen as the scent/fumes from the peppers can potentially choke you. Especially when you open the food processor.

Place all of the ingredients in the food processor and pulse until you achieve a texture you like. Add more white vinegar if you find that it’s a bit too thick.

As explained in the video below, I then set my smoker to 180 F (it’s called Super Smoke on the Traeger). I then poured the peppersauce into a wide (explained in the video) heatproof dish and smoked it for one hour. The goal with the 2nd layer of smoke was to gently kiss the pepper sauce. However if you prefer a more pronounced smoke flavor, may I recommend smoking for at least 3 hours.

Once off the smoker allow the pepper sauce to cool before pouring into sterilized glass containers. This Double Smoked Peach Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce will keep in the fridge for at least 6 months easily. Do not use a dirty or wet spoon when you dip in or it will go bad quicker.

Do taste and adjust the salt before pouring into bottles. You’re looking for a perfectly balanced fruity, spicy and gently smoked pepper sauce. The lemon juice will help brighten things up a bit as well and the garlic will round things off nicely.

Use as you would your fav hot sauce yea.

Gluten Free

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/

Gluten Free Sauces & Condiments Vegetarian

Fierce Green Scotch Bonnet Pesto.

May 28, 2025October 16, 20183 Comments

During the summer months I grow a lot of different varieties of extremely hot peppers, so I’m always looking for ways to put them to use. While I’ve never seen a recipe like this, the end results were just stunning. Based on the traditional way of making a basil pesto, however I’m putting a fiery Caribbean twist to things. So you can expect the Caribbean sunshine (scotch bonnet peppers) to really shine through. Be warned.. this is not your grandma’s pesto.

You’ll Need…

10-15 Scotch Bonnet Peppers (mostly green ones)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cilantro
1/2 lemon (juice)

Note! The flavors of the green scotch bonnet peppers are significantly different than fully mature and ripe ones. It’s not as fiery and there’s a freshness about the overall flavor. I did toss in a couple red one (ripe) to the pesto to give it a bit of speckled contract to all the green.

Toss in the pine-nuts and garlic in the food processor or blender and pulse for about 30 seconds. You do have the option of dry toasting the pine nuts first, but I honestly don’t see the need.

Then give everything else a rough chop and add to the food processor.

Go in with the olive oil and lemon juice and puree until relatively smooth. You can always adjust the texture to your own liking. Do keep in mind that while I used the seeds of the peppers, you can discard them to tone down the heat level a bit.

And just like that you’ve made an amazing Scotch Bonnet Pesto.. and you can tell your friends that Chris kinda invented this unique take on a peppersauce.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple weeks. I’ll have a wicked shrimp recipe using this Scotch Bonnet pesto coming up in the next week or so. Stay tuned.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Sauces & Condiments

Fruity Passion Fruit Pepper Sauce.

May 28, 2025January 14, 20171 Comment

With my love for peppersauce (hot sauce) I’m always challenging myself to find different flavors to compliment the scorching heat of our beloved Scotch Bonnet Peppers, to add balance, depth and a unique finish. While this peppersauce is fiery, the fruity undertones of the passion fruit makes it very tasty and bearable for those of you who are not into pure heat! My mom like many from her generation, will argue that when making a ‘good’ peppersauce there’s no room for fruit. However with the success I’ve had with the 10 + fruity pepper sauces I’ve shared on here, that mindset can be challenged.

You’ll Need…

1 cup passion fruit puree
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
12-14 scotch bonnet

* feel free to add a couple cloves of garlic and some chopped cilantro if you’d like to play around with the flavors a bit. Some fresh lime or lemon juice would be ideal as well.

Wash the peppers and remove the stems, then give them a rough chop to help your blender or food processor make this easy work. IMPORTANT! Be sure to wear gloves and wash your hands immediately after with soap and water. I used the seeds of the pepper, but if you’d like to tame the heat down a bit you can remove and discard them.

If you’re wondering, you can get the passion fruit puree in the frozen section of West Indian, Asian and Latino grocery stores. I found the batch I used at a local Asian supermarket.

Basically all you have to do now is place all the ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth.

You can always tailor this pepper sauce to your own liking, by leaving it chunky or by adding other fruits you like (mango, berries etc) and if you need, you can also add a bit more vinegar should you need it (if it’s too thick).

I wanted to maintain both the heat level and fresh fruity undertones of the passion fruit so I left it raw. However you can always cook it for 10 minutes on a low simmer, then bottle. As is, it can last about a month of your kitchen counter, but for a much longer shelf life, store in the fridge. Just give it a shake before using. Definitely not my mom’s peppersauce, but it’s SO good! If you cannot source Scotch Bonnet peppers, an excellent replacement would be Habanero peppers.

Gluten Free Sauces & Condiments

Screaming Fruity Peppersauce (Hot Sauce)

May 28, 2025October 4, 20165 Comments

Every summer I try to plant many of the herbs, vegetables and peppers I use in the recipes I share, in the little garden I have at the back of our home. Nothing gives me pleasure than knowing what went into growing my food and there’s always a sense of accomplishment as well for me. Every year I try to plant a variety of HOT peppers, ranging from the insane stuff to mild and flavorful. This homemade pepper-sauce is not about the mild – unfortunately. We’re going for raw heat with the peppers I’ll be using, However with the addition of the frozen berries things will balance off naturally.

You’ll Need…

10-12 HOT peppers (your choice)
2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 cups frozen berries
1 lime
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon chopped parsley
1-2 tablespoon brown sugar

* Berries included – strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and cherries AND I used an assortment of fiery peppers. IMPORTANT! Wear gloves when handling hot peppers and be SURE to wash your hands with soap and water IMMEDIATELY after.

Wash, drain/dry and trim off the stems off the peppers, then chop roughly. Smash the garlic and give the parsley a rough chop, before adding all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Be sure to open your kitchen windows or have the exhaust fan above your stove on, to vent the fumes of the peppers cooking.

You can use any frozen berries you have access to and if all you have is white vinegar, don’t worry – it will be fine.

As soon as it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to very gentle simmer and allow it to cook for about 25-30 minutes. Remember to vent the kitchen or cook outdoors.

Turn the stove off, then go in with an electric stick blender and puree to the consistency you like (I like it smooth). Taste for salt (adjust) and you’re free to add a bit more brown sugar if you want it a bit more sweet and the final thing is to go in with the juice of the lime. Bottle, cool and store in the fridge.

If you don’t have a stick blender you can use a traditional standing blender or food processor. I’d recommend allowing the cooked peppers to cool down a bit to avoid burning yourself while it blends.

Not your typical “Caribbean” peppersauce, but I assure you, you’ll be come a fan of it. BTW, not sure if I mentioned this to you before or not, but when traveling to the Caribbean don’t ask for hot sauce.. do like an islander and say, pass the peppa-sauce please!

Gluten Free Sauces & Condiments Vegetarian

Blueberry Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Peppersauce Recipe (Moruga Scorpion hot sauce).

May 28, 2025June 25, 201524 Comments

My passion for peppersauce (homemade hot sauces) is fueled by having been surrounded by very creative peppersauce makers even as a little boy on the islands, but more importantly… my daughters possess the same sort of intense affection for the fiery stuff as I do. There’s no better motivation than having those close to you share the same traits, so when you get creative in the kitchen, you know it’s something you will connect with as a family. With the use of the Trinidad Moruga Scorpions which at the time of making this sauce is the 2nd hottest pepper in the world, you’re getting a hot sauce which should be used with extreme caution. But I find that by using the blueberries, you get a lovely fruity roundness.

You’ll Need…

6 scorpion peppers
2 cups blueberries
2 oranges (juice)
2 scallion
1/4 brown sugar
1 lime (juice)
1/2 cup vinegar

optional – honey – cinnamon – allspice

Note: If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

IMPORTANT! Be sure to wear gloves when handling the peppers and wash your hands immediately after with soap and water. I would also recommend having your kitchen window open and the stove exhaust fan on while cooking the sauce.

Give the peppers and scallions, a rough chop.. include the seeds if you REALLY want the HEAT! Then place all the ingredients in a saucepan on a low heat and bring to a simmer. Cook/simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Then allow to cool before you place in the blender or food processor.

The blueberries will breakdown along with the peppers and the other ingredients will incorporate for a very tasty (but HOT) chunky sauce as this point. As mentioned above, allow it to cool then place it all in a blender and puree to a smooth sauce.

Place in a glass container and store in the fridge! I know you’re thinking.. “but Chris, blueberries is NOT Caribbean!”.. Agree.. but I tend to use the fruits (ingredients) I’m now surrounded with.. and to be quite honest, you’ll be amazed at how wonderful this peppersauce is. Great on grilled meats, burgers, hotdogs and a few drops on your sausage and eggs in the morning!

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!

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Sauces & Condiments Vegetarian

Picante Mango Kuchela.

May 28, 2025May 17, 201215 Comments

My first memory of mango kuchela goes way back to my childhood, when I first had kuchela flavored with mustard oil, along with dhal, rice and fry dry (small herrings or sardines fried very dry until crispy). The memory of that mustard oil clearing my sinus still haunts me and to this day.. I’m still to try anything with mustard oil after that experience. This is the reason why in this mango kuchela there’s no use of mustard oil as in some traditional recipes.

This mango kuchela is one of those spicy condiments you’d get served on popular street food, such as doubles and aloo pies (deep fried dough stuffed with seasoned mashed potato) and versatile enough to accompany many curry dishes at dinner.

You’ll Need…

3 green mangoes
1 teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoon amchar massala
3/4 cup veg oil
2 scotch bonnet peppers

Notes: Try to get really green mango (skin and flesh), which will be very sour or tart. I stared with 3/4 cup of oil, but you may need about 1/2 cup more as it’s important that the entire jar (when storing) of the kuchela is covered with the oil. The oil can be used to drizzle onto food as well, as it will be well flavored. The 2 scotch bonnet peppers are used as a starting point, so feel free to add more as you’d like. The same can be said about the amchar massala…so add more if you want your finished mango kuchela to be darker and packed with more flavor.

The first thing we need to do is peel and wash the mangoes. Use a potato peeler or sharp paring knife and remove the outer skin off the mangoes. Don’t go too deep or you’ll be wasting the mango! When shopping for the green mangoes, be sure to get ones that’s firm (hard), no blemishes and if you were to knock them against something, they should give a solid sound (like a rock).

Next up, get your box grater and with some care, grate the mangoes. Remember there’s a seed in the middle of the mango, so be prepared when you get close to it. Discard this seed.

The grated mango will have a lot of moisture in it, so we’ll have to get rid of as much as we can. That moisture (what I was told) is what causes the mango kuchela to go bad fast, so we have to remove as much as we can. Using one of Caron’s new kitchen towels, I placed a heap of the grated mango in the center.. then used some elbow grease to squeeze out as much liquid as I could (see video below).

I recall as a kid my mom and grandma always having a galvanize (metal sheet) when mango was in season, covered with grated mango in the sun drying. It had that sort of musty scent, you’d also get when they were making mango amchar. Now it’s time to spread the grated mango onto a cookie sheet and allow to air dry for a few hours. If you’re blessed with Caribbean sunshine, make use of it and place it out in the sun. WARNING! Don’t place in the oven on low heat as I thought would be clever. The end result is parched mango, which will not work for this.

The next step (as the mango air-dries) is to puree the pepper and garlic. I used the entire pepper.. including the dreaded seeds, as I wanted the raw heat in this mango kuchela. I used my magic bullet, but you’re cool using a blender or a mortar and pestle. I know it may be hard, but try not to use any liquid in the blending process (puree). I ended up shaking my magic bullet a few times during the process to move the contents around. BTW, I gave the garlic and scotch bonnet peppers (feel free to use any hot pepper you have or like) a rough chop to make it easier to puree.

After about 3 hrs (overnight may be best) of air drying the grated mango should be ready now. So the next step is to place a sauce pan on medium/low heat, add the vegetable oil (don’t allow it to heat yet) and add the pureed pepper and garlic mix to it. If you add the puree to hot oil, it will splatter and give of a very strong (peppery) scent. Now allow the oil/pepper mixture to heat up and on medium/low heat, allow to cook for about 5 minutes.

Empty the dried grated mango into a bowl, then add the salt and amchar massala and give it a good stir. With the peppered oil mixture cooled, add that as well. Make sure to mix the entire batch of mango kuchela well.

Place in a dry bottle or container and it will keep for a few weeks. Additionally you can store this in the fridge for a couple months at least. When stored in the fridge be prepared for it to loose some of it’s heat. If storing on your kitchen cupboard, ensure that the mango is covered with oil. To add more oil.. heat (on high) vegetable oil, then allow to cool completely.. then add to the jar to cover the mango kuchela.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

scotch bonnet sauce

Double Smoked Peach Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce.

Grilled Caribbean Pineapple Peppersauce.

Fierce Green Scotch Bonnet Pesto.

Fruity Passion Fruit Pepper Sauce.

Screaming Fruity Peppersauce (Hot Sauce)

Blueberry Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Peppersauce Recipe (Moruga Scorpion hot sauce).

Traditional Caribbean Peppersauce (hot sauce) Recipe.

Recipe Card

Traditional Caribbean Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

Instructions

Picante Mango Kuchela.

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