West-Indian Pepper Sauce

west indian pepper sauce

Okay, y’all, I’ma be real with you: I don’t know dick about Jamaican food.

I’ve never even had Jamaican food. But in my mind, I know that I would love it, namely because I love me some hot peppers. Scotch bonnets, habaneros, whatever you got: Bring It. Plus, allspice and citrus?? I bet it smells like Spicy Christmas!

So imagine how horribly over-excited I was when someone I met through this show, practically a stranger, sent me some homegrown, freaky-hot peppers. From Canada. Isn’t that just rad as hell? I think it is. He sent me ghost peppers, lemon drop aji peppers, aji cristal peppers, cayenne, habanero, and bonda ma jacques. Whoa. Pepper overload! Or Pepper Overlord…?

I decided to make some kind of incredible, amazing hot sauce that I could keep in the refrigerator and prolong my pepper pleasure. I happened to have an ENORMOUS mango. I swear it weighed two pounds. Absurd. And the usual things like onions, garlic, you know. I looked up all the peppers he sent and the bonda ma jacques is from the West Indies and related to habaneros. So with all that, it seemed a Jamaican-in-my-mind sauce would be perfect. Here is what I did. This sauce is really, REALLY hot and good. And as soon as I get around to it, I’m going to figure out how to make jerk seasoning and cook myself a Jamaican chicken and put this sauce all over it.

Adapted from a recipe by Jennifer Trainer Thompson. I didn’t follow the ingredients or directions exactly, partly due to laziness, but mostly due to not reading the directions at all, which I guess also ultimately comes down to laziness. Oh well. I’m sure it will be fine in the fridge.

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West-Indian Pepper Sauce

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  • Yield: 2.5 cups 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 of an ENORMOUS mango (more like, 1 1/2 cups of mango cubes)
  • 2 cups diced onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1” piece ginger, peeled and minced
  • 2 bonda ma jacques peppers
  • 2 red habanero peppers
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • dash ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water

Instructions

  1. Puree everything together.
  2. Pour into jars.
  3. Keep refrigerated.

Notes

Original instructions said to blend all the solids together. Then boil the vinegar, water, and salt (1/2 teaspoon – I left that out completely) and pour that over the mango mixture and stir. Cool and bottle. Refrigerate up to 6 weeks.
I’ll let you know if my lazy method results in illness or death.

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Update: “My” way totally worked. It kept well in the fridge for months.

10 Comments

  1. Randy on September 16, 2011 at 1:29 pm

    Was your mango on the greenish side or ripe side?

    • Hilah on September 19, 2011 at 7:52 am

      It was ripe and yummy!!!

  2. Great Stone Face on September 16, 2011 at 3:20 pm

    Could this be made more citrusy by adding lime juice or would that make the sauce too tart?

    • Hilah on September 19, 2011 at 7:52 am

      I think some lime juice would be good. Maybe lemon even, to highlight the fruitiness even more.

  3. JC on September 22, 2011 at 1:28 am

    How much salt do I use? And is it REALLY hot with just 4 peppers?

    • Hilah on September 22, 2011 at 7:14 am

      Hi JC!
      I didn’t use any salt but if you think it needs it, start with a quarter teaspoon and taste from there.
      It is really hot. Habaneros are about ten times hotter than serranos by the Scoville scale.

      • JC on September 22, 2011 at 1:16 pm

        The directions mention “…boil the vinegar, water, and salt…” Just asking. Not picking. Really.

        Ever eaten a raw habanero? Right before the heat kicks in, there is a flash of Juicy-Fruit-like sweetness. Awesome. Because there’s no oil in the skin or seeds of a habanero, the heat doesn’t last that long, but it’s a little intense until it goes away.

        • Hilah on September 23, 2011 at 3:21 pm

          Oh, right. Those are the original directions. The original recipe also called for 1/2 teaspoon of salt, which I left out. Super hot sauces and most baked goods are two recipe types I’ve decided are suitable for making salt-free.
          I did try each of the peppers I used in the sauce before blending them. The bonda ma jacques was delightful, better and fruitier flavor than the habanero, even.

  4. Hugh on January 21, 2018 at 10:47 pm

    Why water? Totally unnecessary.

    • Hilah on January 27, 2018 at 8:42 am

      In this case, water is added for consistency. I thought that would be clear. Obviously if you want a thicker sauce, then by all means omit or reduce the water.

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