This homemade Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce recipe is a fun way to bring that fire to your recipes. You can use any peppers if you can’t handle the reaper, but thus ultra hot recipe can have your guests squirming.
Do you want to mess with the world’s hottest pepper? Well, you came to the right place. Today we are making a hot sauce with the famed world’s hottest pepper, the Carolina Reaper. This Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce is really easy to make and will be certain to make even the toughest folks cry just a little. If you like the heat and you like that pepper flavor, this Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce is for you.
World’s Hottest Pepper – The Reaper
The Carolina Reaper pepper was specifically made to beat the Ghost Pepper and Scorpion Pepper on the Scoville Scale. This is literally the worlds hottest pepper and making hot sauce out of it is a fun way to enjoy the pepper and the flavors of the pepper. They are becoming more available in the store, but of course, you can order your own Carolina Reaper seeds and plant them yourself, as well!
Safety and The Carolina Reaper
First, this is not your average pepper. Have you ever chopped up a jalapeno and then accidentally rubbed your eyes? It is terrible. It is a whole different ballgame with this pepper and you don’t want to play. Use gloves when handling this pepper. If you don’t, you may regret it.
We also put this in your oven to broil for a short while and you need to be a bit careful with this, as well. The peppers are hot! When you heat them up, they give off fumes. Make sure you have some ventilation handy and be careful of having any kids or pets around.
Seriously, people. Use your common sense and have a bit of respect for this pepper.
Can I Use Other Peppers for this Recipe?
For sure. We have made this hot sauce with both Ghost Peppers and Carolina Reapers. It would work fine for most spicy peppers. So, if you want to use habaneros, they should be fine. Use your best judgment on the size and adjust accordingly. Some Jalapeno peppers are really big and three times the size of a Reaper or Habenero. Adjust accordingly.
How Much Should I Use?
Sometimes I like to put this hot sauce on my tacos. For me, just a few drops are enough. I do like trying really hot stuff, but I don’t really like wallowing in it. Sometimes I can get a tad sweaty and it becomes uncomfortable. I like enough to just get my blood flowing and let me know that I am eating the world’s hottest pepper. It doesn’t take much with this Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce.
Why Did We Start Making This Hot Sauce?
My wife is the gardener. Last Spring she called and the greenhouse had some Reaper and Ghost Pepper plants. She just asked me if we wanted to try and grow them. We just sort of both agreed. What the heck! So, we have been experimenting with really hot stuff since they started coming in last July.
Really, if you are into a bit of an adrenalin rush and a whole lot of zing, this Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce is probably for you. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and sign up to get updates via email.
Products We Used In This Recipe
PrintCarolina Reaper Hot Sauce Recipe
This is NOT your mama’s hot sauce. This Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce is spicy, hot, and will make you sweat!
- Prep Time: 8 Minutes
- Cook Time: 7 Minutes
- Total Time: 15 Minutes
- Yield: 20 servings 1x
- Category: Hot Sauce
- Method: Broil
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 7 Carolina Reaper Peppers
- 1/4 cup water
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Destem and cut peppers in half and place on cookie sheet, skin side up
- Broil for 7 minutes or just until it starts to blister and blackening
- Remove from oven and add all ingredients to blender
- Blend well
- Carefully store in airtight container and store in refrigerator
Keywords: Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce
30 Comments
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February 20, 2019 at 7:00 am[…] version. For example, we use jalapeno in this recipe, but I have been known to dabble in Carolina Reaper peppers. If you like that or Habenero peppers or whatever hot pepper, use that. Just make sure you know […]
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March 8, 2019 at 4:00 pm[…] how our bloody mary is coming together. We have documented how to make our own celery salt and hot sauce. We really are making a from-scratch bloody mary that not many people can say they have done. I am […]
ilona
April 6, 2019 at 3:46 pmI don’t think I’ve ever heard about this pepper and this sauce. I am sure it is so good!
Jill
April 6, 2019 at 4:04 pmEven the name sounds intimidating, LOL I’m a wimp so I probably wouldn’t mess with these peppers in my kitchen. But I’m glad there are others like you who will take one for the team 🙂
★★★★★
Anita @ Daily Cooking Quest
April 6, 2019 at 4:15 pmThis is the first time I heard of Carolina Reaper pepper, but I think the most heat I can bear is Thai bird eye peppers, so I probably won’t dare to mess with using the reaper pepper. 😀
★★★★★
Chris Collins
April 6, 2019 at 5:18 pmI LOVE spice so this is right up my street! Definitely making this, thanks so much for sharing 🙂
★★★★★
Adrianne
April 6, 2019 at 6:17 pmI have seen and heard a lot about the Carolina Reaper Pepper but I have not yet cooked with it! I love that you grow it with your wife. Sounds like a few drops is more than enough, can’t wait to give it a go!
★★★★★
Chelsey
August 17, 2019 at 12:26 pmI’ve never made my own hot sauce before, but this recipe might just convince me to try it! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Dawn Conklin
September 7, 2019 at 9:57 amThis is the kind of sauce that you have guests sign a waiver at the dinner table before serving haha!! We used to have a local chili pepper festival here and they had the hottest pepper contests. One guy (crazy as he might be) beat out everybody before the reaper. He didn’t have to continue because everybody else folded begging for milk (and a couple got sick.) But he continued anyway and did eat all the way up to and including the reaper. I thought he was going to lose his lunch by the look on his face but he held it together! One true warrior 🙂
Ben
September 7, 2019 at 11:18 amThis is not your pedestrian hot sauce… that is for sure.
Daniel Prather
September 25, 2019 at 12:45 pmHow long will this last?
Ben
September 26, 2019 at 9:37 amThis should last a loooong time. A year or more. Pepper, vinegar, and lemon should keep bacteria at bay, particularly storing in the fridge.
wallace sessions
October 11, 2019 at 2:58 pmLove growing the reapers. Just wanted to try this recipe
★★★★★
Richard Mantone
October 22, 2019 at 12:27 pmI lot hot stuff, but this a professional hot sauce. The fumes alone are lethal.
★★★★
Ben
October 22, 2019 at 3:14 pmNot a joke hotsauce! Use precaution and enjoy!
Max
November 7, 2019 at 2:53 pmI just made a batch of this. Fantastic. Shockingly hot but a really enjoyable flavor. I added three cloves of garlic and a teaspoon of white vinegar but used the recipe as given otherwise.
I appreciate that a dab will add heat but you can still taste the food itself. Slightly hot sauces can be applied in a way that drowns our the underlying flavor. You won’t make that mistake here.
★★★★★
Ben
November 8, 2019 at 8:48 amAwesome! Thanks for trying it. I hope I put enough warning on just how hot it can be. 😉
elton
January 6, 2020 at 8:02 ami grow my own peppers, such as the carolina reaper, but in my experience, if you use over 5, and you cut them up in a blender or cook them on high, it will turn your kitchen(or your house) into a gas chamber, and even if you have all your windows open, it may take hours for your kitchen or house, to be habitable. you only really need 2 or 3 super hot peppers, , 4 if you like it really hot, but unless you bottle commercial hot sauce or have a very large kitchen, i wouldn’t use that much reaper peppers
Ben
January 6, 2020 at 3:27 pmWe actually did this inside without much problem from our homegrown plants, as well. But, I do (and did in the post) recommend having ventilation. There is a whole section on the importance of safety. Yes, people should be careful with this recipe. They should have ventilation. It is doable, as proven by me on several occasions.
But yes… be careful!
JM
May 30, 2020 at 3:38 pmHello. What is the yield on this sauce? 1/4 cup water seems very low for for 7 peppers even with half lemon and little bit of vinegar. Am I reading the recipe wrong?
Thanks.
Ben
May 30, 2020 at 8:14 pmThe recipe is accurate…. and this is hot, hot, hot. Usually, I use just a few drops on a taco and a teaspoon will have you feeling the full effect of a reaper.
Paul
August 12, 2020 at 5:49 pmHey, I’m going to make this sauce tomorrow and where it says ‘Broil for 7 minutes or just until it starts to blister and blackening’ is there a specific temperature that I should pre-heat my oven to?
Ben
August 13, 2020 at 11:18 amIn most cases, your broil setting on your oven doesn’t have a temperature, but either ‘high’ or ‘low’. High is what you want.
Sam
September 16, 2020 at 10:16 amDo I need to remove seeds before roasting?
For CR Hot Sauce recipe
Ben
September 16, 2020 at 10:32 amWe did not and it blended right in. If you remove the seeds, you will get a little less heat. Not that there isn’t plenty in this sauce. This is a hot, hot, hot sauce.
Ted
September 17, 2020 at 8:12 amDo you think I could use white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar?
Ben
September 17, 2020 at 9:08 amYes. For sure.
Joyce Radcliff
September 23, 2020 at 2:33 amHow badly would it affect my Reaper Hot Sauce if I seared the peppers in a frying pan outside instead of roasting them inside?
I have 8 rescue kitties in my space and there is no way I would subject them to the fumes created when roasting the Reapers.
The peppers are ripening now and I certainly would like to make your sauce. Help!!
Sincerely,
Joyce & Kitties
Ben
September 23, 2020 at 6:19 amJoyce, I think it would work and I would MUCH rather see you try that than risk issues inside if you don’t have appropriate ventilation.
We had 8 rescue kittens once, two of which were the parents. While adorable, NEVER that many again. lol. My wife is the cat person and we end up with fosters on a fairly regular basis.
Joyce Radcliff
October 8, 2020 at 2:08 amThank you, Ben for answering my ‘frying pan’ question. Every day now I am picking larger beautiful ripe peppers. I’m up in Canada on the West Coast – days are still warm but nights are cold so my Reapers are in a hot box in the greenhouse until they are done. When the rains begin, I’ll do more net searches for lots of interesting recipes for winter. Thanks again. Sure going to try your hot sauce.
Sincerely,
Joyce Radcliff