Name: Caribbean Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 250ml
Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients: 100 g scotch bonnet peppers; 15 g culantro leaves; 50 g yellow onion; 20 g garlic; 120 ml apple cider vinegar; 30 ml fresh lime juice; 5 g kosher salt

Equipment

Food-safe gloves

or Plastic bags worn over hands

Blender

or Food processor

Glass jar

or Airtight container

Ingredients

50 servings

Aromatics and Peppers

100 g scotch bonnet peppers, stems removed
15 g culantro leaves, washed and roughly chopped
50 g yellow onion, roughly chopped
20 g garlic, peeled

Liquids and Seasoning

120 ml apple cider vinegar
30 ml fresh lime juice
5 g kosher salt

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories

Protein

Carbs

Fat

Fiber

Sugar

39mg

Sodium

Method

Put on food-safe gloves. Roughly chop the scotch bonnet peppers, removing the stems. For a milder sauce, carefully remove and discard the seeds and internal white ribs. Roughly chop the yellow onion and peel the garlic cloves.

10m

Place the prepared peppers, onion, garlic, culantro leaves, apple cider vinegar, fresh lime juice, and kosher salt into the blender.

Blend the mixture on high speed until a smooth, even consistency is achieved. If the sauce is too thick to catch the blades, add a splash more apple cider vinegar.

3mLook for: Bright, uniform color with tiny specks of herbs, free of large chunks

Pour the blended sauce into a clean glass jar. Let the sauce rest at room temperature for at least one hour to allow the harshness of the raw garlic and vinegar to mellow and the flavors to integrate fully.

Chef's Notes

Safety first: The oils from scotch bonnet peppers are notoriously potent and will linger on bare skin. Always wear nitrile or latex gloves when handling them, and wash your cutting board and knife thoroughly with hot, soapy water immediately after use.
Culantro, often sold as shado beni or recao, has a much stronger, earthier flavor profile than cilantro. If you must substitute with cilantro, use twice the amount by weight to achieve a similar herbaceous background note.
For a deeper, slightly smokier flavor profile, you can dry-roast the whole peppers and onion wedges in a cast iron skillet until slightly charred before blending.
This sauce naturally separates as it sits in the refrigerator. This is completely normal and expected. Simply give the jar a vigorous shake before each use to re-emulsify the ingredients.