The Tools:

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Here are the tools I use to make my Pepper Sauces and a whole lot more. Every one of these items I own and can attest to their performance. I describe these items in somewhat of an order where I use them in the process. Not exactly but, close! I have provided links to the pages and products. If you happen to purchase any of these items from my links here, all referral commissions will go to my wife to help pay for her Parkinson’s medication and Neurologist visits.

I use a smoker to smoke many of my peppers and other ingredients. This brings out the sweetness and provides very unique flavors. I believe it also helps in the fermentation process. I have two smokers actually. A large one and a small one. The large one I use for meats. It has a very accurate digital temperature controller and even a phone app! The smaller one I use for herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables. The smaller one has a dial temperature setting that is not very accurate. So I use the controller below which solves that problem! A great selection of Electric Smokers on Amazon

I use on of these digital temperature controllers on my smaller smoker that has a mechanical dial temperature controller. Problem with those is they allow the temperature to swing about 50 degrees which is not good and can ruin your food. So I just plug the smoker into one of these and problem solved! Also works great with 5th burners when making beer too! PAY ATTENTION TO THE WATTAGE and the temperature range like 22f to 572f. Be sure to select the correct one because there are a few options. Make sure that your smokers wattage does not exceed the controllers capabilities. This one is 1650watts and my little smoker is 1400watts. You can get this great Digital Temperature Controller on Amazon!

I use a variety of wood chips in my smokers. For smoking peppers, garlic, pears and other ingredients for my pepper sauce, I like lighter woods like Apple, Cherry but also like Bourbon Barrell wood chips too. The electric smokers use the wood chips much more efficiently than a charcoal smoker. I also capture the smoke to make my own liquid smoke used in my Peppers 4 Parkinson’s sauces! Looks at the great selection of Wood Chips on Amazon!

Okay, not too interesting but, this is necessary when it comes to any food or beverage preparation! YOU MUST sterilize everything! Every utensil, gloves, fermenter, tool, bottle, cap, yourself whatever. It’s very easy and is the most important ingredient for preventing bacteria from contaminating your creation.

With only a 30 second contact time, this sanitizer doesn’t need to be rinsed off. It will passivate and protect the equipment. Great for use on carboys, kegs, fermenters, kettles, brewing systems, chillers, and heat exchangers. USED BY PROFESSIONALS- Many craft brewers choose Star San as their sanitizer of choice in order to make good beer! Love it, live it! Buy Star San On Amazon

The Bubbler is also known as an Airlock or Vapor lock. It allows gasses to escape but does not allow air back in. Most commonly used in winemaking, the same rules apply for fermentation. Contaminates such as wild yeasts and bacteria are the enemy. Using one of these bubblers also prevents the pressure from building up which, can cause the container to crack or even explode into a big mess. I use a Star San solution in the liquid for the water chamber! There are several types of these to choose from.

Fermenter with Bubbler

After I do what I do with all the peppers and ingredients, that blend is fermented for three weeks in a sterilized fermenter with a vapor lock. Fermentation brings out very unique characteristics of the ingredients. It takes the harsh off bitter and seems to “even out” the heat from the hotter peppers. Check out Fermenters and Bubblers on Amazon

After I ferment my ingredients, I filter the mash then I use a quality food dehydrator to dry the filtered mash. This dehydrator is the best I have found. It holds more, it has a stable, adjustable temperature and timer. The fan is in the back so the drying is even. I use it for many drying tasks. I made some mats from this oven mat/liner material, cutting it to size to fit right inside the trays. This works great for drying my mash. I also use it to dehydrate my home made dog biscuits!

You’ll need some food safe disposable gloves to help prevent cross contamination and to protect yourself from any hot peppers you will be handling. Let me tell you, if you have been handling peppers and scratch your face, touch your eye or take a trip to the loo, you can experience some really annoying discomfort! Check out Disposable Gloves on Amazon

Most kitchens have a blender already. I like a good one. I also like one that is very large and can blend up peppers and so on without continually becoming mucked up. I also like one that can run a few minutes without the motor burning out! I use my blender a lot. Look at all the great Blenders on Amazon

Okay, do not cheap out on one of these. A fast and accurate thermometer will make the difference in all your cooking. You can ruin a roast, chicken or pork loin if you are off by a mere 5 degrees!

For my sauce, I heat it to 180f right before the final steps of blending in the xanthan gum and bottling. There is a great selection of Digital Cooking Thermometers on Amazon

These things are awesome. After I filter my fermented peppers and other ingredients (the mash), I spread the filtered goodness onto one of these mats. I then put it in the oven at 200f for several hours. I flip the drying mash a few hours into the process. IT DOES NOT STICK to the mat and no non-stick spray is needed. Once crispy dry, I break it up and put it into the coffee grinder to make the powder. There are a bunch of Silicone Cooking Mats to choose from on Amazon.

K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid!) No need to go overboard on a grinder. I find that simple rotating blades in a cup work best. I tried a blender and yeah, not a good result. Although the coffee grinder holds less, it allows me to make a nice fine powder. A simple coffee grinder is more durable and does not clog up.

I use this to grind the dried mash into a powder before re-introducing some of it back into the sauce. I also save some of the powder back and put it into small vails to use as a seasoning. Also works great mixed with ketchup! Many types of Coffee Grinders on Amazon

You will need to strain the pepper mash after fermenting. I use the metal strainer (below) with this one underneath. This is a very fine mesh filter. Filtering out the smallest pieces of the mash that you can give the sauce a smooth finish and collects as much of the pepper mash as possible for drying then grinding. The strained ingredients are then dried for 12 hours. A great selection of Fine Mesh Strainers on Amazon.

Okay, these things are great. Do not cheap out on this item. It is important to have a good handle. I don’t know how many strainers I have had where the weld broke and handle came off. It is also important that you get a FINE MESH so the powder is as “powdery” as possible. This allows the powdered seasoning from the coffee grinder to be absorbed well in the sauce when you are in the final heating stage before bottling. Fine Metal Strainers on Amazon

Half of the powder from the coffee grinder stage is re-introduced into the liquid with an immersion blender. I then reheat slowly to 180f.

This guy is really handy for many things however, when finalizing the sauce, I need to use one of these as I sprinkle in the xanthan gum. This allows me to thicken the sauce and it also keeps it from separating. I do this after I turn off the heat upon reaching 180f.

Keep it down in the pot so you do not suck air into the sauce or you will get foam which, takes FOREVER to dissipate.

This is the last step before bottling into the sterilized bottles. A selection of Immersion Hand Blenders on Amazon

These guys cost around a buck a piece. If you are making sauce for yourself, just use a sterilized bottle from just about anything. Soy sauce, other pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce or even a beer bottle! However, if you are making sauce to share or gift, a bottle with a shrink-able seal is best. I use a small hair dryer to shrink my seals! Get 5oz Glass Bottles on Amazon!

A hair dryer? What the heck do I need this for to make hot sauce!? Well, if you are bottling your sauce, I use one of these to shrink the seals. I have a heat gun which many recommend but, I do not like the result and too many times I have ruined the seal. The heat gun is just too hot even on low. After hijacking my wifes hairdryer too many times, I had to get my own! Find a great selection of Hair Dryers on Amazon

You can in fact also use a heat gun. Just make sure you get one with adjustable temperature settings. Not just “Low” and “High” settings. Once you find the proper setting for your particular shrink material, you can finish up your Pepper Sauce bottles faster and easier than with a hair dryer. Lots of Heat Guns on Amazon

Don’t forget the Kitties! Here is some great rope to recover your scratching posts! Not exactly for peppers but, with a cat purring on your lap, it reduces Parkinson’s related tremors and relaxes you. This is fact so, is pussies4parkinsons my next project?