What my granddaddy and a lot of Southerners call sport peppers are little green and red and sometimes yellow hot peppers, Capiscum annuum, similar in taste to Tabasco and the Thai chiles found in many Asian markets. I store my sport pepper sauce in the refrigerator, not in the pantry, which means I hardly need to cook the peppers first. The sauce doesn’t last as long as it otherwise would, but the flavor is brighter. Use on slow-cooked greens when you want a jolt of flavor.–John Besh
LC Sport Pepper Primer Note
If you’ve yet to be acquainted with the sport pepper, allow us to introduce you. In the south, a bottle of sport pepper sauce awaits on darn near every table, not for dipping your grubby fingers into so you can snag a pepper for your sandwich but rather for you to shake and dribble willy-nilly. Those in the know rely on the vinegary twang to anoint cooked greens, fried chicken, and, though the taste isn’t quite the same as Tabasco or Crystal, just about anything you’d douse with bottled hot sauce. Can’t find sport peppers? Use whichever skinny pepper of whatever Scoville heat unit you can tolerate.
Sport Pepper Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups mixed sport peppers or small, slender Thai chile peppers
- 1 quart (4 cups) white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Scrub the sport peppers under cool running water. Leave them whole unless they’re terribly large, in which case you can halve them lengthwise. Place the chiles, vinegar, and salt in a medium pot, bring to a boil, and let ‘er rip over medium–high heat for 2 minutes.
- Working quickly and using a slotted spoon or tongs, divide the chiles evenly among several hot, sterilized jars or bottles. Using a sterilized funnel, carefully fill the jars or bottles with the hot liquid. Seal the jars or bottles according to the manufacturers’ directions. Let rest at room temperature until cool.
- Stash the bottles or jars in the refrigerator for at least 1 week before using to let the flavors develop. The “sauce” will keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This sauce is a keeper. I ended up leaving most of the peppers whole and cutting a couple of large ones in half so that they fit into the jars better. I tasted it at 3 days and again at 6 days and it is noticeably better at 6. It tasted bright without the harsh vinegar taste that it had at 3 days. We tried it on sautéed Swiss chard and it was amazing. I had to use store-bought peppers for this batch and the sauce is hot but not too hot. I will try it with Thai peppers out of my garden later in the summer and I think we will like it even more.
Wow—perfect pickle with a multitude of uses. So easy to make year-round. I used to make mine with peppers, garlic vinegar, and soy sauce, but I did not cook the peppers in vinegar. Had it on pork burgers and it was delicious. Cooking it for 2 minutes takes the bite out of the peppers a little. It is in the fridge aging now. Can’t wait to test it in a week.
Simple spicy recipe to always have handy to add to any stew, pasta, or other dish you like with a little kick. The taste reminded me of some spicy Asian homemade sauces I have had in the past, so I was surprised to find out it is a Southern recipe. Shows how food cultures blend so amazingly.
Seems like the chili vinegar they have in Thai restaurants? Great, now I know what to make with the bouquet of chiles I bought at the farmers market!
Done. Did copy the Thais in cutting it in short rings, so they can be added to food. They are SPICY, though. No idea what kind they are other than SPICY!!!
Hmm. Wonder what kind of hot peppers you have, Silke? Have you tried to locate a picture on-line?
I have no idea. I’m guessing some Asian variety, as they are from a Chinese farm stand. I bought a whole bunch of them, still attached to the rest of the plant, much like a bouquet of flowers. Judging from pictures online they are more similar to Thai peppers, but not as long. They are spicy. Did I say that they are spicy? So spicy. And we eat a lot of spicy food, 3 chiles on the menu don’t scare us except in Indian restaurants in the UK. I’ll report back once it has sat for a week….
They do sound like Thai chilies and they ARE hot!
Posted a picture on facebook in the post leading to this recipe. Perhaps somebody knows???
Thank you for posting this recipe. My Co-Pastor is from Ft. Worth Texas and since she married a Michigan man she doesn’t get to enjoy the southern dishes she’s accustomed to. She recently asked if she could purchase pepper sauce and described this type of recipe. I just cooked up a batch so I can only hope it comes close to the taste of her big mama’s recipe. Thanks again!
What a lovely thing to do, Adrienne! I am sure that she will be thrilled and taken right back to her mama’s kitchen.
Oh, this brings back so many wonderful memories of meals at my grandparents’ house. Nothing like this homemade hot sauce! Now I just need to make a big pot of turtle sauce piquant to go with it.
Woah, Amy, you can’t tease us like that, mentioning turtle sauce piquant and not sharing your recipe!