I have been making a three pepper chili for years, but the spice content leaves a little to be desired for some people. I wanted to make a hot sauce that would complement this chili, but my first few attempts haven't been hot enough. I used jalapeño and poblano as the base along with vinegar and garlic. The sauce tastes exactly how I would like and tastes great with the chili, but it isn't hot enough. So, is there any way to torque up the heat with out changing the taste?
(I did use a few habanero on one batch but all I can taste is the addition, it throws the sauces flavor off in a fairly noticeable way)
Best Answer
There are a few things that might work. I would probably just add more seeds. The majority of the capsaicin where the heat comes from is in the seeds, while the majority of the flavor is in the flesh. You could just add some seeds from a hot pepper like habanero or cayenne or even more jalapeno seeds.
You could also add some chili pepper that has heat but not a lot of flavor. Some examples include cayenne and chile de arbol. Thai bird and african bird chiles are hot and also don't have a ton of flavor in my opinion.
Another option is to try a chili extract. For example, a habenero extract will have some flavor, but a small amount will add an enormous amount of heat. So you may be able to get away with an amount small enough not to add much flavor, while at the same time kicking up your heat to the desired level.
Personally I like habenero, esp in El Yucateco sauce, which I often add straight to hot sauces.