Smoked Peach Habanero Hot Sauce

Calling all habanero lovers! Smoked peach habanero hot sauce is the perfect excuse to fire up your smoker. The combination of sweet, ripe peaches and spicy habanero peppers swirled with smoke make this habanero hot sauce recipe a keeper. This sauce can be made as a single small-batch recipe or multiplied and water bath canned for long term storage and gifting! Smoked peach habanero hot sauce is versatile. Swirl into your favourite soup or sauce, toss on your Ultimate Traeger Chicken Wings, use it as a dip for your Smoked Beer Can Chicken, or give flavour to your favourite pork roast.

All About Habanero Peppers

Habanero peppers are a type of chili pepper. These small and bright orange peppers pack a real punch! There are many different varieties that boast different heat levels and they are considered some of the hottest peppers in the world. On average, mighty habanero peppers range from 100,000 to 350,000 on the scoville scale. For reference, a jalapeno pepper ranges from 2,000-8,000 scoville heat units.

Less is more! If your taste buds can’t handle the heat or your family prefers a milder sauce smoked habanero sauce, adjust the spice level by reducing the peppers to 3 or less.

Key Ingredients

Habanero Peppers- Choose fresh, firm, hot peppers for best results.

Peaches- I used large peaches (around 200 grams each) from my local market that had a really red flesh and skin. Any peach will work including freestone peaches and clingstone peaches. Use what you have and adjust for size! If your peaches are small, add one or two extra to this recipe. A traditional yellow/orange peach will give you a brighter yellow sauce. Extra ripe peaches give great flavour to this spicy sauce. Easily swap peaches for mangos to make a mango habanero hot sauce.

Apple Cider Vinegar + Lemon Juice- These both help preserve color and flavor while adding a bit of tang to the habanero hot sauce that cannot be replaced! They also raise the acidity of your sauce so that it is safe for canning and preserving. In a pinch you can exchange the lemon juice for lime juice and ACL for white vinegar but the flavor of the sauce will change considerably. It is important to not that lime juice is slightly less acidic than lemon juice for canning but this recipe has enough vinegar that it will be fine!

Equipment

This equipment will make the job easier and result in the best habanero hot sauce. Swap out equipment as needed.

Smoker- I used my Traeger Ironwood 885 for this recipe! Other smokers such as a Pit Boss, Green Mountain Grill, Z Grill, and Weber smokers will also work great. I prefer an electric (pellet smoker) with indirect heat to smoke delicate items like peaches and habaneros.

Grill Mats- We use these Big Chief grill mats for smoking smaller items and Jerky. If you love jerky, check out this Sliced + Smoked Goose Jerky recipe!

Blender- I have a 10 year old Vitamix that has never let me down! It has a large container that is vented at the top so it can handle big amounts of hot food and steam- perfect for this smoked peach habanero hot sauce. You can find one here. Most other blenders will do the job but may take a bit longer to achieve a smooth overall consistency. As an alternative you could use a food processor or an immersion blender.

Best Pellets for Smoking Peach Habanero Hot Sauce

Using hickory pellets is the best way to give your peach hot sauce great depth of flavor! If you are looking for the signature smokey taste, hickory pellets or chips are the way to go.

Other wood pellets that pair nicely with this recipe include cherry wood, apple wood, pecan, and competition blend.

Tips + Tricks

ALWAYS wear latex gloves when handling spicy peppers. Some people go as far as wearing eye protection when chopping and removing seeds. The oil residues will get onto your skin and under your fingernails and cause long lasting burning.

An immersion blender can be used instead of a regular blender to avoid extra dishes and to blend up your habanero hot sauce while it is still in the pot.

For maximum flavor, use very ripe peaches!

Exactly How to Make Smoked Peach Habanero Hot Sauce

Step 1. Preheat the smoker to 250°F. Wash all of your vegetables. Peel, remove the pit, and half the peaches. Peel the onions and garlic cloves. Halve the habanero peppers and remove the stems and seeds. More seeds left = more spice! Quarter the medium sized onion. Place the peaches, onions, and garlic on a smoker mat or fine grill tray. Transfer them to the preheated smoker and smoke for 30 minutes.

Step 2. Measure out the remaining ingredients into a large sauce pan including 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger. When 20 minutes of smoking has passed, start warming your sauce over medium-heat. Bring them to a light boil for 3 minutes. Add the smoked peaches, onions, garlic, and habanero peppers to the sauce pan. Bring back to a boil for 5 minutes.

Step 3. Transfer the hot ingredients to a heat safe blender and ensure that steam is able to escape from the lid. Pulse on high until completely smooth and there are separate ingredients visible.

Step 4. Enjoy fresh or pour the smoked peach habanero hot sauce into airtight jars or containers and transfer into the fridge. If you plan on canning this recipe for long term preservation and shelf-stable storage, see section below.

How to Heat Process Your Smoked Peach Habanero Hot Sauce in a Water Bath Canner

A single recipe will yield about 5 1/2 cups of hot sauce depending on the size of your peaches, onions, peppers. I like to fill two pints and a couple of quarter pints for later gifting.

1. Keep the habanero hot sauce at a low simmer while you prepare your canning tools and jars.
2. Wash all jars, screw bands, and seals with warm water and soap. Place the jars in your oven and turn on to 175°F to warm them (around 5 minutes).
3. Ladle the the fresh smoked peach habanero hot sauce in hot jars, leaving one inch head space. Wipe the jar rims with a damp paper towel, add the seals and finger tighten the screw bands.
4. Place jars in a warm hot water bath canner with at least 1-2 inches covering the jars. Bring to a boil with the jars inside and start the processing time. Adjust the processing time according to your altitude.
5. Let cool, undisturbed, 12 to 24 hours and check for seals.

Peach Habanero Hot Sauce Processing Time

*The times listed are for pints, half pints, and quarter pints. If using a quart jar, add an extra 5 minutes to processing time.

Elevation	Processing Time
0 – 1000 feet	15 minutes
1001 – 6000 feet	20 minutes
6001 – 8000 feet	25 minutes

How to Make Peach Habanero Hot Sauce Without a Smoker

If you don’t own a smoker yet, dont fret! This recipe can be made without smoking the peaches and veggies first. Simply pop the produce into your oven on a baking tray or baking sheet instead of on the smoker. You can also use 1/2 teaspoon to a full teaspoon of liquid smoke depending on your preference to achieve a smoked peach hot sauce flavour without a smoker!

Batch + Storage

This recipe will yield about 5 1/2 cups of spicy habanero peach sauce. You may have around 1/2 cup variance depending on the size of your produce, how much peach juice evaporates on the smoker, etc…

Refrigerated– Store in recycled hot sauce bottles or in your favorite jars. This batch of hot sauce will keep fresh in the fridge for 7-10 days.

Frozen-Smoked Peach Habanero Hot Sauce will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months, after this the texture, color, and taste may start to degrade.

Canned– When properly canned, this batch of hot sauce will keep for up to 12 months in a cool, dark place. It may keep longer but that is up to personal discretion!

FAQ

How to Enjoy Smoked Peach Habanero Hot Sauce

Enjoy this peach pepper sauce like a regular hot sauce, adorning burgers, eggs, and other savoury dishes or check a few ideas below! ↓↓↓↓

Printable Recipe

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