Packaging/Bottling and Uncooked Hot Sauce
Forgive me for the post being long! I make a buffalo sauce/marinade that all my friends and family rave about. I’d love to be able to give some to them to keep in the pantry, especially the ones that live out of state and would need to travel with it or have it shipped. I want to know if I’m able to safely bottle this recipe. I am also considering selling the sauce if it’s safe to package/bottle.
I’ve been researching for quite some time and every recipe I find is cooked prior to the bottling. I want to avoid that, if possible, because the sauce actually doesn’t taste the same once cooked. I do realize it has to be heated up, when doing the actual bottling, so once I know if I can safely bottle the sauce, I’ll have to test it out and see if the flavor changes. I’m assuming it won’t be as drastic of a change as when cooking the sauce itself in a sauce pot like I’ve tried previously.
Under Illinois Cottage Food Laws, I think I could package my sauce, as is, and sell it as refrigerated, should I decide to sell at some point, but of course this isn’t going to work for giving out to family and friends to keep in their pantry.
Essentially the sauce consists of:
1/2 cup of Frank’s Red Hot (aged cayenne red peppers, distilled vinegar, water, salt, garlic powder)
2 T honey
2 T Nellie’s Key Lime Juice (water, key lime juice from concentrate, sodium benzoate, lime oil)
3 T Grapeseed Oil
5-6 T of dry, ground spices
It’s a fairly thick sauce due to the small amount of liquid compared to the large amount of dried spice. I know olive oil can be an issue, not sure on Grapeseed? I can probably just avoid oil altogether if needed since it’s not much. I’m also open to adding more of the Franks if that’s necessary to raise the PH. Of course that would be a big flavor change, so hopefully that won’t be necessary. The Nellie’s lime juice bottle states that it’s “best refrigerated” after opening, so that makes me think it’s pretty shelf stable since it’s not a necessity to refrigerate even after opening. I’m not sure if that makes a difference one way or the other, but I figured it’s worth mentioning since it’s might be a lesser known product.
Does anyone have any ideas if bottling the sauce uncooked would be safe? Again, I’m talking about avoiding cooking the sauce prior to the bottling, not the boiling that takes place during the bottling.
Thank you!!!
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How do you bottle hot sauce?
Bottling your Homemade Hot Sauce While the Homemade Hot Sauce is still at a slow boil remove one bottle at a time from the sterilizer shake out any moisture inside the bottle and then fill the sterilized bottle with the Hot Sauce. Repeat this until all of the sauce is bottled then tighten the caps onto the bottle.How to store homemade hot sauce?
Homemade hot sauce should be tightly sealed and stored in the refrigerator. So long as the hot sauce has a low enough pH, it can be canned in a hot water bath. Properly sterilized and canned jars of hot sauce should be shelf stable for up to a year, if kept in a cool, dark location (or in the refrigerator).How do you seal a sauce bottle?
pH for Shelf Stable Hot Sauce Ideally, a pH measurement of 3.4 creates a sufficiently acidic environment to prevent bacteria from growing. To achieve this balance, use citrus fruits like lemons or limes, or a high-quality vinegar.Processing and Bottling Hot Sauce
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