Sweet Kiss of Death - How to Make a Carolina Reaper Hot Sauce

In this video I make a hot sauce from roasted Carolina Reaper peppers, Habanero peppers, and Strawberries as the main ingredients! I will walk you through my process from cutting the peppers to tasting the sauce, ingredients list is at the end of this description.
I named this sauce Sweet Kiss of Death because of the rich sweet flavors of the strawberries and miniature sweet peppers that greet you on first taste, and then the slow build of a nice warm reaper heat that spreads through your whole mouth and makes you briefly wonder if this was a mistake. The heat is kept well in check by the strawberries and is not overwhelming or intense.
Making your own hot sauce is not only fun but incredibly rewarding. I enjoyed making this sauce because it was rather different from most of my previous sauces, and is one I will definitely be making again. If you have questions about how to make your own hot sauce please comment below.
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Thanks for watching, and please like this video if you enjoyed it, and subscribe to my channel for more how to videos on making hot sauce, growing hot peppers, gardening basics, passive hydroponics and more!
Ingredients:
1 lb fresh Strawberries
2.5 oz Carolina Reaper Peppers
1.5 oz Orange Habanero Peppers
2 Medium Yellow Hot Peppers
8 Mini Sweet Peppers
3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup White Wine Vinegar
1/4 cup Water
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Onion Flake/Powder
3 Cloves Garlic

[@jamesstoneouse13]

I just made this and yep…. Its hot!

[@bausgrows]

That's awesome!! Enjoy!

[@jamesstoneouse13]

@@bausgrows thanks! It was my first sauce and you made it a breeze.. im puttin the recipe in the cook book

[@mehmetedex]

cool

[@supercel_]

The most impressive part of this video is how good those strawberries look

[@davemiller8203]

Never would i have thought to blend Caroline reapera wirh strawberries, but it makes sense considering the two flavours. Great video! I definitely have to try this now. The only thing is i would nwver heat to a boil any vinegar as that drastically changes the flavour of vinegar, and not for the better. I think i will heat the peppers then add the vinegar afterwards.

[@timparker753]

I make a orange habanero and strawberry sauce that is amazing. And FIRE.

[@bausgrows]

I love mixing berries with hot peppers! They just work so well together

[@joseramos3076]

Wow it's like to eat the sun ☀ 💥🔥

[@HarshTruth]

My dude took that like a champ. Good look with the strawberries there.

[@Vote4Pedro211]

Last year I canned some strawberry jalapeño jam. It was delicious. I love the sweet/hot combo. Love this idea in a hot sauce. Nice work!

[@ballyhaunis]

Use the stalks as well that's where a lot of the heat is. Get rid when straining.

[@bausgrows]

Ok now I don't know if you are being serious or playing along with the standing joke in the pepper lovers community.

[@joeponder9668]

I was gonna say dang baus growin some decent reapers!!! Looks good bro!!!

[@rosemaryjyrwa2049]

Amazing wow 😊😘

[@irmadonovan2308]

That looks delicious I'm going to try it woo

[@isaiahlynch4113]

I may try this. Looks interesting

[@roots2agarden857]

Hi I was sent your way by Hidden Harvest Grow Lights. Your peppers and the strawberry look great. Nice video thanks for sharing.

[@kylanthedemongaming6075]

Bet that tastes amazing

[@charlesbarden2042]

Wow those reapers are beautiful. They look so much nicer than mine did last year

[@billyjardine9371]

Nice video, I have an organic farm and on a tiny part of it as in a dozen or less plants I grow hot peppers, but I have reaper ghost jalepeno Serrano etc if you want organic home grown peppers next season!

[@bausgrows]

That's awesome! I've got 95 pepper plants in the garden this year but it's never enough!

[@ElisseGoldsteinClark]

Yessssss....

[@ronjagonja8290]

Looked great, I think I'll try it with mango, great recipe! Thanks

[@Viod530]

How did the mango version come out?

[@johnwalters755]

That looks Awesome! I've made my own smoked habanero sauce for years. This season I'm trying some fermented pepper sauce. I'm definitely going to try your recipe!

[@bausgrows]

Thanks! I really enjoy it, sweet balances the heat so well

[@phillieb30]

Sounds and looks like a very solid sauce! Keep the content coming my PLC brother, you definitely will have our support, criticism and heckling throughout the journey. You should do some type of seasoning blend that has powders in them or ways you utilize powders...what do you put them on or in. Peace!!

[@cfrank925]

PLC represent! Thanks for the vid! I'm going to try this in a month or so. I'll have a ton of pods here shortly.

[@mammaec]

Your channel came up randomly but, I do watch Khang Starr. Recipe sounds good! I do make hot salsa by the quart using tomatoes. I will try this recipe. Thank you.

[@bausgrows]

Thanks for watching! I've got more recipe videos coming, just still too buried in harvests to edit! Have a great day

[@seanp474]

Never made a hot sauce, I have hot portugals growing along side my reapers. Wonder the turnout. I will definatley be trying this. Great video. Thank you.

[@bausgrows]

Thank you for watching and good luck on your sauce!

[@travisgraham7459]

I am looking forward to giving this a shot. What do you think about subbing the habanero for scorpin peppers?

[@bausgrows]

I think it would make a hotter, great tasting sauce! Let me know how it turns out!

[@charmcitymaryland3768]

Greetings from hidden harvest

[@nookiemonster42069]

Just started making hot sauce. My first was a habanero strawberry. Turned out good.

[@bausgrows]

That's great! I hope you keep making sauce, it's a great hobby!

[@mrjaydee6882]

Thank you for this video, I made some and the flavor is amazing. How do you store it? In the fridge or just leave out?

[@bausgrows]

I keep my sauces in the fridge. It will keep them fresh longer and I prefer a cool temp when I add to food...to balance the burn!

[@dlighted8861]

Thanks,I have some strawberries and will try a version of your sauce. Have you ever tried making a sauce with Scotch Bonnets?

[@bausgrows]

Yeah! Scotch bonnets are a great pepper for sauces. I tend to like them more with something citrus like lemon juice or limes

[@dlighted8861]

@@bausgrows Well thank you for that. You answered a guestion I had. I am presently taming down a Scotch Bonnet hot sauce. (Yes I admit it. Take away my man card.) 😁 I have already put in lime juice and brown sugar. (Limes are harder to squeeze than lemons.)🤔

[@urbanyeti659]

Thank you for the video. Quick question though. Why did you sanitize the blender if you boil the sauce after you blend it? Can some nasties survive being boiled?

[@bausgrows]

It's a little extra peace of mind and a habit I formed while making fermented sauces that don't always get boiled.

[@urbanyeti659]

Hey, better safe than sorry. I didnt know if there was something else I was missing. Thank you again for sharing the recipe.

[@SomeNussi]

Damn. I don't have any reapers left. I want to make some of this now

[@denny4551]

Maybe I missed it, but how do you store this hot sauce? Was this a fermented recipe? Sorry never made any hot sauce before. But I've got many peppers ripening. Bells to reapers

[@bausgrows]

As long as your final pH is below 3.8 it will be shelf stable. I typically store in the refrigerator just to keep it as fresh as possible even though it never lasts long!

[@didnt_suck]

with star-san do you still boil your bottles? I've contemplated ordering it if it eliminates that step for me

[@bausgrows]

I wash bottles in soap and water, then run them in the dishwasher set to sanitize. I use the starsan at time of filling as one last safeguard.

[@didnt_suck]

@@bausgrows good to know, thanks!

[@RealSmiddog]

If anyone can respond quick enough, about to buy ingredients but I can’t find any yellow hot peppers, does anyone know what would be a good substitute or would I be able to do it without them?

[@bausgrows]

You can use any pepper there! Fresno or Anaheim might be a good alternative

[@kramasz]

I can't believe you didn't seed the strawberries.

[@kirksides7504]

Do you have a printed version of this recipe?

[@bausgrows]

Not yet... working on this for 2024, compiling all my recipes into text online

[@robkey69]

How shelf stable will this sauce be? 1 year?

[@bausgrows]

Depends on how low you get your pH. Technically that means below 4.6, I tend to aim for 4.3 or lower. Keeping it in the fridge will also help extend lifetime.

[@Anton-tx6zd]

Do you have other videos on Reaper pepper sauce?

[@bausgrows]

Not specifically, however you can add or swap in reapers in any of my hot sauce recipes. There is a playlist on my channel for all my hot sauce tutorials

[@Anton-tx6zd]

@@bausgrows ok thanks.

[@alexmiranda9504]

Looks like u my need an ice plung after eating that

[@Viod530]

Can you substitute the strawberry to mangos?

[@bausgrows]

You sure can! I prefer the berry flavor to offset the reaper, but mostly any fruit will work fine.

[@alsteiner7602]

I may have missed something, but I don't see the STRAWBERRIES listed in the ingredients...

[@bausgrows]

Thanks Al, updated the ingredients list!

[@timseeger9389]

How many ounces did that make?

[@bausgrows]

About 25oz in that case

[@tgalla6671]

How long they last ? Do you put an expired date on them?

[@bausgrows]

4-6 months in the fridge after opening. Always sterilize everything when making and bottling, And the sauce is very low pH, which keeps it shelf stable.

[@nomchompsky2883]

lost me with the onion powder there... the rest sounds great. i bet a balsamic or some dessert vinegar would be really good.

[@JJ-gr7th]

Where can I buy the Carolina reapers?

[@bausgrows]

Farmers market, some grocery store chains carry them when in season, hot pepper groups on Reddit or Facebook, all potential sources. Or, grow your own!

[@JJ-gr7th]

@@bausgrows by grocery store chains, which ones carry them in season?

[@bausgrows]

@@JJ-gr7th Ive found them at Safeway,Kroger,. Sprouts

[@visiblyshaken126]

Doesn't heat kill the capsaicin?

[@bausgrows]

Not really, no. It can change the profile a bit and if you cook away the oil too fast it could lose some. But the smoke is slow and the heat is very much still there! Thanks for watching

[@visiblyshaken126]

@@bausgrows I grow my own reapers and ghost peppers and a few other varieties!! I used a few last week for the mix for my home-made chicken wings at 365f in oil and it lost all its heat 🙃 i didn't realise until after!!

[@GraalTwinZies]

Can I skip the roasting step? I have no way to cook these outside , and do not want to cook them inside

[@bausgrows]

Yeah you can. It's mostly done for flavor as you will be cooking everything on the stove later.

[@GraalTwinZies]

@@bausgrows forgot to ask too does boiling it on the stove at the end also create a lot of fumes? I'm very weary about it just because I've got pets in the house and not much ventilation and do not want a pepper spray chamber , so is the boiling step a must

[@bausgrows]

@@GraalTwinZies nothing like cooking them on a pan does, the moisture helps but it DOES fumigate the area a little. I will open windows and run a fan but I regularly cook this with a young child and pets and no issues other than some commentary on how spicy it smells.

[@GraalTwinZies]

@@bausgrows perfect , I'll skip the first step to get them flavor since the spice will most likely kill my taste buds anyways , and will do the stove cook at the end , we have a little chimney like thing that does suck all the steam out ( not sure what it's called ) so will put that on blast . Thanks for the replies , will be doing the hot sauce some time this week !

[@AoiTsuki_]

Reapers spice creep up on you

[@mikestough1051]

How dose it taste tho

[@bausgrows]

It's got a nice mellow sweetness from the berries and a serious burn from the reapers!

[@anthonygavin499]

8:02 daiquiri of death anyone?

[@bausgrows]

Hahaha oh man. Now I have terrible ideas for a summer challenge video....thanks

[@gregmeeks2753]

yes ! shot or two of rum !!!!

[@travisgraham7459]

Oh heck naw!

[@vampiro664]

I've never seen anyone use strawberries in the hot sauce. I love strawberries and with the brown sugar and sweet peppers it's gotta be really good.

[@bausgrows]

It's delicious! I almost always add a sweet fruit to my hot sauces, strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, mango etc... Creates a great balance of heat and sweet!

[@h2oski1200]

total noob here........just improvised my first sauce yesterday, basic habanero, sweet pepper, onion garlic kind of thing........came out DELICIOUS!! but what's the deal with having to sterilize stuff? I didn't do that and now I'm nervous my sauce is gonna give me herpes or something because I didn't sterilize........ at least that's what I'm gonna tell my girlfriend how I got it....jk. but seriously, do I need to starsan my stuff? thanks!

[@bausgrows]

Congrats on your first sauce! Cleanliness is super important any time you are preserving food, even as hot sauce! If all your gear was very well cleaned and you are storing in the fridge it should be ok for a few weeks. But I sterilize to ensure that nothing is going to start growing in my sauce and to help ensure longer shelf stability along with keeping pH low, below 4.3 So you will likely be totally fine, your girlfriend might be more concerned about the impact on the bathroom if you over do it on the habanero sauce 🤣

[@h2oski1200]

@@bausgrows ugh, well now you bring up more questions...........pH levels??? I was hoping to just rip some peppers in a blender and get hot sauce, not become a scientist! pH levels, do I really have to do that? ugh, I guess I need to learn how to do this stuff the other question is, u mention it should be fine for a couple of weeks.......is that all hot sauce lasts? I have stuff that I've been using for like a year (store bought stuff) and it's not even in the fridge. maybe that's what's been causing my hallucinations, now that I think about it it happens about a half hour after every time I eat this sauce. pH levels, how does one even DO that, sheesh.

[@bausgrows]

@@h2oski1200 store bought sauces were made using sterilized gear and proper food preservation techniques, so yes they will last much much longer. Food preservation is all about preventing natural processes from happening that can make food go bad. Shelf stable canned/bottled foods will tend to need a low pH. You can measure it using inexpensive pH strips like you might get to test aquarium water. When making processed food products at home I always advocate sterility and combining food preservation techniques like low pH + fermentation. Or boiling + low pH etc... There is a ton of good info on the web on food safety and I recommend educating oneself to make sure you can enjoy your delicious sauces and other products for a long time!

[@h2oski1200]

@@bausgrows thanks baus

[@Fazylucker]

Randome question, why'd you roast the repaers but nothing else?

[@bausgrows]

Great question! I don't like sauces that are overwhelming with smoke flavor, I feel there is a point that it takes away from the other flavors I like in a sauce. By only smoking the reapers I was helping avoid a sauce that is too smoky and loses its other flavors. Thanks for watching!

[@minhanhnguyen9603]

strawberries really? Why making a hot sauce if the main flavor is sweet? If you want the heat to be mild, why don't you just use the habaneros or other kind of less spicy peppers, instead of wasting the carolina reaper, not to mention you roasted them to kill all the heat lol. And what kind of food do you put this on anyway?

[@bausgrows]

I happen to love the combination of sweet and heat. It goes well on lots of food from tofu to pork. It's ok to have different types of flavors and techniques for preparing sauces.

[@minhanhnguyen9603]

Ok strawberries on tofu and pork, you must have a unique taste, in a weird way i'd say lol

[@killerbanana6978]

No no

[@alexmiranda9504]

looks sweet but painful

[@bausgrows]

It is exactly that! Can always cool it down by swapping in something less brutal than the reapers :-) Thanks for watching

[@hoodninja1611]

I know you lying, them berries tricked you

[@HotDoggin75]

Completely killed it with the strawberries, in a bad way. Strawberry salsa is 1 thing, reaper sauce.. no