An Inspired Cook

My family, especially Joe and Josh splash a little Tabasco on everything.  My pantry is full of Tabasco’s original sauce, green pepper sauce and chipotle sauce.  It feels like I’m replacing bottles every other week so I decided to try my hand at making some sauce from scratch and see if it would pass the taste test of my most critical judges.  I looked at the ingredients listed on the Chipotle Tabasco sauce bottle and started there.  The amounts were up to me to decipher and as I kept measuring and tasting I finally came up with a pretty good match.  It’s a little thicker and slightly less vinegary as the original but it’s hard to tell the difference when tasting them side by side.

You’ll need a can of Chipotles en Adobo sauce, some water, vinegar, salt, sugar, onion and garlic powder.

You can either use a hand emulsion blender or place the ingredients into a traditional blender.

If using an emulsion blender, place the chipotles en adobo sauce into a deep mixing bowl.  Begin pulsing to break apart the chiles.

Keep blending until all the chiles are crushed and blended together.

I added 1/4 cup water to thin it.  If you want a thinner sauce you could add a little more.  I wasn’t so much worried about the thickness of the sauce as I was about taste.

Next add the vinegar.  I started with 2 tablespoons and after tasting decided it needed a bit more.  I added another 1/2 tablespoon which I liked.  But if you like your sauce a bit more vinegary, add by 1/2 tablespoons until you have the desired taste.

Next I added 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder.

I added 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix well after each addition.

Once you have the desired taste and texture you will need to strain the sauce.

You don’t want all those seeds and peel in the sauce!

And you are left with a smoky spicy sauce!

A little side by side look.  The taste is almost identical.





Chipotle Tabasco Sauce from Scratch

1 (7 ounce) can Chipotle en Adobo
1/4 – 1/3 cup Water
2 1/2 tablespoons Distilled Cider Vinegar (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Sugar

Use a blender or hand emulsion blender to combine the sauce ingredients.  Test sauce for thickness and taste. If too thick, add a little water.  If the sauce requires more vinegar, add in 1/2 tablespoon increments until you have the desired taste.

Strain sauce through a strainer.  Refrigerate any unused sauce.