How to Bottle Hot Sauce

Hot sauce is used in multiple recipes and also as a condiment for many different snack foods. It can be used as a major ingredient in buffalo wings, as an added kick for salsa recipes or as a flavoring for eggs. If you make your own hot sauce, you'll want to package it properly so it can last longer without going bad. This also gives you the option of giving your hot sauce to someone as a gift. Bottling hot sauce requires some diligence to prevent the possibility of bacteria infection.

Things You'll Need

• Oven
• Glass bottle with caps
• Gloves
• Funnel
• Fridge

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 185 degrees.

2. Lay your glass hot sauce bottles down onto the oven rack on their sides. Wear gloves to prevent yourself from getting burned on the oven.

3. Heat the bottles for 20 minutes. This sterilizes them and prevents bacteria from being spread to your hot sauce. Most hot sauce recipes include vinegar, which also helps kill bacteria and prevent food poisoning exposure.

4. Remove the bottles and allow them to cool to room temperature.

5. Pour the hot sauce into each bottle with a funnel to prevent spillage. Fill each bottle as much as possible. If the sauce is hot temperature-wise, fill the bottles as quickly as possible since the heat further helps sterilize the lips of the bottles.

6. Seal each bottle firmly with its cap and turn the bottle upside down so the heat and vinegar in the sauce further sterilize the top of the bottle.

7. Store the bottles in the fridge to help preserve the hot sauce if it will not be used right away.

Tips & Warnings

• You will need to be properly licensed as a business if you plan on selling your hot sauce and will need to comply with the specific health-code laws of your state when preparing your sauce and its packaging.

References

• In Mama's Kitchen: Jams, Sauces & Preserves -- Back to Basics
• My Small Biz: How to Bottle and Sell Sauces