Pique is a Spanish term for hot sauce. Traditionally, we Puerto Ricans make our own and so every household will have its own recipe. In this post, I am sharing my personal recipe and my tips for making yours.
Jump to RecipeWhat is Pique?
The word pique or pike means sharp point or spike. So it is safe to say this term for Spanish hot sauce comes from the feeling of the spices sharply hitting your tastebuds and throat. I grew up using the term pique for any kind of hot sauce.
My mom always had a bottle either in or on top of our refrigerator. If it was on top, I knew it was in its curing process and getting hot. And it always lasted forever – I never noticed her saying it was time to toss the hot sauce. However, I probably just didn’t notice when she was refilling or remaking it. Isn’t it funny how our memories from childhood usually are missing lots of details that adults would only know and understand?
Why would I make my own hot sauce?
Not all hot sauces are the same. They vary in flavor and level of heat. So making my own hot sauce doesn’t mean I will no longer purchase Frank’s Red Hot Original hot sauce. In other words, it’s just a way to vary the line of hot sauces you offer with a meal.
I make my own hot sauce because it is tradition, but also because I don’t know of any other hot sauce that tastes as good over my rice and beans – or soup!
What goes into pique – the homemade hot sauce?
The most obvious ingredient that goes into hot sauce are the hot peppers. The thing is other than that most people don’t know what else to do or what liquid to use. For pique, I just use vinegar. Some people also put oil, but I personally like to leave it with just vinegar and pour some olive oil or avocado oil onto foods as needed. After all, the containers that hold our sauces and oils are maintaining their unique flavors.
In addition to hot peppers, you can add garlic, herbs, spices, and even things like tomatoes and olives. Over time, you can test by tweaking with the flavors you prefer.
What container should I use for my pique?
It is customary to recycle and use whatever glass containers you have on hand for pique, but I personally have been upcycling the glass containers of my favorite lemonade brand, Peach State Drinks. In fact, I’m sipping on their limited Strawberry Brown Sugar Lemon-Aid as I draft this post!
To make it even more fun – I encourage you to design a cute label for your hot sauce. With their permission, I designed mine by referencing the one that was on the lemonade – what do you think?
Pique – Puerto Rican Hot Sauce
Equipment
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Gloves
- Glass container
Ingredients
- 10 oz white vinegar
- 3 serrano peppers
- 3 jalapeno peppers
- 3 fingerhot peppers
- 3 longhot peppers green and red
- 3 garlic cloves
- cilantro
- salt
- 1 tsp peppercorns
Instructions
Preparing the hot sauce
- Prepare glass a container where pique will be stored by cleaning and drying thoroughly.
- Put on gloves to protect your skin from oils of the hot peppers.
- Cut stems from all hot peppers and roughly slice just small enough for pepper to fit into neck of your glass container.
- Peel garlic cloves and slice in half. This is mainly for it to fit into the glass container and to release some of the oils within.
- Roughly chop a few cilantro stems.
- Place all prepped hot peppers, garlic, and cilantro into the glass container.
- Add salt and peppercorns
- Pour vinegar until glass container is almost full, leaving just about a finger-width of air to allow for easier mixing later.
Allowing to cure
- Close glass container and allow to cure for 2-14 days in a warm place. It is customary to place on top of your refrigerator, or by your stove in the kitchen.
- After the pique has cured, you should store the hot sauce in the refrigerator.
Refilling your pique
- Every time your pique container is about half-empty, it is recommended that you add more hot peppers and vinegar. Continuing this process will result in a unique flavor based on your preferred balance of hot peppers.
Notes
Feel free to use any of the images below to save this recipe on Pinterest!
Read more about Peach State Drinks in my recent interview with the founders.
