Apr
20
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The color of the butter will vary, depending on the peppers, from a green/yellow to an orange. This is OK.It looks much nicer if you seed the peppers.I like mine totally smooth as a mustard, some like it chunkier more like a relish. A friend calls this his “pretzel dip”.
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: pints
Ingredients
36 hot banana peppers
1 quart cider vinegar
1 quart prepared mustard
6 cups sugar
1 cup flour (note: I will now use Clearjel – same amount)
water
Directions
Grind peppers finely (I put in food processor until they are a mush).
Place peppers, vinegar, mustard & sugar in a large pot & cook a while (until pepper bits are translucent). Add flour clearjel (that has been thinned to a smooth paste with cold water) to mixture in pot, stirring constantly. Cook until thick and smooth. Pour into hot jars, seal, boiling water bath fifteen minutes.
Submitted by: wvhomecanner on April 20, 2010
Comments
36 Comments • Comments Feed
Pete says:
This is the BEST stuff EVER!!! Dede got us on a real kick making it last year, and it was most excellent indeed. It’s great on any sandwich where you might consider using mustard, but soooo much better. Super good on burgers or hot dogs.
Think we finally figured out that the peppers measured out to a generous 6 cups, in case you want to add peppers besides the banana peppers. Adding a lot of reds (like cayenne, ripe serranos or jalapenos) makes a very pleasant orange color. One of my batches last year tasted just dandy but was not a very pretty color…
judydee says:
Pete–Help!
I have seeded and pureed 34 sweet banana peppers and 5 long hot peppers (we call them cowhorn peppers). I have not quite 4 cups of puree. Is it 6 cups prior to going in the food processor (I can’t spell pureeing…puring…puraying…heck!)or 6 cups after? Hot banana peppers were not available so I’m mixing the two kinds.
Thanks.Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
I’m not Pete, but I have made a lot of this – and I always just use 36 average size peppers and do not measure the total volume and it comes out fine!
Go for it!judydee says:
Dede–Thanks. I’ve added about 1 more cup of puree (I’m in a more is better kind of mood today) since the sweet peppers were a little on the smallish side. I’m going for it–I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
To put to rest the questions about this recipe: use Clearjel as stated since Clearjel resolves the issue of the mixture being too dense for adequate heat penetration (Clearjel does not fully thicken until after it cools, unlike flour or cornstarch or other traditional thickeners that do not reach their full thickening potential until the are brought to a boil). Also, if you refer to the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving on pages 220 and 225 you will find approved recipes that have Clearjel added and a much larger amount of veggies in relation to vinegar (10 cups to 2 cups and 14 3/4 to 4 cups respectively) than this recipe (6 cups/4 cups vinegar). We can conclude that this recipe is much more acidic than the two approved recipes mentioned above. Also, this recipe has additional acidity added with the large amount of prepared mustard (which is primarily vinegar).
Enjoy!Staci says:
My mama sent me this same recipe (from my cousin Chad) a few years ago with a tiny jar of the stuff. She kept telling me that it was like honey mustard with a kick – I don’t like honey mustard so I never tried the recipe or opened the jar.
A year or so later I ended up with bushels and bushels of Hungarian wax peppers. I made them in to everything I could think of – cheese stuffed peppers, sausage stuffed peppers, pickled veggie mixes, added them to my stewed tomatoes, stewed tomato hot Italian sausage sauce, salsa, etc…
I still had a few bushels left so I pulled out this recipe and canned until I was out of peppers. On the last batch I tasted the so called honey mustard with a kick and fell in love! I does not taste like honey mustard at all, to me anyway.
Last year my peppers didn’t do so well and I couldn’t find any at the local Farmer’s Market. However, I was flying up north to visit family and figured that I could smuggle a few jars home with me. Instead I ended up with a couple bushel of Hungarian wax peppers form my cousin Chad’s garden in a very large suitcase.
I have given countless jars of pepper butter away and they all keep coming back for more! I’m down to about 5 jars.
kellyb says:
I made another batch of this Saturday. Last week the peppers were pretty large and I measured 36 mushed Hungarian Wax to be 6 cups of peppers. Saturday, the peppers were on the small side and 36 turned out to be only about 3 1/2 cups of peppers. Grabbed some more and brought the measurement up to 6 cups. It looks much the same as the first batch. Took some into work today, within 15 minutes the pint was gone. One of the guys actually walked to the store on the corner to get a bag of pretzels. I’m to bring more tomorrow.
judydee says:
With the approx. 5 cups of pureed peppers, I jarred 12 half-pints and one quart of pepper butter. For afternoon snack, we had it on grilled sausage slices on crackers. We like it, like it, like it alot. This recipe is definitely a keeper, tho’ Big Daddy says he would like it a little more “chunky” next time.
kellyb says:
Dede,
This darn stuff is good. I’ve made four batches so far and I’ve got 4 batches of pepper mush tucked away in the freezer for later this fall. Everyone I give a jar to wants more. I have a waiting list at this point. I got my hair cut today and took a dozen eggs and a jar of the butter. She couldn’t get over how good the butter was. By the time I left the jar was empty and handed back to me for a refill. Good stuff.
Suzanne McMinn says:
kellyb, I never thought of making the “pepper mush” and then freezing it to make the pepper butter later!!!! Thanks!
kellyb says:
Suzanne,
I can take no credit for this brilliant idea. I went to one far smarter than me, that would be Dede. I had 1 1/2 bushels of Hungarian Wax peppers and was running out of time. As she was drying her hair before heading out to work she typed, one handed no-less, this brilliant idea to me. Happy freezing pepper mush. This stuff is good and I plan on giving many jars as Christmas presents.
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
Teresa, I just don’t know. I have been making this for 20 years and always used flour until I learned better and found out about Clearjel. It would be safe to use pectin but I can’t imagine you would get the same end result in texture. Let us know what happens if you try it!
Dede
Teresa says:
Well I did! 🙂 I also halved the recipe and got 9 1/2 jelly jars. I used one packet of the liquid CERTO. The jars still seems “runny” but still a bit warm; what i put in a bowl in the fridge (& have been dipping out of all day!) seems a desirable consistency.
Thank you for getting back to me. I’m constantly “tweaking” recipes; but am new to canning, preserving & need to go by the rules a bit!
Thank you again Dede, great recipe, too!
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
Great! And very smart to make half a recipe to be sure that you like what you are getting in the end. If YOU are happy with the finished product, that’s what counts. Sounds like a great alternative, especially for those who have no easy access to Clearjel.
Dede
Teresa says:
Hi Dede – it’s me again. Just wanted to let you know I’ve just made soft pretzel bites – they go fabulous w/your hot pepper butter!
Taking it all to a party tomorrow!
thanks again!
Teresa says:
uh oh; no, it isn’t – am I in trouble in the Chickenyard? One I found & tweaked some, very easy, made about 90 “bites” for dipping.
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
No, you’re not in trouble – YET 🙂
We NEED that recipe. Well, I do anyway LOL!Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
hooray! lol
Please go to the Main page here on Farm Bell, click on Submit Recipes and enter it there. THANKS Teresa! How’d everything go over at the party?Teresa says:
will do; party was fun, weather was great, pretzel bites and dip were a hit. Nice fall get-together.
Teresa says:
Dede/Pete – bites recipe is posted – looks much more difficult than it really is – I went into alot of detail, sorry!
Suzanne McMinn says:
I’m making this today with my frozen pepper mush from last fall! Here is the link to the big forum discussion we had about this recipe–I’m always wanting to check the discussion to remember various stuff we discussed there, so I want to put the link in here on this discussion so I don’t have to search so hard to find it every time, LOL. Some of you might find the discussion useful, too.
http://chickensintheroad.com/forum/just-recipes/hot-pepper-butter/
kellyb says:
It must be the day for hot pepper butter. I’ve got two bags of my frozen mush thawing in the fridge. Son used the last jar from the 4 batches I made last summer and informed me I needed to make more. I’ve got tons of Hungarian Wax peppers planted so hopefully I’ll be making lots of this when they ripen. Good stuff.
Liz Pike says:
Would this work with a milder pepper?? I’m a wimp when it comes to heat…I love the flavor of peppers without too much spice. (Wish I’d had this recipe back when our market garden had 400 pepper plants producing waaay more than we could sell!)
Staci says:
Liz – You can use a hot pepper as long as you remove all of the seeds and membrane – that is where the heat of the pepper comes from. If you would rather not fool with a hot pepper sweet banana peppers work well too. I have used a variety of peppers over the years – I’ve even made it with jalapenos. Yum.
I just picked 36 good sized hot banana peppers to make pepper butter, just have to make a trip to the Mennonite store for ClearJel.
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
Yes, Liz – you can use milder peppers also. The color may be less attractive if you use green bells, but there are lots of mild peppers to choose from, so give it a go.
dede
Liz Pike says:
Thanks for your responses! (I don’t think anything looks as unappetizing as Sweet Chocolate bell peppers cooked!) I wonder if adding tumeric would perk up the colors of boring peppers. Gonna snag some peppers from farmstand this week to try this out in time for daughters’ to give to ex for birthday/father’s day gift.
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
FYI – I was at an Amish bulk store yesterday. There is a WV company that bottles pepper butter commercially. A pint is now selling for …. $6.39!!
Staci says:
I plan on making a batch of pepper butter tomorrow using ClearJel(for the first time) – with flour I know how much to use to make it as thick as I like – using your recipe with ClearJel what is the consistency of the end result?
AnnaMoon says:
I am in the process of making my first batch of Hot Mustard Butter. When I haven’t made a recipe I have a habit of reviewing as many different recipes as I can find. With all that data fresh in my mind I go to the laboratory and start working. The ingredients in this recipe are lovely and can’t wait to taste them. That said I grow peppers like crazy in the summer and simply love hot banana peppers because they are so prolific. What I normally do, though, is make my own hot sauce by roasting the peppers and then blending them into a smooth puree in my high speed blender. I don’t bother removing the seeds because after roasting they are softer and the blender just pulverizes them; I guess. (I do add in other ingredients to make the hot sauce, but only bare minimum so as not to change their flavor. So, I’m going to start this butter recipe from a different starting point. I will update on the results. Thank you for sharing the recipe, though. I’m so excited!
AnnaMoon says:
4 cups roasted hot banana peppers pureed, 1 cup hand chopped sweet red banana peppers, 3.5 cups white sugar, 1.5 cups dark brown sugar, 4 cups heinz classic mustard, 3 cups vinegar, 1 tbs + 2 tsp kosher salt, 1 cup flour. I love the flavor dimension of roasting the peppers and because they went straight from the oven to the high power blender I didn’t have to worry with seeding as previously mentioned – the blender made a nice smooth puree – wow that stuff burns the nose hairs! ha ha ha Just the steam from the top vent of my blender left hot pepper residual on the palm of my left hand. I think next year I’m going to make another batch and just use the banana pepper mash, some sugar and mustard. I loved the flavor before adding the vinegar and at that point it would have cooked down nicely without adding flour. I now see that my taste buds left off using a cup of vinegar the original recipe called for and hope I didn’t miss something on the result, but the flavor seems so perfect at the point I stopped. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe! I’m enjoying reading about your story – so happy to have found you. 🙂 Truly an inspiration…
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
thanks AnnaMoon – so glad you are pleased! One caution, though – omitting an added acid throws the recipe into the unsafe category – peppers are low acid and to be processed in a water bath and remain safe for shelf storage, the acid is a necessity. If you just refrigerated and ate this no problem. But for canning, it needs all the vinegar and you need to use Clearjel not flour, just an FYI 🙂
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