I've been picking the hot peppers as they turn bright red, rinsing them off and then nipping off the stem end. Then the get put into a gallon size freezer bag with all the other hot peppers that have ripened ahead of them. When the pepper growing ceases, I haul out that bag and thaw those bad boys. Next I add a cup of white vinegar to the food blender [be smart and buy a good used one to dedicate JUST to this purpose] and start pureeing them. Do this until the peppers are all ground up.
Now put the peppers/vingar mix in a 5 quart covered kettle and put on the heat using a camp stove out in the garage. Actually everything discussed here should maybe be done in the garage after the peppers leave that freezer bag. I have a large 3 burner propane stove that came out of an ice shack years ago just for such occasions. Add a bit of salt, not much, to the pepper mix and simmer this [covered] for maybe an hour or until the pepper mix is soft enough to run thru a food mill. Toss the seeds left in the food mill, but return the sauce to a smaller, un-covered sauce pan and simmer, stirring often, until the sauce is as thick as you'd like it. I like mine about the consistancy of Tabasco. I put the sauce up boiling hot in 8 ounce jelly jars and seal with covers from a very hot water bath.
What you end up with depends upon the peppers you use. My first batch this year has a flame-thrower decal on the jar so Ma doesn't confuse this with her ketchup. After trying a sip out of a teaspoon, I'll be content to dip a toothpick in the sauce and just wave it over my scrambled eggs....should last a good while.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go get another glass of iced tea.
