What hot pepper butter is
Hot pepper butter has no butter in it. It is a thick, sweet-and-tangy mustard-style spread made from finely chopped hot or banana peppers, prepared yellow mustard, vinegar, sugar, and a thickener. It is popular in Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish-influenced kitchens and at flea markets and church sales, and it goes by other names, including hot pepper mustard.
The name comes from its smooth, spreadable texture. The flavor is somewhere between a sweet mustard and a pepper relish.
Typical ingredients
Recipes vary a lot, but most include:
- Peppers: banana peppers, hot banana peppers, or Hungarian wax peppers, often with a few jalapeños or red peppers for heat and color.
- Prepared yellow mustard: a large amount, which is where the flavor and color come from.
- Vinegar: commonly apple cider vinegar.
- Sugar: quite a lot, to balance the heat and tang.
- Thickener: this is where recipes disagree. Older family recipes often use flour; newer ones use Clear Jel.
- Salt and sometimes water.
Is hot pepper butter safe to can?
This is the important question, and the plain answer is no: hot pepper butter should not be home canned. Make it as a refrigerator or freezer product.
Three reasons:
- There is no tested home-canning recipe for hot pepper butter. Family recipes that are canned are not scientifically tested, and the water bath times they list vary from recipe to recipe, which is a sign that the number comes from habit rather than from testing.
- The mixture is dense, and density slows heat penetration. Flour and cornstarch make a mixture thick, and a thick mixture can heat unevenly in the jar, so the center may not reach a safe temperature. Even a modified starch such as cook-type Clear Jel does not make this mix a tested canning recipe.
- Peppers are low-acid, and the acidity of the finished mix has not been verified. Mustard, peppers, and thickeners add up to a thick, mixed product. A good amount of vinegar is reassuring, but it is not a substitute for testing, and extra processing time does not fix unverified acidity or slow heat penetration.
If you are making this for gifts or for other people, give them a refrigerated or frozen jar with a clear note to keep it cold.
Refrigerator hot pepper butter
Here is a small-batch method you can scale to taste. Quantities are approximate starting points for a refrigerator or freezer batch, not a canning formula.
- About 2 cups finely chopped peppers (seeds removed for a smoother texture)
- About 1 cup prepared yellow mustard
- About 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- About 1 cup sugar, adjusted to taste
- Pinch of salt
- A few tablespoons of cook-type Clear Jel mixed with a little cold water as needed for thickness (or skip the thickener and cook it down)
Method:
- Wear gloves and finely chop the peppers in a food processor.
- Stir the peppers, vinegar, sugar, and salt together in a heavy pot and simmer a few minutes.
- Whisk in the mustard.
- Mix the Clear Jel with cold water until smooth, then whisk it in gradually. Add it slowly or it will clump.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until the spread is as thick as you like. It scorches easily on the bottom, so keep the heat moderate.
- Cool and pack into clean jars. Keep refrigerated.
Plan to eat it within a few weeks, and watch for mold or off smells.
Do not can it
Do not process hot pepper butter in a boiling water canner or a pressure canner, and do not rely on a longer processing time to make up for the missing testing. Keep every jar in the refrigerator or freezer. If you want shelf-stable pepper jars, choose a tested pickled pepper recipe instead.
Can hot peppers be water bath canned?
Yes, when they are pickled in an acidified brine following a tested recipe. Peppers on their own are a low-acid food, so plain peppers in water are not safe to water bath can; they require pressure canning. See banana pepper canning for an overview of pickled peppers, and pimento pepper canning for the pressure-canning side.
Choosing peppers and managing heat
- Hungarian wax or hot banana peppers: a common base, with heat that varies pepper to pepper. Taste a small piece before you commit a whole batch. The same peppers also work in a hot banana pepper jelly.
- Keep or remove the membranes and seeds: membranes carry heat, while whole seeds can make the texture gritty. Many cooks remove the seeds and keep some membrane.
- Add color with red peppers. Green jalapeños can dull the yellow of the mustard slightly.
- Wear gloves. Pepper oils linger on skin for hours.
Freezing and storage
Hot pepper butter freezes well in small containers, which makes freezing the way to keep a long-lasting stash. Leave some room for expansion and thaw it in the refrigerator.
Keep refrigerator batches cold at all times.
What to use it on
Hot pepper butter is a great condiment for soft pretzels, sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, and sausages. It also works as a dip with cream cheese, a glaze for pork or chicken, or a sandwich spread with sharp cheddar. Mixed with mayonnaise, it makes a quick sauce.
Troubleshooting
- Scorched taste or bottom: the mixture was cooked on too high a heat or not stirred. Use a heavy pot and stir constantly.
- Bitter aftertaste: may come from too many seeds or membranes, or from certain peppers. Taste your peppers first.
- Lumpy: Clear Jel or flour was added to hot liquid. Always mix it with cold water or sugar first.
- Too thin: simmer longer or use a bit more thickener. Remember it thickens more as it cools.
- Too hot: stir in additional mustard and sugar, or make a mild batch with sweet peppers; see sweet pepper relish for a milder condiment.