Hot Pepper Relish

This relish will bring new meaning to the "hot" in hot dog.

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated October 02, 2024
Closeup of a hot dog topped liberally with hot pepper relish.

Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

Why It Works

  • Salting and draining the chopped chiles and onion gets rid of excess moisture, which reduces cooking time and thus preserves the fresh, spicy flavor of the chiles.
  • The heat level of the relish can be adjusted by opting to remove (or include) the seeds before processing.

When trying out new relish recipes to top grilled dogs this summer, I may have awarded a tricolor sweet pepper relish the distinction of being my favorite, but this hot pepper relish was a very close second.

I'm a sucker for anything spicy, and the mix of green and red hot peppers here—I used jalapeños and cherry peppers—made it instantly attractive. The peppers are finely chopped in a food processor with some onion, then salted and strained of excess water. Finally, the mix is simmered in vinegar and sugar, giving it its relish tang.

I had removed the seeds from my peppers, so I ended up with a fruity, sweet heat that would be pretty universally pleasing. If making it again, I'd leave the seeds in to give it a fiery intensity, placating my need for something spicy and giving new meaning to the "hot" in hot dog.

May 2013

Recipe Details

Hot Pepper Relish Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Cook 15 mins
Active 20 mins
Salting Time 2 hrs
Total 2 hrs 20 mins
Serves 12 servings
Makes 1 1/2 cups
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound hot green peppers (such as jalapeños or serranos), stemmed, seeds removed for a milder relish

  • 1/2 pound hot red peppers (such as fresnos or cherry peppers), stemmed, seeds removed for a milder relish

  • 1/2 pound yellow onions, roughly chopped

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar

  • 1/4 cup white sugar

Directions

  1. Place peppers and onions in workbowl of a food processor fitted with steel blade. Pulse until peppers and onion are finely chopped.

    Closeup of the onion-chile mixture on the bowl of a food processor, ready to transfer to a strainer.

    Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

  2. Transfer pepper mixture to a fine-mesh strainer set inside a bowl. Stir in salt and let sit for 2-3 hours. Rinse under cold water and strain, pushing vegetables against side of the strainer using a rubber spatula to remove as much water as possible.

    The rinsed and drained onion-chile mixture, ready to simmer.

    Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

  3. In a medium saucepan, bring vinegar and sugar to a boil over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve to sugar. Add pepper mixture, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Transfer relish to an airtight container and store in refrigerator up to 1 month.

    The relish is simmered and stirred in a saucepan.

    Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel

Special Equipment

Food processor, fine-mesh strainer

Make-Ahead and Storage

Relish will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
38Calories
0gFat
9gCarbs
1gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories38
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g0%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 317mg14%
Total Carbohydrate 9g3%
Dietary Fiber 1g4%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 47mg237%
Calcium 9mg1%
Iron 0mg1%
Potassium 125mg3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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