Lemon Drop Hot Sauce Recipe
Lemon Drop Hot Sauce (Aji Limon Hot Sauce) is a delicious condiment made using Peruvian Aji Limon peppers. Use it to spice up your recipes or serve it as a dip. Here is how to make it.
Try a few more homemade sauce recipes here: Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce, Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce, Bechamel Sauce, Yum Yum Sauce, and Bang Bang Sauce.
What Is Lemon Drop Pepper
Lemon Drop Pepper, also known as Aji Lemon Pepper or Hot Lemon Pepper, is a chili pepper native to Peru and commonly grown in South America.
It is named for its bright yellow color and citrusy flavor, which resembles a lemon.
The lemon drop pepper is a medium to hot pepper with a Scoville heat rating of 15,000 to 30,000, similar to the cayenne pepper.
It is often used in South American cuisine to add heat and flavor to dishes, such as ceviche, sauces, and marinades.
The lemon drop pepper can also be dried and ground into a powder, which can be used as a seasoning for meats, vegetables, and other dishes.
About Lemon Drop Hot Sauce
Lemon Drop Hot Sauce (also known as Aji Limon Hot Sauce) is a condiment made with Peruvian Aji Limon peppers. This vibrant yellow sauce is hot and spicy, hinting at sweet and lemony citrus flavors.
This hot sauce comes together in under 30 minutes and gives excellent heat to the recipes to which it is added. It can also be served as a spicy dipping sauce.
Ingredients
Peppers – This recipe uses lemon drop chile peppers (Aji Limon peppers), which are hot Peruvian peppers with a fruity citrus flavor.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Choose the best quality olive oil
Honey – Adding honey helps to round off the heat from the peppers. Replace honey with maple syrup or agave nectar for a vegan version.
Others – You will also need garlic, whole coriander seeds, cumin seeds, apple cider vinegar, and salt.
Optional – If you like a thick sauce, you need a cornstarch slurry to thicken it.
How To Make Lemon Drop Sauce
Preparation
Rinse 9 oz (250 g) of lemon drop peppers and wipe them using a kitchen towel. Remove the stem and chop the peppers into small pieces. Remove the seeds.
Tip: Wear gloves while de-seeding and chopping the chilies, as bare hands might cause a burning sensation.
Peel the garlic and gather the remaining ingredients.
Make The Sauce
Add 1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds and ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds to a skillet and roast on medium heat until fragrant and lightly browned.
Add the chopped Aji Limon peppers to the skillet and saute for 3-4 minutes until slightly charred.
Remove the skillet from heat and let the peppers cool down.
Transfer them to a blender with 5-6 garlic cloves, ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, and 1 cup apple cider vinegar.
Blend until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed, for 3-5 minutes.
Pass the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Push the sauce through the strainer with a rubber spatula to separate all liquid from chunks of pepper and spices. Discard the leftovers.
Stir in 2 tablespoon honey and ½ teaspoon salt.
You can now use the sauce as it or thicken it by adding cornstarch to it.
Thicken The Sauce (Optional)
To thicken the sauce, stir together 2 teaspoon cornstarch and ¼ cup water to make a slurry.
Transfer the sauce to a skillet and heat on medium heat.
Once the sauce comes to a boil, add the cornstarch slurry and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.
Note – If you want an even thicker sauce, then add some more cornflour slurry and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Remove the skillet from heat and let the sauce cool down completely.
Transfer it to a clean glass container and refrigerate for up to 15 days.
Storage Suggestions
Once the Aji Limon Hot Sauce is cooled down, store it in a clean, dry-covered container in the refrigerator for up to 15 days. Use a clean spoon for each use, which will help ensure that the homemade sauce lasts longer.
You can also freeze the sauce for up to 6 months. Thaw and use.
If you know canning, then this is a great recipe.
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Lemon Drop Hot Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 9 ounce Lemon Drop Chile Peppers (Aji Limon Peppers) (250 g, stems and seeds removed, chopped)
- 5-6 cloves garlic cloves (peeled)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey (use maple syrup for vegan)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch (optional)
- ¼ cup water (optional)
Instructions
- Add whole coriander seeds and cumin seeds to a skillet and roast on medium heat until they are fragrant and lightly browned.
- Add the chopped Aji Limon peppers to the skillet and saute for 3-4 minutes until they are slightly charred.
- Remove the skillet from heat and let the peppers cool down.
- Transfer them to a blender along with garlic cloves, extra virgin olive oil, and apple cider vinegar.
- Blend until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed, for 3-5 minutes.
- Pass the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. With a rubber spatula, push the sauce through the strainer to separate all liquid from chunks of pepper and spices. Discard the leftovers.
- Stir in honey and salt.
- You can now use the sauce as it or thicken it by adding cornstarch to it.
Thicken The Sauce (Optional)
- If you want to thicken the sauce, then stir together cornstarch and water to make a slurry.
- Transfer the sauce to a skillet and heat on medium heat.
- Once the sauce comes to a boil, add in the cornstarch slurry and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.
- Note – If you want an even thicker sauce, then add some more cornflour slurry and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from heat and let the sauce cool down completely.
- Transfer it to a clean glass container and refrigerate for up to 15 days.
Hi I have a plant that now has plenty of lemon drop chillies on it. Just wondering if this recipe is using fresh or dried chillies and if the recipe would be the same either way?
Many thanks,
Trish
Hi Trish, that is so wonderful. This recipe uses fresh chilies.
This makes a lovely fresh tasting zingy sauce. I didn’t have enough lemon drop chillis so used a mix of medium heat chillis and it’s come out really well. Thank you.
I have made the based recipe and I’m just wondering the best way to preserve the sauce. Does it freeze? Can you increase the acidity to make it last longer?
Hi Rob, you can freeze the sauce for up to 6 months.
Would love to try this recipe and then hot water can it, is the possible? It sounds great and I have a lot of lemon drop peppers to do something with this year. tx
Yes, sure you can.