These pickled peppers are similar in flavor to the Caribbean Lime Pepper Sauce recipe I shared a while back, and the texture as well as flavor is reminiscent of my 2021 Chunky Lemon Lime Pepper Sauce.
What you need…
2 cups Wili Wili peppers
10 garlic cloves (whole / large cloves cut in half)
2 cups vinegar
1 cup cauliflower (chopped)
1 lemon (chopped)
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 Carolina Reaper Peppers (slice)
Please note! Feel free to use any combination of your favorite or available chili peppers. Be warned, Reaper peppers are ridiculously hot! We encourage you to watch the video below as it goes into more detail about the recipe. If you are making this recipe gluten free, please review the full list of ingredients to ensure it meets your gluten free dietary requirements.
important! Wear gloves and wash your hands with soap and water immediately after use. When washing knives, bowls and cutting boards, be aware that fumes can irritate your nose and throat and cause coughing.
Wash and prepare the ingredients. (aka Coffee Pepper) Remove and discard the stems, chop the cauliflower, finely chop the lemon, and slice the Carolina Reaper if you want it extra spicy, or use habanero or Scotch bonnet peppers instead.
Add vinegar (regular white vinegar) Heat a saucepan over medium heat and as soon as you start to see small bubbles appear on the outside, turn off the heat. Add the diced lemon. Remove from heat and let steep for 15 minutes.
Place the peppers, garlic, and cauliflower in a large bowl. The reason for adding the lemon pieces to the warm vinegar is to soften the peels so they will break down faster once added to the jar.
Next, pour the vinegar with the lemon pieces into the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well.
Then just mix with a spoon (Lemon, pepper, garlic, cauliflower) Place in a sterilized glass container and sprinkle with salt. Pour vinegar into the jar or container so that everything is covered.
This is ready to use as a spicy side dish or topping for any dish, but we recommend marinating or aging it for at least a week before opening.
In my case, I do my best to let it sit for 15 days so the garlic and lemon flavors can come out, the cauliflower can absorb the heat, the peppers can soften a bit and the liquid can become flavored.
Growing up on an island, I remember seeing bottles like this sitting in the sun in family gardens on my drive to school. I was told that exposure to sunlight helps them age even more. I prefer to store mine in a cool, dark pantry for up to six months.
