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If you love smoke, spice, and sauce, try our smoked hot sauce recipe (in the style of smoky homemade Sriracha) on for size.

Sriracha may be one of the most beloved condiments of all time. The green-capped bottle of red rooster sauce is pretty perfect as-is, but homemade smoked Sriracha is a great change of pace when you want an extra depth of flavor. And let’s be honest, you’ll get a kick of satisfaction out of making your own—plus, it’s the perfect gift for fellow hot heads.

It’s not technically a Sriracha clone because, unlike the real stuff, it’s not fermented, but smoking the chiles does give it great complexity, and it’s definitely modeled after everyone’s favorite rooster sauce.

We’ll let former Chowhound photographer Chris Rochelle explain a little further; he created this recipe and photographed the process in March 2014:

What’s even better than barrel-aging Sriracha? Smoking it. This is my sixth attempt at a smoked Sriracha in the style of Huy Fong Foods’ rooster sauce. This time, I was trying to make a sauce with a little less sugar and a bit more natural sweetness (I used a small amount of dark brown sugar and a cooked carrot).

Related Reading: This Carrot-Ginger Hot Sauce Is Fantastic Too

I’ve been playing around with my stovetop hot smoker—it’s such an easy way to make all kinds of things taste more interesting, with greater depth to the flavor. The maple chips I used added a smoky-sweet taste perfect for this sauce.

Special Equipment

You’ll need a few special items to make this sauce, at least one of which you may already have on hand:

NutriBullet Pro 900 Series Blender 9-piece Set, $79 at Walmart (normally $129) Perfect for blending quick sauces, soups, and smoothies. Buy Now

Cameron's Large Stovetop Smoker, $44.95 on Amazon A stovetop smoker is a worthy investment you can use for smoking meat, fish, veggies, and more. Buy Now

Cameron's Smoking Wood Chips Maple, $8.95 on Amazon You can try different types of wood chips, but maple lends a nice sweetness here. Buy Now

Pro-tip: If you don’t have or want to buy a stovetop smoker, you can try hacking your wok into one instead.

Ingredients

1 pound Fresno chiles

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 medium carrot, cut into 1/4-inch rounds

4 peeled garlic cloves

1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup water, or more (depending on the consistency you like)

How to Make Smoky Sriracha

The process is pretty simple, and you can use the sauce right away if you want to (you will). Otherwise, store it in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Makes about 1 3/4 cups

1. Smoke the chiles for 15 minutes in a hot smoker over wood chips, preferably maple.

2. Bring both vinegars to a boil. Add the carrots, garlic, and sugar. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Let everything cool for about 30 minutes.

3. Pull the stems off the chiles. If you want to remove the seeds (this is optional—I like to leave them in), scoop them out with your fingers and discard.

4. Place the chiles, vinegar-vegetable mixture, olive oil, salt, and 1/4 cup of the water in a blender.

5. Blend on high for one to two minutes. Check the consistency—add the additional 1/4 cup of water and blend again. If you like it thinner, add up to 1/4 cup additional water and blend again. Pour the chile sauce into jars and refrigerate.

Swing-Top Glass Bottles with Extra Gaskets and Labels, 6 for $19.95 on Amazon These swing-top glass bottles come with extra gaskets in case you need them, and chalkboard labels. Buy Now

How to Use Your Smoked Sriracha

On just about anything really. But if you need some inspiration, check out these ideas (just swap your homemade smoky Sriracha in for the usual store-bought rooster sauce):

Related Video: How to Turn Leftover Sriracha Into Chili Oil

Photos by Chris Rochelle