Hot & Bothered Recipe
Ghost Blanco I Mathilde Peche I Lemon I Homemade Pepper Jelly
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Ingredients
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Cocktail
Homemade Pepper Jelly (yields ~3/4 cup syrup and jelly)
Ghost Pepper Infusion (if making your own)
Method
Homemade Pepper Jelly (prepare first)
Cook peppers
Put on gloves. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine diced red bell pepper, ghost pepper (use less if you prefer milder heat), sugar, apple cider vinegar, water, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook 8–10 minutes until the bell pepper softens and the mixture is fragrant.
Blend & strain
Carefully transfer the hot pepper mixture to a blender or use an immersion blender and purée until smooth. Strain the purée through a fine mesh sieve into a clean saucepan or bowl, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids (or reserve a spoonful for a textured garnish).
Add pectin and finish
Return the strained liquid to the saucepan. Stir in the pectin and lemon juice. Bring to a low boil and cook 2–3 minutes to activate the pectin, stirring constantly. Taste and adjust sugar or vinegar if needed. Remove from heat and let cool. You should have a spoonable jelly; if you want a thinner syrup for cocktails, reserve 1/4–1/3 cup of the cooking liquid before adding pectin and use that as the syrup portion.
Make syrup for cocktail
If you prefer a syrup (easier to mix), take about 1/4 cup of the strained liquid (before pectin) or gently reheat a portion of the finished jelly with 1–2 tbs water until pourable. Cool completely before mixing into the cocktail. Store leftover jelly in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Ghost Pepper Infusion (optional; do at least 24 hours ahead)
Infuse tequila
Place half a fresh or a split dried ghost pepper in 8 oz (1 cup) of blanco tequila in a clean jar. Seal and let infuse at room temperature for 24 hours, then taste carefully. If it's hot enough, remove the pepper. If you want more heat, continue to infuse and taste every few hours. Strain and store the infused tequila in the refrigerator. Use 2 oz infused tequila per cocktail. If you don't want to infuse, use 2.5 oz blanco and 0.25–0.5 oz Mathilde Pêche instead (or buy a commercially infused spirit).
Cocktail Assembly
Chill your coupe or rocks glass by filling with ice and water while you build the drink.
Add the tequila (infused or plain), Mathilde Pêche, fresh lemon juice, pepper jelly syrup (0.5 oz), and simple syrup (0.25 oz) to a cocktail shaker.
Dry shake (if using egg white)
If using egg white for froth, add it now and dry-shake (no ice) vigorously for 15–20 seconds to emulsify and build foam.
Wet shake
Add ice to the shaker and shake vigorously for 12–15 seconds until well chilled and slightly diluted.
Discard ice/water from the chilled serving glass. Fine-strain the cocktail into the glass (use a Hawthorne and fine mesh strainer if you used egg white to remove small solids).