Puerto Rican Pique Food

PIQUE (PUERTO RICAN STYLE HOT SAUCE)

Steps:

• Drop the garlic cloves, peppercorns, salt and bay leaf (and any of your optional additions) down into the bottle.
• Remove the stems from the hot peppers. Leave the seeds and membranes intact if you want your Pique spicy! If necessary, slice the peppers lengthwise until they are a size that fits easily into the mouth of the bottle. Insert peppers (or peppers strips) into the bottle.
• Use a funnel to pour vinegar into the bottle to cover the peppers and spices. If your bottle has a shaker top, snap it back into place, add the lid and set out on the counter for two days. After two days, store your Pique in the refrigerator.
• You can top off with vinegar when it starts getting low with more vinegar. When the peppers start losing their punch, use a chopstick to remove the peppers and start over!

PIQUE (PUERTO RICAN HOT SAUCE)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/4 of the onion, habanero peppers, aji dulce, and garlic. Cook and stir until tender, about 3 minutes. Let cool at least 5 minutes.
• Transfer pepper mixture to a blender. Add pineapple juice, lime juice, tequila, vinegar, cilantro, culantro, sugar, oregano, salt, black pepper, cacao powder, and cumin. Blend until smooth. Pour sauce into a glass bottle with a lid; let stand for a least 1 week for flavors to blend.

PIQUE - PUERTO RICAN HOT SAUCE - RECIPE

Steps:

• Remove the pepper stem. Slice the peppers in half or into quarters, small enough to fit into the jar or container you are using.
• Stuff the peppers into an 8-ounce bottle or jar.
• Add cloves, peppercorns, cilantro stems and lime juice.
• Fill the container the rest of the way up with vinegar, leaving a bit of head space.
• Cap and give it a good shake.
• Let it sit out anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks to allow the heat and flavor to develop. Refill as needed with more vinegar and peppers.