Hit chilli salt is a great addition to your larder/store cupboard for adding a dash of fabulous flavour to everything from soups to stews. Use it as a seasoning on the kitchen table too.
How to make hot chilli salt
I’ve been making good use of my little chili pepper plant by making my own Hot Salt to season my recipes. You know me, I love my kitchen crafting and creating handy things for the store cupboard.
My enjoyment is even better when I am growing one of the ingredients myself. That whole self sufficiency and happy harvester thing comes into play and I just feel good about the whole thing.
The gift of a chilli plant
Back in March when I was trapped on the sofa with the botched foot surgery, Idgy was doing the shopping for me at the weekend with her father.
She would go armed with my list and nine times out of ten I’d get back pretty much what I’d requested plus a few extra goodies that just happened to catch her eye in Tesco.
Normally these eye catchers were in the form of sweet nibbles and magazines for the shopper herself – payment for services rendered and all that.
But one Saturday she brought back a slightly wilted pepper plant that was reduced to £1.15 as it looked like it was on it’s last legs/leaves.
“Here, Mum I thought you’d like this” she said as she plonked it on the table by the sofa. I was thrilled, this was better than any bunch of flowers of even a bar of chocolate. A pepper plant, maybe I could nurse it back to health.
That little plant sat by the sofa for the next two months till I was up and about again. It then moved to the kitchen windowsill and has sat there ever since.
It sports a stick on butterfly and produced a little crop of chili peppers every single week.
I love my little pepper plant.
I have used the peppers fresh, chopped into sauces, chutneys and preserves and I have dried them on the Aga to crumble and store in a little jar for later use.
One of these uses is in making my own Hot Salt, another little larder staple that helps to save time when cooking.
Just 2 ingredients!
Recipes don’t have to be long and convoluted with lots of ingredients to produce something tasty and useful.
Just blending two ingredients can add up to something special. Hot Salt is a case in point.
This is just two things, a simple sum really, almost a play on words as well.
Salt + Chili Pepper = Hot Salt
How to make Hot Chilli Salt
You can use any chilies for this recipe.
Just chop them as finely as you like and spread out on a sheet of baking parchment set out on a drying/cooling rack.
Now scatter on some coarsely ground salt.
Mix in some pink Himalayan salt and fine salt too. Any salt you like to give some extra colour, texture and flavour.
Leave all this on a sunny windowsill or on top of the fridge, by a radiator or in the airing cupboard for a couple of days till the chilies are dried out completely.
Now pack into a sterile jar or a grinder and you have your own hot salt to use for months to come.
Sometimes the simplest things are really the best.
How to use hot chilli salt
Use this chilli salt in all sorts of cooking from flavouring soups to stews, and chilli of course!
It is ideal as a condiment on the table for flavouring food as you eat. Think pizza etc where a bit of salty heat would perk things up a bit.
Sprinkle this hot chilli salt on veggies before roasting them.
Looking for more quick and easy homemade seasonings to try? Then check these out before you go;
Homemade citrus sugar
How to make middle eastern dukkah spice
This super easy recipe for Hot Salt plus 50 others is in my Ebook Naughty and Nice Edible Gifts For Christmas
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
PS This super easy recipe for Homemade Hot Salt is just one of my 50 Homemade Pantry Staples roundup. You’ll find so many brilliant ideas there to get your store cupboard stocked with homemade goodness the easy way!
how to make hot chilli salt
Ingredients
- 1 chilli
- 1 cup sea salt
Instructions
- finely chop the chilli pepper as small as you can
- mix the cholled chilli pepper with the salt crystals and spreat out on baking parchment
- leave in a warm place (above radiator, top of fridge, on Aga) for 2-3 days till it has dried out
- pack into small jar
- this will keep for up to 6 months
This really looks good, Karon! I bet it adds a nice kick to a lot of things. What foods do you recommend using it on? Anything special? You always make such interesting things for the cupboard.
Patti xxoo
Hi Patti,
I like to use this when I am cooking any meats, stews and mince dishes as a wee bit of chilli just gives food more flavour without going the whole hot route. Mixing it with the salt like this is a good way to add just that little bit.
Glad you like the ideas and recipes.
K x
Great on Popcorn! Great Christmas present too!
You are so right, it is perfect for popping!
K x
Great post! I’m curious as to what ratio of salt to chili you used? I’m doing a 1:1 ratio so far and think I need to amp it up!
Hi Shirley
I’d go for 2 parts chilli and 8 parts salt for a mild mix and then 4 to 6 for stronger.
K x