Chile de arbol hot sauce

Chris and I made hot sauce today, well, Chris made hot sauce, I was the sous chef and the second hand, since he is operating with only one hand these days. We made chile de arbol hot sauce from Rick Bayless’ Authentic Mexican cookbook and were very pleased with the outcome.
Sterilize your jars and all utensils first. We saved and recycled our hot sauce bottles, but I am sure they are easy to find on the internet. Hot sauce does not need to be canned, it will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator. If you don't want to store it in the refrigerator, you can pour the hot sauce into sterilized canning jars, seal and process in a water bath, and store at room temperature. Refrigerate after opening. This recipe made one big bottle and one small bottle.
Chile de arbols are available in most Mexican markets. I found a big bag at Supermercado Los Angeles. But, if you can’t find them, a good sauce can be made with any small, dried hot pepper.

Chile de arbol hot sauce
1 ¼ ounces (about 50 to 60 mixed sizes) dried chiles de arbol
1 ½ tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds (or about 1/8 teaspoon ground)
4 large allspice berries (or about 1/8 teaspoon ground)
2 cloves (or a big pinch ground)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 scant teaspoon salt
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
¾ cup cider vinegar

Stem the chiles, then roll them between your thumbs and fingers, pressing gently to loosen the seeds inside (I used rubber gloves). Break in half, shake out as many seeds as possible, then place in a blender jar.
Heat an ungreased skillet over medium-low. Measure in the sesame seeds and stir for several minutes as they brown and pop; scoop into the blender jar. Add the pumpkin seeds to the skillet. When the first one pops, stir constantly for several minutes, until all are golden and have popped into a round shape.

Pulverize the cumin, allspice and cloves in a mortar or spice grinder, then add to the blender jar along with the oregano, salt, garlic and vinegar. Blend for several minutes, until the mixture is orange-red and feels quite smooth when a drop is rubbed between your fingers.

Strain through a medium-mesh sieve, (I don’t have a medium and used a fine, it works, it just takes more muscle) working the solids back and forth and pressing them firmly; there will be a fair amount of chile seeds, skins, sesame hulls and other debris to discard, but be careful that there is nothing liquid trapped within them.
Stir in ¾ cup of water then pour into a bottle, cover and let stand for 24 hours before serving.