Some fermented hot sauce

[chopsaw]

I got the seal of approval from my Son to boot .

 

[MJB05615]

That sauce and those wings look killer! Great work. How spicy is the Heat element? We don't do very spicy, but mild spice works.

 

[xray]

Rich. Those wings look awesome! I really loved being able to use the leftover mash and grinding it up into chili salt and mixing that into rubs as well. Excellent work my friend!

 

[Houndstooth]

So I just got finished with my first go at a fermented hot sauce. I used this thread as a recipe guide. I followed your recipe as closely as I could X. I checked a couple local super markets and non them had fresh Thai chilis so I had to substitute with Serrano and extra jalapeños.

Two weeks in a dark cupboard with a glass weight to hold everything down. Even with the bigger chunks of onion I had a few pieces make they’re way above the glass weight. I was mildly worried about mold but when I removed the lid this morning everything smelled and looked good

After blending and straining the mash the hot sauce ended up looking a lot like cholula.

The sauce has a nice tang and mild funk to it. It’s tasty and the spice seems to come on toward the back end. I didn’t heat it up so I’m interested to see how it matures in the fridge. The fancy bottles are on order and I’ll get some out to family and friends.
This has been a really fun experiment. I can tell that the hot sauce rabbit hole is rather deep. I look forward to tinkering with the pepper bill and the other adjuncts. Thanks again X-Ray!

Edit: it looks like I’ve posted this in a weird spot in the thread. I’m still getting the hang of using the forum. Maybe a MOD can place this reply at the end of the thread as I had initially intended. Either way..

 

[jcam222]

So I just got finished with my first go at a fermented hot sauce. I used this thread as a recipe guide. I followed your recipe as closely as I could X. I checked a couple local super markets and non them had fresh Thai chilis so I had to substitute with Serrano and extra jalapeños.
View attachment 651343
Two weeks in a dark cupboard with a glass weight to hold everything down. Even with the bigger chunks of onion I had a few pieces make they’re way above the glass weight. I was mildly worried about mold but when I removed the lid this morning everything smelled and looked good
View attachment 651344
After blending and straining the mash the hot sauce ended up looking a lot like cholula.
View attachment 651347
View attachment 651345
View attachment 651346
The sauce has a nice tang and mild funk to it. It’s tasty and the spice seems to come on toward the back end. I didn’t heat it up so I’m interested to see how it matures in the fridge. The fancy bottles are on order and I’ll get some out to family and friends.
This has been a really fun experiment. I can tell that the hot sauce rabbit hole is rather deep. I look forward to tinkering with the pepper bill and the other adjuncts. Thanks again X-Ray!

Edit: it looks like I’ve posted this in a weird spot in the thread. I’m still getting the hang of using the forum. Maybe a MOD can place this reply at the end of the thread as I had initially intended. Either way..

Looks tasty! Did you check PH? Sometimes I find at 2-3 weeks it’s not as low as I’d like. Around 4 weeks most are in the 3.4-3.7 range. Did you add any vinegar? Do not have too but it can help adjust PH. A little xanthan can prevent separating as well.

 

[Houndstooth]

Looks tasty! Did you check PH? Sometimes I find at 2-3 weeks it’s not as low as I’d like. Around 4 weeks most are in the 3.4-3.7 range. Did you add any vinegar? Do not have too but it can help adjust PH. A little xanthan can prevent separating as well.

I did not check the ph. And I added 1/2 cup of the brine and a 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Plus the tbsp of sugar X suggested. No xanthan and if it starts to separate I’ll just give it a shake. The Rudolph’s revenge you make looks really good jcam. My next batch I will ferment for at least 5 weeks. One question I did have was if any of you guys are washing your produce? I washed everything (except the onion and garlic) with a mild fragrance free and plant based soap before chopping them up. I thought that perhaps I had washed all the natural yeast away. There wasn’t much action in the airlock however the sauce does have that unmistakable funk of ferment to it.

 

[jcam222]

I did not check the ph. And I added 1/2 cup of the brine and a 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Plus the tbsp of sugar X suggested. No xanthan and if it starts to separate I’ll just give it a shake. The Rudolph’s revenge you’re making looks really good jcam. My next batch I will ferment for at least 5 weeks. One question I did have was if any of you guys are washing your produce? I washed everything (except the onion and garlic) with a mild fragrance free and plant based soap before chopping them up. I thought that perhaps I had washed all the natural yeast away. There wasn’t much action in the airlock however the sauce does have that unmistakable funk of ferment to it.

Thanks man! You really shouldn’t see anything in the airlock. You should see bubbling in the brine if you pick the jar up after the first few days. In the pic your brine appears to be cloudy like it’s active. Did you notice a white film in the bottom of the jar? That’s spent lactobacillus. I do not wash my peppers at all. I will rinse if I see dirt. I didn’t wash store bought habaneros either but did use some brine from a prior ferment as a starter. Often the store bought produce has been irradiated and / or waxed killing all or many of the good microbes. There are a couple nice options to help hold down the ferment to avoid floaters. I’ll post a link to one of them later. Steve H is trying a new one too.

 

[Houndstooth]

Thanks man! You really shouldn’t see anything in the airlock. You should see bubbling in the brine if you pick the jar up after the first few days. In the pic your brine appears to be cloudy like it’s active. Did you notice a white film in the bottom of the jar? That’s spent lactobacillus. I do not wash my peppers at all. I will rinse if I see dirt. I didn’t wash store bought habaneros either but did use some brine from a prior ferment as a starter. Often the store bought produce has been irradiated and / or waxed killing all or many of the good microbes. There are a couple nice options to help hold down the ferment to avoid floaters. I’ll post a link to one of them later. Steve H is trying a new one too.

Thank you for your help jcam. Yes there was a white film on the bottom of the jar. Almost like a “trub”. Great idea about using brine from previous ferments. I ASSume that the starter brine will stay viable for quite a while if stored in the fridge? I’ve got a lot of searching within the forum and reading to do.

 

[jcam222]

Thank you for your help jcam. Yes there was a white film on the bottom of the jar. Almost like a “trub”. Great idea about using brine from previous ferments. I ASSume that the starter brine will stay viable for quite a while if stored in the fridge? I’ve got a lot of searching within the forum and reading to do.

Yes it will. I try to only use it when I’m using store bought peppers. There are some who believe it shortcuts the process and impacts taste. Some don’t haha.

 

[xray]

The sauce looks pretty good Hound, I’m glad you tried it and liked it. Even though I have a high tolerance for heat, I don’t like my sauces to be extremely hot. I love the subtle funk and flavor of the carrot that comes through.

Those thai chiles were from my garden, otherwise I wouldn’t have had access to them either. My options are pretty slim pickings around here unless I order online.

If a few small floaters rise to the top, you should be okay once the ferment takes hold. The lacto produce C02 which pushes the oxygen through the one way airlock, good salinity and no oxygen make it hard for mold to grow. Once you start opening the lid, you’re introducing oxygen back into the ferment, increasing your chance for mold growth. And if you’re ferment isn’t as active anymore, it will produce less C02 to fill up the headspace again.

The rabbit hole is deep my friend and don’t worry about posting here.

 

[jcam222]

The sauce looks pretty good Hound, I’m glad you tried it and liked it. Even though I have a high tolerance for heat, I don’t like my sauces to be extremely hot. I love the subtle funk and flavor of the carrot that comes through.

Those thai chiles were from my garden, otherwise I wouldn’t have had access to them either. My options are pretty slim pickings around here unless I order online.

If a few small floaters rise to the top, you should be okay once the ferment takes hold. The lacto produce C02 which pushes the oxygen through the one way airlock, good salinity and no oxygen make it hard for mold to grow. Once you start opening the lid, you’re introducing oxygen back into the ferment, increasing your chance for mold growth. And if you’re ferment isn’t as active anymore, it will produce less C02 to fill up the headspace again.

The rabbit hole is deep my friend and don’t worry about posting here.

Joe as far as store sourced peppers have you done any combo of jalapeño and poblano? The one I did had a few super hots too. People just love it. I did nothing fancy to process it. Little vinegar and salt.

 

[xray]

Joe as far as store sourced peppers have you done any combo of jalapeño and poblano? The one I did had a few super hots too. People just love it. I did nothing fancy to process it. Little vinegar and salt.

I have not tried poblano peppers yet but I want to for a green sauce like you the ones you did.

My next hot sauce ferments , I want to try the vacuum bag method this time. I’m thinking jalapeños/serranos, poblanos, maybe some pear and tomatillos to keep the green theme alive!

All the ferments being shown by you guys are giving me a serious itch to do it again soon. My next project though is gonna be…fermented giardiniera!

 

[jcam222]

I have not tried poblano peppers yet but I want to for a green sauce like you the ones you did.

My next hot sauce ferments , I want to try the vacuum bag method this time. I’m thinking jalapeños/serranos, poblanos, maybe some pear and tomatillos to keep the green theme alive!

All the ferments being shown by you guys are giving me a serious itch to do it again soon. My next project though is gonna be…fermented giardiniera!

That will be interesting! I’ve seen a lot of folks on the Facebook fermented hot sauce group doing the vac pack method. I haven’t researched it much. Seems there is no brine though?

 

[xray]

That will be interesting! I’ve seen a lot of folks on the Facebook fermented hot sauce group doing the vac pack method. I haven’t researched it much. Seems there is no brine though?

No just your weighed percentage of salt.

 

[Steve H]

Thanks man! You really shouldn’t see anything in the airlock. You should see bubbling in the brine if you pick the jar up after the first few days. In the pic your brine appears to be cloudy like it’s active. Did you notice a white film in the bottom of the jar? That’s spent lactobacillus. I do not wash my peppers at all. I will rinse if I see dirt. I didn’t wash store bought habaneros either but did use some brine from a prior ferment as a starter. Often the store bought produce has been irradiated and / or waxed killing all or many of the good microbes. There are a couple nice options to help hold down the ferment to avoid floaters. I’ll post a link to one of them later. Steve H is trying a new one too.

So far. I'm quite impressed with them. I just got more of them. These are the ones Jeff is referring to.

 

[jcam222]

So far. I'm quite impressed with them. I just got more of them. These are the ones Jeff is referring to.

View attachment 651352

I tried to order and they are out of stock on Amazon

 

[jcam222]

No just your weighed percentage of salt.

But what replaces brine in the processed sauce?

 

[Steve H]

Here you can see that it is pretty much impossible to get floaties.

 

[Steve H]

I tried to order and they are out of stock on Amazon

I see that. That sucks! I ordered my second set on the 12/11. And got them today. Hopefully they'll get more in stock.

 

[Steve H]

My next hot sauce ferments , I want to try the vacuum bag method this time. I’m thinking jalapeños/serranos, poblanos, maybe some pear and tomatillos to keep the green theme alive!

How does that work Joe?