Fermentation is a magical and transformative culinary technique that not only helps to preserve foods that might otherwise spoil, but also gives foods a complex and rich depth of flavor.
As a result, you'll have a deeply flavor-forward sauce that's full of good bacteria, just like yogurt, sauerkraut, or radish kimchi.
What's in it?
At its most basic, you'll only need three ingredients to make a fermented hot sauce: fresh peppers, salt, and water. These ingredients are the foundation of hot sauce. However, you can enhance the flavor and complexity of your sauce by adding additional ingredients.
Alliums, such as garlic and onions, as well as herbs, spices, and even fruit work well to enhance the flavor of homemade hot sauce.
Fresh chilies are the foundation of a good homemade hot sauce, fermented or not. Fully ripe chilies are best for making a fermented sauce, so look for yellow, orange, or red chilies rather than green ones. Fresno peppers, aji amarillo, and scotch bonnets work well for fermented hot sauce as do fully ripe jalapeños, Thai chilies, or serranos. Sweet peppers, such as bell peppers, can be added for a milder sauce.
Garlic can give your sauce its depth, and it provides a grounding note that tempers the fiery top notes of fresh chili pepper.
Fruit can be a delicious addition to homemade hot sauce, too. Its natural sweetness can bring balance to the heat of chilies. Citrus, such as tangerine, lime, or orange, is particularly delicious; however, many home cooks have had good luck adding blueberries or even pineapple to their sauce.
Spices and other aromatics can bring balance to your sauce. Ginger, turmeric, Szechuan peppercorns, hibiscus flowers, and even allspice can work well depending on the full flavor profile you prefer.
Salt is a necessary ingredient for most fermented foods. It's best to use a minimally processed salt with no additives for fermentation
What kind of equipment do you need?
At its heart, fermentation is simple. In order to make fermented hot sauce, as well as many other fermented foods, you'll need a few key pieces of equipment including a vessel and a lid. In the case of hot sauce, you'll want a high-speed blender, too.
A fermentation vessel can be as simple as a mason jar. You can also purchase crocks and jars specifically designed for fermentation.
An airlock or fermentation lid is helpful for allowing the carbon dioxide that naturally builds up during fermentation to escape while preventing the free flow of oxygen which can contribute to mold formation.
Glass fermentation weights are helpful, but not essential, and they help to keep your chilies submerged during fermentation, preventing the formation of mold and keeping your hot-sauce-to-be safe.
A blender is necessary for puréeing the fermented chili peppers and turning them into homemade hot sauce. If you don't have a blender, you can work in batches to purée the peppers and brine in a food processor instead.
How to make fermented hot sauce
Making this hot sauce recipe, as with most fermented foods, is easier than you think and fairly straightforward. There are requires two primary steps: fermenting the chili peppers, and then blending the sauce.
Prepare the ingredients. You'll want to prep the chilies and any other ingredients you have in advance. You'll rinse the chilies to remove any debris, and then cut away the stem end. Coarsely chopping the chilies can speed up fermentation, too.
Mix the brine. A typical brine for fermentation is about 2%; however, for both hot and sweet peppers a higher level of salt is optimal, and you'll typically need to ferment these ingredients in a 3-3.5% brine. You can mix the salt and water together on the stove, and then allow it to cool to room temperature before adding it to the chilies.
Combine the chilies and brine. After about two weeks, your chilies will be done fermenting and ready to make into sauce. You'll purée chilies and any other ingredients, as well as some of the brine together to form the sauce.
Strain the finished hot sauce. If you prefer a thinner sauce, you can strain it if you like.
https://nourishedkitchen.com/fermented-hot-chili-sauce-recipe/
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Let's talk about how to make a simple fermented hot sauce, shall we? Here is my recipe for fermented hot sauce.
Ingredients Needed To Make Fermented Hot Sauce
1 pound chili peppers (stems removed - I'm using red serrano peppers)
1 quart unchlorinated water
3 tablespoons salt
½-1 cup white wine vinegar to your preference (use a good quality vinegar for better quality hot sauce)
How To Make Fermented Hot Sauce - The Recipe Method
First, ferment the chili peppers. Roughly chop the peppers, then pack them into a ball jar, leaving at least 1 inch of head space. The peppers may rise a bit when fermenting. Mason jars are good to use as fermentation vessels as well.
Make the Brine. Next, mix 1 quart unchlorinated water with 3 tablespoons sea salt. Pour just enough brine over the peppers to cover them, pressing them down a bit as you go. It is important to keep the peppers covered with the salt water brine to avoid spoilage.
Screw on the lid and set the jar away from direct sunlight to ferment for at least 1 week. Ideal temperatures are between 55-75 degrees F. The most active fermentation period is between 1-2 weeks, so be sure to monitor it during this time. “Burp” the jars often by unscrewing the lid a bit to let out some of the accumulating gases. Or, use an airlock or membrane for easier fermenting.
After 1-2 weeks, the fermenting activity will diminish and the brine will turn cloudy and taste acidic, with a slightly sour flavor.
Drain the peppers, but reserve the brine.
Add the fermented peppers to a food processor or blender, along with 1/2 cup of the brine and 1/2 cup vinegar. You can add more or less of each as desired to your preference. More brine will have more salty flavor, more vinegar will be more acidic.
Blend until smooth.
Add the fermented hot sauce to a pot and bring to a quick boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. This will stop the fermentation process.
NOTE: You don't have to cook the sauce if you don't want to. It can be used as-is, though you will likely see some continued fermenting activity. If you decide to not cook it, store it in the refrigerator in sealed containers. You may need to burp them to release gas buildup every now and then, though refrigeration will slow the activity.
Strain the mixture to remove the solids if desired, or use as-is for a thicker hot sauce. Pour into hot sauce bottles and enjoy.
That's it, my friends! Easy, right? Who knew making a fermented hot sauce could be so simple? It's really quite a bit like famous Tabasco Hot Sauce, though made with red serrano peppers instead of tabasco peppers.
https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/fermented-hot-sauce/
