If you’ve looked at the ingredients list on the back of a hot sauce bottle lately, you’ve probably noticed lots of preservatives, fillers, and flavorings that don’t seem to belong in food. But of course, the fact that most store-bought foods are highly processed isn’t breaking news; the breaking news is that with a few summer produce staples along with filtered water and salt, you can make delicious and flavorful fermented hot sauce. This guide will help you use whatever peppers you have on hand to make it as spicy or sweet as you like.
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Why make fermented hot sauce?
When we ferment vegetables, they become easier to digest, nourishing for our gut microbiome, and last longer without the need for preservatives. This makes fermentation the perfect vehicle for hot sauce! I also think fermenting hot sauce adds a delicious and unique flavor. The fermenting process does all the hard work for you, building flavor and softening the vegetables, so that all you need to do is blend them.
How to use this recipe
The only scientific part of this recipe is the salt weight; everything else is up to you! I like to provide lots of wiggle room for my readers to experiment with different flavors and combinations in my fermentation recipes. If you want something spicier, adjust the ratio of sweet to spicy peppers as needed. If you want a sweet-savory balance, add sweet onions and sweet peppers. I invite you to play around with what combinations you like and take notes!
Supplies and ingredients you will need for fermented hot sauce
Supplies
- 32oz quart-size, wide-mouth mason jar
- Scale
- Fermentation weights – these are the ones we use and love
- Food processor or immersion blender
- Funnel and filter
- Pop top bottle
Ingredients
- Garlic
- Onions
- Sweet peppers
- Hot peppers like: jalapeno, habanero, serrano, or whatever hot peppers you have on hand
- Filtered water
- A high-quality mineral or sea salt
Fermented Hot Sauce
Ingredients
- Garlic
- Onions
- Sweet peppers
- Hot peppers like: jalapeno habanero, serrano, or whatever hot peppers you have on hand
- Filtered water
- A high quality mineral or sea salt
Instructions
- Prep your produce: wash everything really well, peel and smash the garlic and roughly chop the onion
- Prep your peppers (always wear gloves when working with spicy peppers!!): wash them really well, remove the seeds if you don’t want maximum heat, roughly chop
- Add hot peppers, sweet peppers, onion, and garlic to a wide mouth mason jar (I like to use a 32oz wide mouth quart jar)
- Fill the jar with filtered water until the produce sits about one inch below the water
- Strain the water into another jar and weight it
- Calculate 2% of this weight for salt
- Weigh and combine the 2% salt with the plain water
- Stir until the salt is completely dissolved
- Pour the salt water back into the jar with veggies
- Cover with a fermentation weight, making sure all the produce sits beneath the water
- Loosely seal with a lid
- Store for 2-4 weeks at room temperature in a dark place, burping every so often
- After a few weeks, taste the brine for a tangy, spicy flavor
- Now it’s time to blend the hot sauce! I like to use my immersion blender to blitz everything up in the jar but you can also pour into a blender and blend until smooth
- At this point you can choose to filter out some of the pulp if you prefer a thinner hot sauce
- Once the sauce is smooth, store in a clean container in the fridge for up to four months
- Be sure to shake before using
RECIPE NOTES
- Always wear gloves when working with spicy peppers
- For best results, use a scale when measuring salt for fermentation
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