10.4 Fermentation

This will be a totally new exploration for me, arising from a piece in Epicurious on making fermented hot sauce. I did a little exploration and found a more detailed description of the process on seriouseats.com, which goes into the fermentation process in detail and includes links to the two recipes below. I strongly recommend reviewing this before you begin, but the key points are that for the process to proceed, we have to establish an anaerobic saline environment, allowing lactic acid-producing bacteria to flourish. I’m going to attempt to do so in one quart mason jars, with vapor locks and weights obtained from Amazon. The recipes that follow use the two preparations most commonly used for fermentation - a mash and a salt brine.

10.4.1 A Generic Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe

The idea here would be to experiment with different red or orange peppers and see what tastes good. Don’t worry about the occasional failure.

10.4.2 Habernero and Berry Hot Sauce

First, a mash preparation - looks pretty straight forward.

Ingredients

225 grams each (8 oz) of blackberries and blueberries
150 g. habernero peppers (about 25), stemmed
30 gm. salt
1/4 cup white vinegar
10 gm sugar

  1. Using a food processor, pulse the berries, peppers and salt into a coarse puree, about 12 pulses.
  2. Transfer to a 1 quart Mason canning jar. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and place a weight on top of it.
  3. Seal the jar with an air lock.
  4. Store the jar in a cool dark place for at least seven days, checking daily for gas formation. The mix should taste sour, having a pH of 4.2 or less.
  5. Transfer the mash to a blender, adding the sugar and vinegar.
  6. Blend on high speed until smooth. Check the pH - it should be about 3.4. Add more vinegar if needed.
  7. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and discard the pulp (although you might want to save it as a flavoring for other foods).
  8. Store refrigerated in a glass bottle or plastic squeeze bottle. The original recipe says it will keep for up to a month; we’ll see if it goes longer.

10.4.3 Chipotle Fermented Hot Sauce with Garlic and Cumin

This recipe involves use of the salt brine method, and also uses dried rather than fresh peppers. In addition to adding flavor, the fresh garlic is the source of the naturally occurring lactobacilli necessary for fermentation.

Ingredients

3 cups bottled water*
30 gm salt
55 gm dried chipotle morita peppers (about 20 peppers)
6 cloves garlic, sliced
5 gm cumin seeds, lightly toasted
3/4 cup white vinegar
15 gm sugar
Kosher salt

  1. Mix water and salt until the salt is dissolved.
  2. Add peppers, garlic and cumin to a 1 quart Mason jar.
  3. Add brine, cover with plastic, add a weight and seal with air lock.
  4. Store in a dark cool place for at least 10 days, checking frequently for gas formation.
  5. After 10 days, taste daily, until it tastes sour like dill pickles - could take up to 28 days.
  6. Strain out brine with a fine sieve, retaining the saline for now.
  7. Transfer solids to a blender and add 1 cup of the brine along with the sugar and vinegar.
  8. Blend at high speed until smooth and emulsified. Season with salt.
  9. Measure the pH of the sauce. It should be at or below 3.4; add more vinegar if necessary.
  10. Strain the mixture again and bottle the sauce.
  11. Store refrigerated for up to 3 months.

* This is one case where use of tap water is not recommended, as it is likely contain traces of chlorine that will inhibit bacterial growth. Bottled spring water is the best bet.

10.4.4 Hot Sauce with Fresno Chiles, Garlic, and Tamari

This one is interesting - uses a mixture of broiled and fresh peppers.

Ingredients

For fermentation

700 gm stemmed Fresno peppers
60 ml distilled water
3 tbsp tamari soy sauce
10 gm kosher salt

For finishing

120 ml white vinegar
10 gm. sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
120 ml roasted garlic oil

  1. Broil 300 gm of the peppers until charred, about 5 minutes per side. Allow them to cool.
  2. Combine the charred peppers, the remaining (400 gm) fresh peppers, water, salt and tamari in a food processor. Pulse 16-20 times into a coarse mash.
  3. Transfer to a 1 quart canning jar and set up with weight and airlock for fermentation. there should be about an inch of head space
  4. Let fermentation proceed for 7-21 days, until mash has climbed up the side of the jar and the pH has dropped below 4.0
  5. Scrape the mash into a blender. Add vinegar, sugar and salt, and blend until smooth (~1 minute).
  6. With blender running stream in garlic oil and continue to blend until it is emulsified.
  7. Check the pH - if it is over 3.4, add more vinegar.
  8. Strain through a fine strainer, transfer to a clean bottle, and refrigerate.