Homemade hot sauce recipes

[Evilgrin]

Started a simple bonnet ferment also. Just quartered Dreadie and TFM peppers, 3.5%ish brine and a starter culture. Took the pH down a tiny bit with a tbs vinegar on top. This will be a faster ferment. A couple weeks at room temp then turn it into a mash to finish in the fridge.

 

[bob1852]

a starter culture. Took the pH down a tiny bit with a tbs vinegar on top.

I should've done that with mine....

Barely showing any signs after 4+ days.

Can you save starter culture in the fridge like sourdough? Any need to wake it up?

 

[HoppyDaze]

Even without the Pickapeppa, i think the rest of the recipe would be great with lots of supers and chinenses. I think black garlic is my new favorite item for hot sauce. I got a pound of peeled 120 day for around $25 on Amazon. Flavor is sorta like a garlic flavored raisin or date. Cloves are quite sweet and chewy.
https://www.amazon.com/Peeled-Black-Garlic-Kosher-Certified/dp/B00NR6ZJIM

You can probably do this without the Shanxi vinegar. Black rice vinegar is common but this is not made from rice. I had to go to one of the hard core Chinese markets to find it. Shuita brand 5yr aged. Not too expensive at markets but it is on Amazon.

Have you looked into getting seeds or finding a way to grow black garlic yourself? I would be interested ...

 

[HoppyDaze]

I should've done that with mine....

Barely showing any signs after 4+ days.

Can you save starter culture in the fridge like sourdough? Any need to wake it up?

https://smile.amazon.com/Caldwells-...18300&sprefix=starter+culture+,aps,259&sr=8-9

 

[Braufessor]

Can you save starter culture in the fridge like sourdough? Any need to wake it up?

Someone can correct me if I am wrong..... but, I believe it is best to start each ferment from scratch as opposed to "repitching" a previous ferment brine. I did this a couple times with kraut and was never as happy with subsequent batches. Something about the stages of fermentation imparting different flavors as different microbes dominate different stages of the ferment. I guess you could compare it to trying to repitch yeast blends in beer.... from one beer to the next, the proportion of microbes gets out of whack and it does not do the same thing.

I use these and keep them in my fridge for months until I need them. I generally only use about a half packet per 1/2 gallon or so..... Figure it is a good way to get the ferment off on the right track rather than totally relying on Mother Nature. I use about 2.5-3% brine probably with peppers, 2% with kraut and the like. I fill a jar with veggies, dump the starter powder in, and fill with brine.... figuring the brine will kind of wash the starter throughout as the jar fills. I don't "wake up" the starter packets in any way.

https://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Edge...lacto+fermented+starter&qid=1570824080&sr=8-4

 

[Evilgrin]

Have you looked into getting seeds or finding a way to grow black garlic yourself? I would be interested ...

No room to grow garlic and black comes from a fermenting process under controlled heat/humidity. Not feasible to make it myself. You can get 90 day also a little cheaper. I tried one from Soulmate off Amazon. Its was good but the price wasnt much better than the one i just got.

 

[Evilgrin]

One of the great things about a starter is you can pasteurize/sterilize whatever you plan to ferment first. That will kill wild yeasts/bacteria just like using campden in a must. Add your brine and culture starter. Chance of kahm yeast plummets.

Ive pasteurized a hot sauce and had it ferment on accident so im certain it works if lacto is somehow introduced later and pH is not too low. Im also certain that Caldwells or Cutting Edge provide a big head start. My last cayenne ferment was smelling sour within a few days but for stuff like kraut/kimchi its not needed at all. I can make sour cabbage in no time.

If you want to try a cheaper source of a culture look for Farm House Cultures probiotic drinks. A bottle is around $5 and you only need a few tbs to kick start a ferment. They have a couple flavors but you are not going to taste a couple tbs of it in a 2 quart ferment anyway.
https://www.farmhouseculture.com/gut-shots

 

[Evilgrin]

I should've done that with mine....

Barely showing any signs after 4+ days.

Can you save starter culture in the fridge like sourdough? Any need to wake it up?

Did you start with bottle water? Ive used tap water but Absopure steamed/distilled is great for ferments. If you want minerals use pink salt. Tap water is usually high pH also. Some like Dasani and Aquafina are pretty low to start.

 

[Braufessor]

Did you start with bottle water? Ive used tap water but Absopure steamed/distilled is great for ferments. If you want minerals use pink salt. Tap water is usually high pH also. Some like Dasani and Aquafina are pretty low to start.

+1...... I use RO water for all of my ferments.

The use of starters is also nice as I tend to just stockpile peppers in the freezer until I need them.

 

[bob1852]

Did you start with bottle water? Ive used tap water but Absopure steamed/distilled is great for ferments. If you want minerals use pink salt. Tap water is usually high pH also. Some like Dasani and Aquafina are pretty low to start.

I used distilled or ozonated bottled (can't remember which)....I know it was chlorine free...

It's been a bit chilly in the house, too. I'll check it again tonight as it appeared there was a bit more activity/cloudiness this morning.

 

[Evilgrin]

My last 2 ferments i started with Cutting Edge, Absopure and a tsp of sugar for a quart+ of brine. Latco B will tear into that tiny amount of sugar at light speed. One i used straight sea salt and the other was 50/50 pink/sea salt.

If you want really good salt for ferments look for Korean sun dried sea salt but you will pay a premium for it. Not insanely priced but its not cheap.

 

[Evilgrin]

I just got 6gals of Niagara distilled water. The pH is a claimed 6.1 and the stuff is cheap. Under $1/gal in 6 packs.
https://www.niagarawater.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/2019-English-WQR_061719-HR.pdf

Waiting on my Dr Meter pH meter to arrive before i "mash" the bonnets but the brine sure smells sour to me. Not a spec of mold or kahm yeast on it either.

 

[Kickass]

We bottled a fermented hab, pineapple, and ginger hot sauce. Next time I won’t ferment the pineapple, the sweetness doesn’t come through after fermentation. I’ll add it post fermentation when I bring everything to a boil.

 

[Evilgrin]

My favorite way to use pineapple is just fresh juice or grilled slices then blended. Add both after cook down. Ferments eat all the sugar out and adding late preserves color.

If you just go hot enough to pasteurize then color is fine. Yours looks great.

 

[Braufessor]

My favorite way to use pineapple is just fresh juice or grilled slices then blended. Add both after cook down. Ferments eat all the sugar out and adding late preserves color.

If you just go hot enough to pasteurize then color is fine. Yours looks great.

Thoughts on using a sous vide to pasteurize jars of hot sauce with things like fruit juice or carrot juice added?

 

[Evilgrin]

Gave the bonnet ferment a quick spin in the bullet the other day before tossing it in the fridge. Flavor is awesome too. Nothing but peppers, salt, water and a couple TBS of vinegar sofar.

 

[Evilgrin]

Processed and pasteurized my Scotch bonnet ferment from 10/11/2019. Pretty damn hot for a bonnet sauce too. Sure puts Gracies or Marie Sharps to shame in flavor.

 

[applescrap]

I need help from my hot sauce masters. I tripled the batch and idk if it didn't boil long enough or if the large ampunt stilled boiled off the same as small amount. Meaning I would need to adjust water down for bat h size. Used 6 cups water to 3 vinegar and was thinner than thicker. Tastes good. Made freaking 10 cups of sauce. Ugh. Hiw watery is too watery? I dont think its ruined, used xanthan gum. Thanks.

 

[Evilgrin]

Take a couple cups out and reduce it. If you like the results do the rest. Keep the temp as low as possible to achieve the reduction.

 

[applescrap]

Thanks so much. Appreciate all your help, it looks similar to your sauce above and its spicey enough so hakuna matata I dont love making it, just enjoying it. I really enjoy the hm sauces. The roasted poblano was great, with garden peppers. This is just the basic jalopeno sauce again. Just a little onion and garlic. I like that it only provides heat not flavor, making it versatile.

Take a couple cups out and reduce it. If you like the results do the rest. Keep the temp as low as possible to achieve the reduction.

 

[BRGriffith]

So this thread is really cool. Made my first hot sauce last evening - pretty simple jalapeno pineapple. Flavor is great, a little sweet and just enough heat. Would be perfect for something like fish tacos.

15 jalapenos
5 serranos
2 cups chopped pineapple
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1 Tbl sugar
2 cups white vinegar

 

[kaffeenjunkie]

Ten pounds of red jalapeño turned into Louisiana and Sriracha.
Let the jalapeño lacto ferment and let them sit for three months.

 

[kaffeenjunkie]

Have you looked into getting seeds or finding a way to grow black garlic yourself? I would be interested ...

Black garlic is fermented/slow cooked garlic.
https://www.thespruceeats.com/black-garlic-4165384

 

[HoppyDaze]

yer fremented/slow cooked garlic

 

[BRGriffith]

I think I'm going to like this new hobby. Made another one with Habanero and peaches. Nice color. This stuff tastes like liquid sunshine. .. Which is ironic since we got about 4 inches of snow today.

I've noticed that my first sauce sperates a bit in the container. Any tips on how to keep it all together?

 

[imasickboy]

I've noticed that my first sauce sperates a bit in the container. Any tips on how to keep it all together?

Xanthan gum works.

 

[HoppyDaze]

fruit pectin works also...gives it a bit of a gelatin texture that's quite nice.

 

[BRGriffith]

Awesome, thanks guys. I'll give that a try

 

[Evilgrin]

Just a FYI if anyone here liked PexPeppers sauces he is getting out if the hot sauce biz. The good news is he has posted the recipes for several of his sauces in grams. The recipes are listed on his website along with his last sauce creation.

I loved his Taco Fuego. Best ripe jala sauce i ever tried. Get some really hot ripe jalas for this like the Zapotecs. Taco Fuego had some nice heat for a jalapeno sauce.

 

[imasickboy]

Just a FYI if anyone here liked PexPeppers sauces he is getting out if the hot sauce biz. The good news is he has posted the recipes for several of his sauces in grams. The recipes are listed on his website along with his last sauce creation.

I loved his Taco Fuego. Best ripe jala sauce i ever tried. Get some really hot ripe jalas for this like the Zapotecs. Taco Fuego had some nice heat for a jalapeno sauce.

Link? Can't find what you're talking about.

 

[Evilgrin]

https://www.pexpeppers.com/recipes/

 

[imasickboy]

https://www.pexpeppers.com/recipes/

Cheers! Thanks!

 

[catdaddy66]

I've been using a sauce that was made from the start of summer. Still has great heat and a tbsp in a large bowl of soup is perfect for flavor and heat.

 

[Evilgrin]

Sweet Thai style chile sauce im still working out the details on but it will be something like this.

3/4 cup vinegar (rice or cane)
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 semi spicy red bell peppers or a ripe Anaheim (deseeded)
4-5 Joes Long Cayenne peppers
1" piece of ginger pealed and chopped
1 small shallot (golf ball size) finely minced
1 TBS minced garlic
Blend then simmer all the above except the sugar for about 10-15min
Add the sugar and reduce the heat for a few more minutes.
Thicken with tapioca starch and water slurry if needed

1 TBS lime juice after sauce has cooled

Most recipes are mainly just sugar, vinegar, peppers and garlic. My favorite sweet sauces like this though have ginger. Tabasco really nailed it with their Sweet and Spicy. Linghams is REALLY good, cheaper but not easy to find at normal markets. Its also a fair amount hotter than the Tabasco version. There are even cheaper ones like Mae Ploy but it just does not thrill me like Linghams. Mine will have far less sodium than any of them. Im still trying to decide how much i want to use or if i want to use some Redboat for the sodium.

 

[Evilgrin]

Super hot ferment. Mostly Scorpions, Death Spiral and Korean sun dried sea salt. 2-3 TBS of champagne vinegar to lower pH a tad and 1 tbs of homemade kraut juice to kick start it.

 

[NeilMac]

A spicy little mix

 

[HoppyDaze]

Hot sauce made from fermented peppers is so much better than made with fresh....and it's not close

 

[Evilgrin]

Ive had some great sauces that were not fermented but if you really like stuff like Louisiana cayenne or Tabasco your just wont get the same "tang" from only vinegar. I got a couple bottles of the Tabasco Family Reserve and it blows away the regular or any Louisiana hot sauce ive tried. A combination of the longer ferment and white wine vinegar makes a huge difference. That scotch bonnet ferment i did is better than Marie's or Gracies too.

This stupid hot ferment is for a mash i can save. A few TBS of it to quart batches of sauce will be a good heat boost. I will make it the same way as the bonnet. Ferment for a month, blend into a mash with just some of the brine and let it continue in the fridge. Just like kimchi continues to ferment in the cold so will the mash. The pH just needs to drop enough first and get a good lacto culture thriving.

Ive been saving my Joes Long Cayenne again this year. Last years batch failed because i was too light on the salt. So i upped the salt and bought some Korean sun dried sea salt. Its about $10/kilo but i can get it cheaper at my market too.
https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Premium-Salt-Kimchi-Brining/dp/B00KNGFG2I

 

[popquizkid]

Sweet Thai style chile sauce im still working out the details on but it will be something like this.

3/4 cup vinegar (rice or cane)
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 semi spicy red bell peppers or a ripe Anaheim (deseeded)
4-5 Joes Long Cayenne peppers
1" piece of ginger pealed and chopped
1 small shallot (golf ball size) finely minced
1 TBS minced garlic
Blend then simmer all the above except the sugar for about 10-15min
Add the sugar and reduce the heat for a few more minutes.
Thicken with tapioca starch and water slurry if needed

1 TBS lime juice after sauce has cooled

Most recipes are mainly just sugar, vinegar, peppers and garlic. My favorite sweet sauces like this though have ginger. Tabasco really nailed it with their Sweet and Spicy. Linghams is REALLY good, cheaper but not easy to find at normal markets. Its also a fair amount hotter than the Tabasco version. There are even cheaper ones like Mae Ploy but it just does not thrill me like Linghams. Mine will have far less sodium than any of them. Im still trying to decide how much i want to use or if i want to use some Redboat for the sodium.

I like the idea of using some Redboat in a sauce like this.

 

[501irishred]

So I started a batch of assorted peppers (to ferment) about 3 days ago and so far there does not seem to be any activity. Anything I can do to inoculate it or help it along in some other way? I just used a 3% sea salt brine.