Fermented Hot Sauce

After a particularly successful year at the St. Cloud State Community Garden, Zack ended up with several pounds of hot peppers. He already had a string of dried Thai peppers collecting dust, a 5+ year supply of crushed chili's, and even a few frozen cream cheese jalapenos in the freezer. What do you do with all these spicy peppers?

Zack's hot sauce... for the pepper hoarder in your kitchen.

Tools

• Wide mouth food-grade glass or plastic vessel
• Glass plate/bowl that fits inside the mouth of (above mentioned) vessel
• Cheese cloth or "breathable" fabric to cover vessel
• Plate or bowl to set vessel into in case of leaking
• Blender or immersion blender

Ingredients

Submerged, fermenting, quiet peppers...

• 20-40 Peppers (any size, color, variety, fresh/dried)
• 1 Head Garlic
• 1 Tbsp. sea salt (or non-iodized salt)
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1-2 cups chlorine-free water

Directions

1. Dissolve salt and sugar in water. 
2. Wash peppers, remove the stems, and cut into 3-4 pieces. 
3. Peel garlic. 
4. Place peppers/garlic in the vessel and top with salt/sugar solution. Add enough liquid to cover all solid ingredients. 
5. Put vessel on the plate/bowl to catch liquids in case of runoff.  Place the glass plate bowl into the vessel until all solid chunks are submerged under the liquid. 
6. Tie cloth/fabric over the top and place contraption way from sunlight/heat.
7. Wait several weeks.

 

Cloudy? That's okay!
Wait for this to settle, it is safe to eat.

About fermentation: To put it plainly, you have added peppers to a brine, you are "pickling." This is an old and safe food preservation technique that creates an environment full of lactid acid. This acid makes it difficult for bad bacteria to thrive. The air-lock (food submerged in a salty/sugar solution with a container pressing down) leaves very little surface area for bad bacterias to be introduced.

Basic safety measures are to prepare this recipe with clean utensils, vessels, hands, and surfaces. If a white substance forms (kahm yeast), this should be carefully removed. It is typical on the surface when lactofermenting. If you have concerns about this white substance, or any other appearance of your food, look at this guide from Cultures for Health.


After 4-6 weeks of waiting, it's time to move onto bottling your hot sauce!

1. Carefully remove the plate/bowl from the top and skim off any kahm yeast that has formed.
2. Use an immersion blender, or a regular blender, to puree the mixture, careful not to splash any spicy liquid into your eyes or onto any other nearby surfaces.
3. Fill cleaned bottles almost to the top, allowing for very little surface area. We have reused tabasco bottles (including the small circle stopper) for the best pouring results.
4. Enjoy! This does not need to be refrigerated but follow common sense to ensure the freshness and safety of your product.

  Thank you for your inspiration ARISE! 

This recipe was modified from "Fermented Hot Sauce", submitted by a community EXCO class, in ARISE's "Recipes for Radicals" cook book (pictured left). Thank you for this delicious wisdom, found on page 17, between "How to Fall in Love with your Dumpster" and "Kimchi for Lovers".

R.I.P. Arise Book Store: A"radical" book store and place for action, inspiring community, free meeting space for our mischief, and safe harbor for our wild aspirations.