Making homemade hot sauce is one of the best ways to preserve the pepper harvest from the backyard garden. And fermented homemade hot sauce is so much better than what you can find at a store! Fermented hot sauce is not only full of wonderful tangy flavor, but it also has lots of good probiotics from the fermentation process.
For the recipe below, feel free to use whatever peppers you have. I listed Santa Fe Grande because that's our favorite peppers to use. They're loaded with lots of citrusy flavors that make a wonderful homemade hot sauce. I also didn't list quantities for the ingredients below because those quantities may vary depending on how many peppers you have. Once you cut the peppers, you'll have a better idea of how many jars you'll need.
As far as the actual fermentation supplies, I prefer to use quart canning jars and the Masontops Complete Fermentation Kit. This kit has everything you need and even includes a neat packing tool for the jars. If you don't have extra hot sauce bottles, you might want to purchase these which I would highly recommend.
INGREDIENTS:
- Santa Fe Grande Peppers
- Pickling or Canning Salt
- Fresh Garlic Cloves
- Grape Leaves (optional)
- Apple Cider Vinegar
DIRECTIONS:
1) Remove the green tops from the peppers and slice into rings. Seeding or removing the membrane on the peppers isn't necessarily unless you're wanting to reduce the amount of heat in the final product.
2) Add a couple cloves of peeled garlic to the bottom of a quart jar, then pack with the sliced peppers. Pack the peppers in the jar as tightly as possible, leaving enough room at the top for the fermentation weight.
3) Make the fermentation brine by dissolving 3 tablespoons of pickling salt in one quart of water. You can make as much brine as you'll think you'll need depending on how many peppers you have.
4) Pour the brine into the packed jars so that it covers all the peppers.
5) If you have access to grape leaves, add the to the jar on top of the peppers. This will help to keep everything in the jar submerged below the brine.
6) Add the fermentation weight and pickle pipe. Screw the lid on the jar, securing the pickle pipe. Place the jar in a dark closet or cabinet for one week.
7) After a week of fermentation, unscrew the jar lid and remove the fermentation weight. Strain the peppers and garlic, saving the fermentation brine (you'll need that later).
8) Blend the fermented and garlic until completely emulsified. You may need to a add a little of the fermentation brine to the blender to get it blended well.
9) Pour the blended mixture over a small screen or cheesecloth to extract the liquid, removing the pieces of seeds and pulp.
10) For the remaining liquid, add equal parts of fermentation brine and apple cider vinegar until the sauce has the desired consistency.
11) Pour into hot sauce bottles, refrigerate, and enjoy! This fermented sauce should store at least a year or more in the fridge.
12) Use the leftover fermentation brine to marinate chicken thighs or pork chops for a couple days, then throw them on the grill. Trust me on this one!
