A sriracha-style fermented hot sauce, made with whatever chilis you’ve got.
You know you’re in your gardening era when you start overwintering your plants. I didn’t even know that was a thing, but this year my husband and I did it with our peppers. If you are interested, here are the details:
The process left us with a large final harvest of several different kinds of peppers–spicy Fresnos, smoky poblanos, citrusy shisistos, and sweet candy canes. It was honestly too many peppers to reasonably use in the course of my regular cooking (and snacking).
To avoid any spoilage or waste, I decided to blend most of them into hot sauce. I used a similar process to a homemade sriracha I made earlier in the year (when we had a surplus of red Fresnos) which involves finely pulsing the peppers, fermenting them for about a week, then blending, cooking, and straining.
Is it more work than just buying sriracha? Yes. But the mix of peppers allows for an endless array of flavor and spice profiles. Plus it’s a great way to use up a surplus of peppers.
But of course I think it’s worth it…I’m in my gardening era.
Serving suggestions:
I say, put it on everything! Any kind of egg dish will benefit from a splash of this homemade fermented hot sauce–consider using it on my Broccoli and Bacon Sourdough Breakfast Strata, French Fry Frittata, or this Upside-Down Breakfast Pie.
It would also be delightful for spicing up noodle or rice dishes. Try it on these Udon Noodle Bowls with Sesame Tofu or this Pineapple and Spam Fried Rice.
Homemade Fermented Hot Sauce
Equipment
- 1 food processor 10-12 cup capacity
- 1 32-oz canning jar or 2 16-oz jars
- 1 fine mesh sieve
- 1 medium saucepan
- 1 rubber spatula
- 1 16 oz storage jar or container
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs hot and/or mild chilies Fresno, jalapeños, Serrano, poblano, shisito, etc., stems removed
- 6 garlic cloves smashed
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine chilies, garlic, brown sugar, and salt.
- Blend until chilies are finely chopped and everything is evenly combined.
- Transfer to a 32 oz jar, or two 16 oz jars, and pour over vinegar (¼ cup in each, if using 16 oz jars). Seal and store in a cool, dark, and dry spot for 3-5 days, until bubbles appear (I leave them in a cupboard).
- When bubbles appear, open jars, stir, and reseal. Repeat for another 2-3 days.
- Transfer jar contents into a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Place a fine mesh sieve over a medium saucepan. Pour blender contents through sieve, in bathes, pushing it through with a rubber spatula. Discard pulp.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook until sauce reduces to coat the back of a spoon, about 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer to a clear jar. Allow to cool to room temperature then seal and store in the fridge.
