How to Make Fermented Hot Sauce
Making fermented hot sauce might sound intimidating at first. However, it still has the simplicity and cost effectiveness of making “normal” hot sauce. However, taking the one additional step of fermenting the ingredients first adds amazing health benefits and will allow you to keep your hot sauce in the fridge MUCH longer than before!
What is Fermented Hot Sauce?
Fermented hot sauce is simply a hot sauce that has been made with fermented peppers. The other main ingredients like onion and garlic are also typically fermented with the peppers. However, it is not necessary to ferment all of the ingredients for it to be a fermented hot sauce.
The Primary Ingredients for Fermented Hot Sauce
The Salt
When it comes to the most important ingredients, there are two that will really determine how well your fermented hot sauce will turn out. The first of these is the salt. It is very important that you do not use plain table salt to ferment your peppers!
The salt is important because it plays a large role in the fermentation process. The best salt to use is a high quality sea salt.
If you do not have access to pure sea salt, look for salt that does not have any iodine or anti caking agents added.
Iodine is a known anti-bacterial so there’s a potential for an impact on the fermentation process. However, iodine is mostly known for discoloring or darkening of fermented foods. While it’s said to be harmless, it may make your ferments less visually appealing.
A salt with anti-caking agents should be avoided because the anticaking agents may also discourage the beneficial bacteria from forming. Thus, your ferment won’t turn out as you might like.
If you’re not sure if your salt has anticaking agents, or if it’s iodized, you can always use a canning salt from the canning section of a local store. That salt will work just fine for this fermentation purpose.
The Water
The water that you use in fermentation is almost just as important as the salt! The primary concern with the water you use for fermentation is the chemicals that are added in the water treatment.
The most impactful chemical in treated water is chlorine. While many utilities add chlorine to kill harmful bacteria, chlorine filled water will also prevent the fermentation process from starting because it’s also killing the good bacteria found on the veggies you’re trying to ferment!
If you have well water, your water likely does not have chlorine levels that will impact the fermentation process. Feel free to use the water straight from your tap.
If you do not have well water, aka “city water”, it will be best to first filter your water before mixing with your salt.
If your tap water has more contaminants of concern, you can also opt to use bottled or spring water. Bottled and spring water should also reliably have low levels of contaminants that would hard fermentation.
The Peppers
Almost any kind of peppers can be used for making hot sauce. The only requirement is that they are as fresh as possible (aka not dried peppers). Fresh peppers, especially home or locally grown, should still have the amazing wild yeasts on their skins that will help the fermentation process.
If you’re not sure what kind of peppers to use for your hot sauce, I would suggest starting with jalapenos or tabasco peppers. These two are some of the most common peppers used in commercial hot sauces.
Tabasco peppers are the famous peppers used in Tabasco Sauce. So, if you want to try making your own, use those peppers!
For a sriracha like hot sauce, use red jalapenos. I’ve made hot sauce with red jalapenos for a few years and my husband almost always comments saying it tastes very similar to the classic sriracha sauce!
If you want a green hot sauce, green jalapenos are a great, widely available option for you to test this recipe! My husband is the hot sauce taste tester in our family and he says this is a great all purpose hot sauce.
The Onion
Any onion can be used for making hot sauce. I usually keep yellow onions on hand for cooking. They’re easily accessible and are very versatile in the kitchen. However, if you prefer red or white onions, feel free to use the kind of onion that you like.
Fermentation Tools
The tools you use to ferment can vary widely depending on what’s available to you. In addition to a glass jar, the most common and convenient tools are called fermentation weights (or pickle pebbles) and air locks (also called pickle pipes). These can usually be found at hardware stores, farm stores and some large retailers like Walmart!
While these tools make the fermentation process easier, they’re not required to complete your hot sauce making experiments.
How Long to Ferment
The time that you allow your peppers, onion and garlic mixture to ferment will depend on your taste preferences and how well you like fermented foods.
If you’re just getting into fermented foods or are making this for someone that may not have a taste preference for fermented foods, I suggest fermenting for just a few days. What you’re looking for is the brine to become a bit cloudy and for some bubbles to appear between the chopped veggies. Depending on the temperature of your fermentation environment, this will likely take 2-4 days.
If you like fermented foods and are looking for a hot sauce with some fermented tang, feel free to ferment for more than 4 days. In most moderate home environments, the “full course” of fermentation will take 7-14 days. You will know the fermentation of your pepper mixture is done when the brine is cloudy and bubbles do not return after moving your jar and releasing the built up air.
Wearing Gloves When Working with Hot Peppers
One of the most important steps of making this hot sauce is making sure that you wear gloves when chopping the hot peppers. If you skip this step, you may regret it! The insides of hot peppers contain a specific compound called capsaicinoids.
Capsaicinoids are what gives hot peppers their heat. This is also a compound that acts like oil and readily absorbs into your skin and does not readily wash off with soap and water.
With that being said, if you end up forgetting to wear gloves like I did once, you will be feeling the burn for hours after you chop a few peppers!! Do yourself a favor and cover your fingers!
The Shelf Life of Fermented Hot Sauce
This hot sauce is optimally used within 4-6 months. However, if stored well in your fridge, my husband has found it to last well for 12 + months.
Tools and Ingredients
12 oz bell peppers (use whichever color bell pepper matches your hot peppers)
9 oz hot peppers (I like cayenne, jalapenos or tabasco peppers)
½ onion (use an onion that is 3-4 inches in diameter)
2 garlic cloves (roughly chopped or crushed)
2 cups filtered, distilled, or well water (avoid chlorinated city water)
1 Tbsp sea salt
1/4 cup White or apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons Cane sugar, honey or maple syrup (optional, but recommended to balance the flavors)
Cutting Board
Gloves
Knife
A glass measuring cup
A quart sized canning jar with a two piece lid
Fermentation Weight
Fermentation lid
Fine mesh strainer
Blender, food processor or immersion blender
Bottles or jars to store finished hot sauce
Small funnel
Directions
Preparation & Fermentation
Before you begin working with the peppers, make sure you put on gloves!! Although it may seem silly, your skin will definitely be hurting if you don’t!
After putting on your gloves, roughly chop the peppers and onion, and garlic. If you want your sauce to have an extra kick, leave the seeds in your hot peppers. If not, remove and discard the seeds of your hot peppers.
Add the chopped peppers, onion and garlic to your quart sized canning jar. Gently press the contents of your jar down and make sure to leave 2 inches of headspace.
In a measuring cup, combine the two cups of water and one tablespoon of salt. Stir until the salt is completely dissolved.
Add the fermentation weight on top of your pepper mixture and fill the jar to the top with the brine.
Add a fermentation lid (such as a pickle pipe) and transfer the jar to a dark location where it can be left undisturbed. Ideally, this location should be above 55F but less than 75F.
After 2-4 days the brine should start to look cloudy and bubbly. The peppers have likely also become a bit dull. If you’re looking for a lightly fermented hot sauce this is where you will strain the solids and start blending (see next steps). If you want a more fermented flavored hot sauce, keep fermenting for up to two weeks.
Blending The Hot Sauce
When your mixture has reached your desired fermentation stage, strain the solids from the brine. Make sure to reserve the brine for later! This brine will be used to thin out your final sauce.
Blend the solids in a blender, food processor or immersion blender with the vinegar and sugar (or other sweetener) until smooth.
When your mixture is well blended, add a bit of the brine back a tablespoon at a time and blend until you achieve your desired consistency.
Lastly, it’s time to bottle it up! You can either re-use old hot sauce or soy sauce bottles or buy cute ones from Amazon.
To store, keep the hot sauce bottles or jars in the fridge. It’s best to use this sauce within 4 – 6 months. However, I’ve used mine 9-12 months later and it was still great!
Looking for more fermentation inspiration? You might also enjoy this Fermented Mayo Recipe or this Strawberry Shrub recipe.
Homemade Hot Sauce FAQ:
What Makes Hot Sauce Fermented?
Fermented hot sauce is simply a hot sauce that has been made with fermented peppers. The other main ingredients like onion and garlic are also typically fermented with the peppers. However, it is not necessary to ferment all of the ingredients for it to be a fermented hot sauce.
What Salt Should I Use In Making The Fermentation Brine?
The best salt to use in fermentation is a high quality sea salt. The most important qualities in the salt that you use is that it’s iodine free and without anti-caking agents. If you can’t find a good quality sea salt, you can use pickling salt that’s found near the canning supplies in your big box or hardware store.
Can I Use Tap Water For The Fermentation Brine?
Although you may be successful using tap water for fermentation, I would suggest using filtered water instead. Unless you have well water in your tap, your local municipality likely treats your water with chemicals that are not conducive to fermentation.
If you try this recipe and don’t see lots of fermentation bubbles between your chopped ingredients, I suggest using filtered water with new ingredients.
What Peppers To Use For Fermented Hot Sauce?
Almost any kind of fresh peppers can be used for making hot sauce. Fresh peppers, especially home or locally grown, have the amazing wild yeasts on their skins that will help the fermentation process.
If you’re not sure what kind of peppers to use for your hot sauce, I would suggest starting with jalapenos or tabasco peppers. These two are some of the most common peppers used in commercial hot sauces.
How Long To Ferment The Hot Sauce Ingredients?
The time that you allow your peppers, onion and garlic mixture to ferment will depend on your taste preferences and how well you like fermented foods.
If you’re just getting into fermented foods or are making this for someone that may not have a taste preference for fermented foods, I suggest fermenting for 2-4 days. What you’re looking for is the brine to become a bit cloudy and for some bubbles to appear between the chopped veggies.
If you want a strong fermented flavor within your sauce, you can go up to 2 weeks.
Did you try this? Share your creations in the comments or by tagging @MissysHomestead on Instagram.
