If you’re a hot sauce lover, making your own fermented hot sauce is a game-changer! Fermenting hot sauce offers several benefits, including adding a unique flavor, increasing shelf life, and providing probiotic benefits.

Making your own hot sauce allows you to control the ingredients, heat level, and flavor profile. Fermentation enhances the taste by allowing the peppers to develop a deeper, richer flavor profile. Additionally, fermenting the hot sauce increases its shelf life by creating an acidic environment that inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria and creates beneficial bacteria that promotes gut health.

Customizations

One of the best parts about fermenting hot sauce is that it can be modified in a number of ways to suit your desired level of spiciness, smokiness, or sweetness. 

If you like it hot: Consider using habaneros or Thai peppers.

If you like a medium sauce: Consider using jalapeños or Anaheim chilis.

If you prefer a mild sauce: Consider using banana peppers, shishitos, bell peppers, or carrots

For a smoky hot sauce: Add a few chipotle peppers or add liquid smoke after fermentation.

For a sweet and spicy hot sauce: Add in a few pieces of pineapple or a tablespoon of sugar or honey after fermenting. 

How to Make Fermented Hot Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Hot peppers
• 1 Bell pepper
• 1 Onion
• 3 Cloves of garlic
• 1/2 Cup of tomatillos or tomatoes

Hot to make it:

Hot Sauce ferments well at 3% acidity. This recipe is for a quart-sized mason jar that needs approximately 2 cups of brine. Refer to my Salt Brine Acidity Chart for measurements if you’d like to increase or decrease the amount of hot sauce.

1. Cut all of the vegetables into equal-sized pieces
2. Pack a quart-sized mason jar with all of the vegetables, leaving 1 inch of headspace for the weight.
3. Create a brine by mixing 14 grams (3/4 Tbls) of salt and 476 grams (2 cups) of filtered water until the salt dissolves. 
4. Pour your brine over the vegetables until they are completely covered and remove as many air bubbles as you can. 
5. Place your weight on top of the vegetables, ensuring they all stay fully submerged in the brine. 
6. Add the airlock on top and screw on the band. 
7. Let the jar sit at room temperature, out of direct sunlight for several days. Place on a plate or another shallow container to catch any brine that escapes the tip of the airlock. The exact time will depend on the temperature of your home and how sour you like your hot sauce but I suggest 10-12 days. 
8. After fermenting, strain the vegetables but reserve the brine.
9. Blend the fermented vegetables until smooth. Add some of the brine from the ferment to thin the sauce if it is too thick.
10. Taste your hot sauce and add any additional flavorings you would like such as pineapple, sugar, liquid smoke, or herbs, and blend to combine. Store in the refrigerator for up to one year.

How to use Fermented Hot Sauce

Once you’ve made your fermented hot sauce, there are numerous ways to use it. As with all vegetable ferments, remember that if you cook the hot sauce, while it still tastes great, you will lose some of the benefits of fermentation.

• On tacos, burritos or enchiladas
• As a condiment for burgers or wraps
• In salad dressings
• In a marinade for meat or vegetables
• On eggs

Happy Fermenting!