Amazing Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe

habanero peppers

🥗Healthier: jalapeño peppers

💰Cheaper: banana peppers

Jalapeños offer a milder heat, while banana peppers are more economical.

blueberries

🥗Healthier: blackberries

💰Cheaper: frozen blueberries

Blackberries are lower in sugar and frozen blueberries are often cheaper.

vinegar

🥗Healthier: apple cider vinegar

💰Cheaper: white vinegar

Apple cider vinegar adds a fruity note, while white vinegar is less expensive.

lime juice

🥗Healthier: lemon juice

💰Cheaper: bottled lime juice

Lemon juice provides a similar acidity, while bottled lime juice is often cheaper.

Chop the mixed red chilies into pieces, using gloves to avoid chili fingers.

Slice an onion into pieces, no specific method required since it will be blended later.

Chop up a whole bulb of garlic.

Prepare the brine by mixing 1 liter of water with 20 g of salt until dissolved.

Combine the chopped peppers, onion, and garlic in a jar and pour the brine over them, ensuring the vegetables are completely submerged.

To keep the vegetables submerged, partially fill a small bag with water and place it on top of the veggies in the jar.

Cover the jar securely with a paper towel to allow gas to escape during fermentation without needing to burp it daily.

Leave the jar to ferment for about 2 weeks, watching for bubbling and cloudiness as signs of fermentation.

After 2 weeks, separate the brine and transfer the peppers, onion, and garlic into a blender, adding 125 ml of the reserved brine.

Blend until smooth, adjusting the consistency by adding more brine if necessary.

Optionally, for a shelf-stable hot sauce with more acidity, add oil and vinegar at this stage, but note that vinegar may kill beneficial bacteria.

Bottle the hot sauce, keeping one bottle for immediate use and storing the rest in a sealed jar in the fridge.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level: