This fermented hot sauce recipe, inspired by Daddy Kirbs, was the cause of a fight last year!
Well okay, not a fist-fight all-out brawl, but a pretty tense stand-off between friends.
I had made this sauce for the first time last year and brought it to a picnic with family and family friends to put on crackers and cheese or cream cheese.
I only brought one bottle, thinking that would be plenty, but it was such a hit people were hoarding it.
I watched as one uncle tried to hide it behind a bowl so everyone would forget it was there.
My mom elbowed me to steal it back from said Uncle. A cousin simply grabbed it and “suddenly” had to be somewhere else.
Some passive aggressive insults were thrown back and forth as people were afraid it would run out!
Even today, when I make a new batch, my husband doesn’t want me to share it.
So if you want a spicy, tangy, awesome hot sauce that everyone loves (or at least everyone who loves spice – loves) give this recipe a try.
Adapted from Daddy’s Kirb’s fermented hot sauce, this concoction has all the spice you’d expect in a hot sauce, with a surprising tang, or umami you don’t expect, that leaves you craving for more.
How to Make This Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe
To make it, you simply roughly chop the peppers and garlic, mix it with the sugar and salt, cover in water and leave it to ferment for as long as you like.
The natural yeast and bacteria in the air will start to eat the sugar-mixture and add a tangy effervescence to your hot sauce.
And it adds all the probiotic-y goodness and gut healthy stuff you get from fermented foods.
After the fermentation process, you add raw apple cider vinegar to give it even more tang and health benefits.
All in a hot sauce to fight for…
If you want to make your own Apple Cider Vinegar, check out my post on making homemade ACV from scratch!
Or your own kombucha, check out my beginner’s guide on how to make kombucha!
Try a delicious variation and add some sugar to it to make a sweet and sour version.
Soooo good!
If you’re interested in making more fermented foods, check out Herbal Academy’s herbal fermentation course.
They’ll teach you how to make everything from mead and kombucha, to beer, kefir and sauerkraut.
I’ve kept mason jars of this recipe in the cupboard with no issues, but just to be safe you should keep it in the refrigerator.
Delicious Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb sweet peppers (bell peppers or banana peppers)
- 1 lb hot peppers (jalapenos, habaneros, serranos, etc)
- 8 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup organic sugar
- 4 tsp salt
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp xantham gum
Instructions
- Roughly chop hot and sweet peppers (wearing gloves!!), add garlic and pulse together in a blender.
- Add the sugar and salt and mix to coat.
- Divide the pepper sugar mixture into four quart-sized mason jars. (About 1 cup pepper mixture each).
- Add about 1 cup water to each of the mason jars - just enough to cover the peppers.
- Cover your mason jars with napkin, or cheesecloth - anything that will allow gas to escape but keep bugs and other things out.
- Leave in a cool, dry place for 9-14 days.
- Pour all of the contents back into a blender and puree.
- Strain the liquid through cheesecloth or a reusable coffee filter.
- Place the strained liquid back in the blender, and add the vinegar and xanthan gum.
Notes
(If the resulting hot sauce is TOO hot, add more water or ACV to temper it some)
