Can I add honey to fermented hot sauce?

Place the ferment, honey, vinegar, reserved brine and cumin seeds in a blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth . Keep the sauce stored in the refrigerator for up to one year.

How long should peppers ferment for hot sauce?

Culture at room temperature until the color of the peppers changes and dulls, usually 5-7 days . If you like, this ferment continue to ferment at room temperature for many months. We like it best after at least 3 months; the flavors become more complex and rich, the longer it ferments.

What is the brine ratio for fermented hot sauce?

For chile peppers, it's best to use a 3–5% brine. To figure out this percentage, weigh your water and then add between 3% and 5% of that weight in salt. I use a 3.5% mixture. You'll want enough brine to cover the peppers and fill the vessel to the brim.

What does honey do when fermented?

If honey starts to ferment in the hive, the honeycomb cells are filled with bubbles and an odor of yeast can be smelled . Sometimes foam oozes out and collects under the frames. In a controlled circ*mstance fermentation of honey can be purposefully utilized to produce an alcoholic drink known as mead.

Does honey ferment well?

According to the USDA publication, honey with moisture content of less than 17.1% will not ferment in a year, but once you get above this level, the risk starts to increase. Above 19% moisture, honey can be expected to ferment in the year following harvest, even with low osmophilic yeast levels .

How do you know when hot sauce fermentation is done?

Fermentation is finished when you stop seeing gas produced , or you could do a pH test to check for lactic acid production. These will both give you an idea that the fermentation is finished. Generally, it should not take very long, 1-2 weeks in total for a standard sauce.

How do you know when pepper fermentation is done?

Within 1 week it should start to taste sour . If you like it, it is done. If not let it continue to ferment. Pack the vegetables back down until the liquid rises above them.

Should I add vinegar to my fermented hot sauce?

While LAB fermentation is important for funk and complexity, a measured amount of bottled vinegar can accentuate that natural acidity. Finally, adding vinegar can lower the pH of your sauce further (down to 3.4), which only improves shelf stability. Sugar is another common seasoning to balance acidity.

Can I add honey after fermentation?

First off, welcome! I think you would have no problem adding the honey to your primary fermenter after the initlal fermentation died down a bit . You will see an additional kick-start to the fermentation obviously.

How do you flavor fermented hot sauce?

Ingredients like garlic or spices can bring more complexity to your hot sauce. Fresh garlic also helps fermentation, because it's rich in surface lactic acid bacteria. Cumin, cinnamon, or coriander are great choices, too; their harsh, raw flavor melds over time as fermentation progresses .

How does honey affect yeast fermentation?

Carbon dioxide increased more quickly in trials with higher molarity of honey , because the yeast had more sugar to utilize for the process of fermentation. This allows more glucose to enter the system to undergo hydrolysis into pyruvate, which is then oxidized, producing carbon dioxide and ethanol as byproducts.

Does honey help with hot sauce?

Both honey and granulated sugar are effective in neutralizing a fiery mouth . Combining sugar with dairy can be very effective - think ice cream or flan. Lime juice, tomato juice or lemon juice can help relieve the burning sensation, which is why many recipes made with peppers incorporate an acidic component.

Fire-Roasted Pepper Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe

Tantalize your taste buds with this smoky fermented hot sauce recipe. This easy homemade hot sauce will be a table staple and makes for a creative food gift!

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One of our favorite ways to preserve hot peppers is to turn them into a lacto-fermented hot sauce. This condiment graces our table every night, and while I’m not the type to add hot sauce to my pasta and meatballs like my husband Brian, I appreciate a bit of spicy tang on my pork tacos and egg burritos!

This year we decided to shake up our usual homemade hot sauce recipe and fire-roast the jalapeños before fermenting for a bit of smoky flavor.

The results: Ah-mazing! Here is our fermented hot sauce recipe to make and to share!

How to Make Fire-Roasted Jalapeno Fermented Hot Sauce

Making fermented hot sauce at home is quite easy – it’s a great beginner’s ferment because it’s really hard to get it wrong.

1) Source Fresh Hot Peppers

The first step of this fermented hot sauce recipe is to source really fresh and delicious hot peppers. We have found that ripe, red jalapeños (I like growing these for an early harvest) work better than cayenne (the seed to flesh ratio of cayennes is too high and you end up with a hot sauce that is slightly bitter because of the seeds), but another hot pepper of your choice will work!

Fire-Roasted Pepper Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe | Homestead Honey (1)

2) Fire Roast the Peppers

Next, prepare a fire for roasting. We used our outdoor pizza oven and a live fire to roast the peppers, but you could also do this on a grill or over an open fire. Roast the peppers until blackened and peeling.

Fire-Roasted Pepper Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe | Homestead Honey (2)

Fire-Roasted Pepper Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe | Homestead Honey (3)

3) Prepare the Peppers for Fermentation

Next, remove the stems of the peppers, and if desired, chop into 2-3 pieces. At this point, you could also remove some of the seeds to reduce spiciness (and a bit of bitter flavor), but it’s not necessary.

4) Prepare a Salt Brine for Fermentation

The lacto-fermentation process uses a salt brine to encourage the development of desired bacteria (Lactobacillus, predominantly) that convert lactose and other sugars into lactic-acid, a natural food preservative.

The salt brine is the same one used to make naturally fermented pickles or radishes.Because we use our salt brine frequently, I like to batch a gallon batch and keep it at the ready. To make one gallon of brine, simply dissolve 3/4 cup of salt in one gallon of water.

Fire-Roasted Pepper Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe | Homestead Honey (5)

5) Ferment Your Fire-Roasted Peppers!

Place your fire-roasted jalapeños in a wide-mouthed mason jar (we used a quart sized jar) and cover the peppers completely with your salt brine. At this point, some home fermenters choose to use a glass weight like this one to keep the peppers under the level of the salt brine. You could also use a clean rock.

We also chose to add some whole garlic cloves to the ferment at this point, just for a bit of extra flavor.

6) Ferment to Taste

Place your mason jar on a kitchen counter where you can keep an eye on your ferment. Every day or so, check to make sure your peppers are still under the level of the salt brine to prevent mold growth. If they are not, you may need to push them back under the brine, or adjust your weight.

Allow your fire-roasted jalapeños to ferment for a week or two. You will begin to see small bubbles forming – this is a good thing!. You can also taste a pepper and see if it has developed a nice tangy flavor. We have kept this batch of lacto-fermented hot sauce fermenting on our kitchen counter for several weeks.

Fire-Roasted Pepper Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe | Homestead Honey (6)

7) Blend Your Fermented Hot Sauce

At this point, you can either move the entire jar into cold storage (a root cellar, basem*nt, or fridge works well), or you can blend your peppers into a liquid hot sauce. We tend to make this fermented hot sauce recipe a lot, so we move the jar of fermented peppers into cold storage in our root cellar, blending new batches of sauce as we need them.

Once you have blended your fire-roasted fermented hot sauce, you can keep a small jar of your homemade hot sauce on the table for easy use, and store the rest in your refrigerator.

Fire-Roasted Pepper Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe | Homestead Honey (7)

For more on the basics of fermentation and some tips on long-term storage:

Tips and Tricks for Successful Fermentation

How to Store and Care for Vegetable Ferments

Did you make this fermented hot sauce recipe? How did you like the flavor?
I’d love to hear from you, so please leave a comment below!

Yield: 1 big jar

Tantalize your taste buds with this smoky fermented hot sauce recipe. This lacto-fermented fire-roasted pepper hot sauce will be a table staple!

Prep Time30 minutes

Roasting Time20 minutes

Fermentation Time14 days 1 second

Total Time14 days 50 minutes 1 second

Ingredients

Hot peppers (we like ripe, red jalapeños)
For the salt brine:
3/4 cups of salt
1 gallon water
optional: 3-4 garlic cloves

Instructions

The first step is to source really fresh and delicious hot peppers.We have found that ripe, red jalapeños work better than cayenne (the seed to flesh ratio of cayennes is too high and you end up with a hot sauce that is slightly bitter because of the seeds), but another hot pepper of your choice will work!
Next, prepare a fire for roasting. We used our outdoor pizza oven and a live fire to roast the peppers, but you could also do this on a grill or over an open fire.Roast the peppers until blackened and peeling.
Remove the stems of the peppers, and if desired, chop into 2-3 pieces.At this point, you could also remove some of the seeds to reduce spiciness (and a bit of bitter flavor), but it’s not necessary.
Prepare a salt brine for the fermentation process.The lacto-fermentation process uses a salt brine to encourage the development of desired bacteria (Lactobacillus, predominantly) that convert lactose and other sugars into lactic-acid, a natural food preservative.
The salt brine is the same one used to makenaturally fermented picklesorradishes.Because we use our salt brine frequently, I like to batch a gallon batch and keep it at the ready.To make one gallon of brine, simply dissolve 3/4 cup of salt in one gallon of water.
Place your fire-roasted jalapeños in a wide-mouthed mason jar (we used a quart sized jar) and cover the peppers completely with your salt brine.At this point, some home fermenters choose to usea glass weight like this oneto keep the peppers under the level of the salt brine. You could also use a clean rock. We also chose to add some whole garlic cloves to the ferment at this point, just for a bit of extra flavor.
Place your mason jar on a kitchen counter where you can keep an eye on your ferment.Every day or so, check to make sure your peppers are still under the level of the salt brine to prevent mold growth. If they are not, you may need to push them back under the brine, or adjust your weight.
Allow your fire-roasted jalapeños to ferment for a week or two.You will begin to see small bubbles forming – this is a good thing!. You can also taste a pepper and see if it has developed a nice tangy flavor. We have kept this batch of lacto-fermented hot sauce fermenting on our kitchen counter for several weeks.
At this point, you can either move the entire jar into cold storage (a root cellar, basem*nt, or fridge works well), or you canblend your peppers into a liquid hot sauce.We tend to make a LOT of lacto-fermented hot sauce, so we move the jar of fermented peppers into cold storage in our root cellar, blending new batches of sauce as we need them.

Notes

Once you have blended your fire-roasted fermented hot sauce, you can keep a small jar on the table for easy use, and store the rest in your refrigerator.

Fire-Roasted Pepper Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe | Homestead Honey (2024)

How to Make Fire-Roasted Jalapeno Fermented Hot Sauce

1) Source Fresh Hot Peppers

2) Fire Roast the Peppers

3) Prepare the Peppers for Fermentation

4) Prepare a Salt Brine for Fermentation

5) Ferment Your Fire-Roasted Peppers!

6) Ferment to Taste

7) Blend Your Fermented Hot Sauce

For more on the basics of fermentation and some tips on long-term storage:

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

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FAQs

Can I add honey to fermented hot sauce? ›

How do you flavor fermented hot sauce? ›

References