Fermented Hot Sauce | Lacto-Fermented (2024)

Making fermented peppers at home, to make hot sauce, is easy. Fermented Hot Sauce is a great way to use all of your chili peppers at the end of the season

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Hot sauce made with fermented peppers has more depth than hot sauces that are made with fresh peppers. Lacto-fermented peppers are not, hands on, time consuming, but they do take some time to age.

I let my peppers ferment for about 4 months, but some folks are letting them ferment for only weeks.

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The longer you let them ferment, the more depth the peppers will have. To see how I fermented my peppers, see my article on Lacto-fermenting Peppers.

What is Lacto-Fermentation?

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Fermentation is the process of beneficial bacteria breaking down a food product that otherwise would spoil. These beneficial bacteria (namely lactobacillus) are actually important to help maintain our good health.

If you don’t like the idea of eating bacteria, keep in mind that you currently eat many foods that are fermented. Yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, even sourdough bread are examples of lacto-fermented foods. These foods are great for gut health and we are encouraged to add more to our diets to keep our digestive tracts healthy.

Many of our favorite hot sauces in the United States, like Tabasco and Sriracha are still made with fermented peppers.

The other way to make hot sauce is with an apple cider vinegar and sea salt or kosher salt brine. Other ingredients like onion, garlic, and herbs can also be added for varied flavor. These hot sauces are also delicious but lack the depth of flavor that the lacto- fermented hot sauces possess. The taste of fresh hot sauce is more vinegar forward.

What Peppers Can You Use to Make Hot Sauce?

Really, any hot pepper will work to make Fermented Peppers. If you would prefer a mild Hot Sauce, then use Poblano or Fresno, or just add a few bell peppers to the mix to temper the heat.

For medium Hot Sauce, use jalapeño, cayenne, serrano, red cherry, or Hungarian Wax peppers.

For an extra hot Hot Sauce, use ghost peppers, scotch bonnet or dragon’s breath. But be careful. They will be super hot.

Here we have used a mixture of medium hot peppers, to give the hot sauce a more complex flavor.

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The photograph above are the peppers, right after placing in jars. At the start of the fermentation process.

The photograph above is at the end of the fermentation process. Notice the texture change from the fresh peppers, and how much the contents of the jar have shrunk.

Is lacto-fermenting dangerous?

Fermentation has been used for centuries to preserve foods and make them shelf stable.

Per se, lacto-fermenting is not dangerous. There are precautions that you should take to achieve a healthy fermented product.

Set up the fermentation as stated below. Monitor the ferment carefully for the length of time that you are fermenting.

Signs to look for that indicate your ferment has gone bad.

• Rotten smell
• Vegetables look or feel slimy
• There is a fuzzy mold growing on the surface.
• This mold is not the same as kahm yeast, which can form on the top when all of the natural sugars in the peppers have been used up. Kahm yeast is a thin, usually stringy layer which is white or cream colored and usually grows in a very thin layer. Molds can be black, pink, white or brown. They usually start in small spots and can grow quite thick.

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What you need

You will need a few specialized tools to make fermenting easy. These include:

• quart canning jars or larger, depending on quantity you are fermenting.
• fermenting lids You can use regular canning lids, but these will have to be carefully “burped” daily to release the buildup of carbon dioxide. Do not remove the lid totally. Just carefully loosen it with your clean hands. You will hear the jar “burp”. Then screw the band back on.
• fermentation weights Totally optional but these will help the food continue to be covered throughout the whole ferment.
• pH meter This will help you determine if your pepper mash is acidic enough to make the sauce. pH should be about 3.5.
• kosher salt or sea salt
• hot peppers See above section for “what peppers to use”.
• fresh garlic cloves Optional but add a wonderful flavor.
• brown sugar or honey Use a sweetener if you would like a sweeter sauce.
• other fresh vegetables You can add carrots, onion, celery and other vegetables to make the flavor of your hot sauce unique.

How to Make Fermented Hot Sauce

1. Place the fermented pepper mash in a large pot. See instructions for setting up the ferment here.
2. Add crushed garlic.
3. Bring to boil.
4. If you would like a sweeter sauce, reminiscent of Sriracha sauce, add brown sugar or honey. Cook for 30 minutes to one hour, over low heat.
5. Place cooked peppers in blender container, in batches, if need be.
6. Once the peppers are processed in blender, if you want a smooth sauce, strain out the solids.
7. Use spatula to remove all of the sauce from the solids.
8. Sterilize bottles or mason jars. Use sterile kitchen funnel to pour the sauce into the bottles.
9. Wipe rim of bottles. Insert limiter on bottles.
10. Cap.

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How do I know when my pepper mash is done?

You can let your peppers for as little as a few weeks, a few months or even a few years. The flavor will continue to change as the ferment ages. Longer ferments will produce a more acidic, pungent sauce than shorter ferments.

Brands like Sriracha still let their peppers ferment for years. This produces that bold flavor.

Once the sauce is made, it will also slowly continue to change flavor becoming more bold with age.

Be aware that if you only let the peppers ferment a few weeks, you may have to add vinegar to the hot sauce to bring the pH of the hot sauce below 3.5, where it will be safe to store.

Storing Hot Sauce

Store bottles in the refrigerator. If you have a pressure canner, you can use that to make them shelf stable but this will change the flavor a bit and kill the probiotics. Sauce will keep for at least 12 months in the fridge..

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Pro tips for a successful ferment

• Always use sterile jars or bottles to make and store fermented peppers and the hot sauce.
• Do not contaminate the ferment with your fingers or an unsterile tool. This can cause contamination.
• Always store bottles in the refrigerator. Canning fermented vegetables will kill the probiotics and defeat the purpose of fermenting.
• pH should be below 3.7 for food safety, for your fermented hot sauce. Test the pH of your peppers before making the hot sauce. If your pH is above that, let the peppers ferment longer.

Uses for Fermented Hot Sauce

This hot sauce is so delicious, on just about everything. Add it eggs, pasta or rice dishes, meats, chicken wings, the possibilites are endless.

• Chilaquiles
• Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
• Sweet Potato Hash
• Spanish Rice
• Spaghetti Casserole
• Chicken Nachos
• Venison tacos

This Hot sauce recipe is also great to use in a spicy mayonnaise, aioli or a spicy ketchup, for serving with fries, or on you favorite sandwich.

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That is all there is to making Fermented Hot Sauce at home. You will not be disappointed with the outcome.

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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.

Enjoy. And have fun cooking!