Char roasted chili fermented hot sauce

[austin87]

I made this earlier in the year but forgot to post it. I'll be making another batch soon and will update or make a new post if anything different happens.

2-3 cups of peppers your choice, stemmed but whole (I had scotch bonnets, chocolate ghost peppers, Trinidad peppers, and some randoms)
1/2 large sweet yellow onion
1 head garlic, roasted
White vinegar to taste
Salt (3-5% by weight of veggies)
Whey strained from 1 cup of plain yogurt with live active cultures (basically put yogurt in a coffee filter inside a mesh strainer, set that over a bowl, and put it in the fridge for a couple hours... the liquid that collects in the bottom bowl is whey)

Set up a grill for direct and indirect medium high heat. Prepare garlic to roast (cut off top, drizzle with oil, wrap in foil) and cook until tender.

When the garlic is done, put the peppers in a grill basket and char over direct heat until blackened in spots, 5-10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool COMPLETELY (this will come into play in a moment).





Add the onion, peppers, and roasted garlic (squeeze the cloves out of the bulb) to a blender or food processor, chop until course or finer. You may need to add some water if the mix is too thick.



VERY CAREFULLY, AND PREFERABLY OUTSIDE put the mix into a container to weigh it (use grams). Add salt in the amount of 3-5% by weight, depending on taste and personal preference. Stir in the whey.

NOTE: I put the still hot peppers in the blender inside my small studio, pulsed the shit out of them, then opened the lid and stuck my face in it to smell... and promptly inhaled pepper spray. My girlfriend across the apartment started coughing and had to go outside for a couple of hours.

Prepare a clean fermenting vessel (I used a French press, which worked great - add the mash to a French press, and depress the plunger just enough so that there is a thin layer of liquid above the veggies)



Wrap the top of the press in plastic wrap, set on something that will contain any overflow, and let it sit and ferment for 30 days. Larger chunks require more time.

After it's done, do a final blend to desired consistency (you can also use a food mill or cheesecloth to strain it if you like a thinner sauce), and add more salt if necessary and vinegar to taste. Store in the refrigerator.

Mine turned out just shy of nuclear with awesome flavor. Enjoy!

[MacEggs]

Man, I need to grow hot peppers next year.

This looks fantastic!  Thanks for the warnings and advice, and thanks for sharing, dude. 

[Jon]

That looks really good, I gotta try it.

The only fermenting I've done is @Swamp Yankee 's sauerkraut. The sauerkraut has turned out very well, so I'm encouraged to try this.

Good job. I'm glad to see how your superhots are used.

[Nate]

That looks killer! I'll be trying that soon. I love hot hot sauces.

[OGlenn]

@austin87  I have no experience with fermenting, but I have a french press and a two gallon bag full of scotch bonnets, so I'll give this one a try!  Is the fermenting done at room temperature or in a cooler location?

[austin87]

@OGlenn room temperature. The screen keeps the mash below the liquid level (it's usually the stuff floating on top and exposed to air that begins to mold.

I would definitely look into using a starter or maybe only char half of the chiles. On a second attempt the fermentation has been slow and I'm wondering if the heat killed some of the natural bacteria that start the fermentation process.

[Hell Fire Grill]

On a second attempt the fermentation has been slow and I'm wondering if the heat killed some of the natural bacteria that start the fermentation process.

Are you saying you added second dose of starter to the mash because the fermentation seemed slow?

[austin87]

On a second attempt the fermentation has been slow and I'm wondering if the heat killed some of the natural bacteria that start the fermentation process.

Are you saying you added second dose of starter to the mash because the fermentation seemed slow?

@Hell Fire Grill  I have not gotten around to adding a second dose of starter (I usually use whey strained from plain yogurt) but I plan to this weekend if I don't get to it beforehand. I would also guess that the first starter I added was a little smaller than normal just because of the smaller amount of yogurt I had on hand.