Fermented Jalapeño Hot Sauce
A homemade fermented jalapeño hot sauce made with fresh green jalapeños, carrots, onion and garlic in a 3% salt brine. After fermentation, the vegetables are blended and strained into a tangy green hot sauce with customizable heat.
Equipment
- 1L wide-mouth mason jar
- Fermentation airlock
- fermentation weight
- Blender
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Large mixing bowl or measuring cup
- Clean bottle for finished sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh green jalapeños
- 1/2 medium yellow onion sliced
- 1 medium carrot thinly sliced
- 4–8 garlic cloves sliced
For the brine
- 700 g water
- 21 g pickling salt
Instructions
- Make the brine. Combine 700 g water with 21 g pickling salt and stir until the salt dissolves. This makes a 3% salt brine.
- Prepare the vegetables. Peel and thinly slice the carrot, onion and garlic. Remove the stems from the jalapeños and cut the peppers in half. Leave the seeds and pith intact for more heat, or remove them for a milder sauce.
- Pack the jar. Layer the carrot, onion, garlic and jalapeños tightly in a 1 L wide-mouth mason jar.
- Add the brine. Place a fermentation weight over the vegetables and pour in enough brine to completely submerge them, leaving about 1 inch of headspace.
- Ferment. Attach a fermentation airlock and leave the jar in a dark place for 14 days.
- Strain. Remove the airlock and fermentation weight. Pour the contents through a fine-mesh strainer, reserving the brine.
- Blend. Transfer the fermented vegetables to a blender and add about 1/2 cup of the reserved brine. Blend for 3–5 minutes until very smooth. If needed, add another 1/4 cup of brine at a time until it blends easily.
- Strain the sauce. Press the blended mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to separate the hot sauce from the remaining pulp.
- Bottle. Pour the strained hot sauce into a clean glass or plastic bottle and store it in the refrigerator. Shake well before using, as natural separation can occur.
Notes
For more heat: Leave the jalapeño seeds and pith intact.
For less heat: Remove the seeds and pith before fermenting.
Don't throw away the pulp: Dehydrate the strained pulp and grind it into jalapeño seasoning.
The jalapeños will lose their bright green colour during fermentation. That's expected.
The finished sauce is intentionally fairly thin. For a thicker sauce, strain out less of the blended pulp.
Some separation during storage is normal. Shake before using.
For less heat: Remove the seeds and pith before fermenting.
Don't throw away the pulp: Dehydrate the strained pulp and grind it into jalapeño seasoning.
The jalapeños will lose their bright green colour during fermentation. That's expected.
The finished sauce is intentionally fairly thin. For a thicker sauce, strain out less of the blended pulp.
Some separation during storage is normal. Shake before using.
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