Roasted then Fermented Hot Sauce

When I set out on this hot sauce journey, I was going to stick with the basic, fermented, and roasted hot sauce, but then I thought why not try one that is roasted first and then fermented? The flavor profile is very unique.

Roasted Fermented Hot Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 Poblanos (~280 grams)

  • 5 Habaneros (~30 grams)

  • 5 Garlic cloves (~30 grams)

  • Water to cover peppers & garlic in the jar

  • 2% Coarse Kosher Salt of Vegetable + Water weight

  • White Distilled Vinegar (OPTIONAL: I added about a tablespoon)

  • White Sugar to TASTE (OPTIONAL: I did not add any in the video)

  • Xanthan gum (.5 - 1 gram per 250 grams of hot sauce)

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 450 F (232 C).

  2. Add the whole peppers and unpeeled garlic to a baking sheet.

  3. Roast the peppers in the oven for 20-25 minutes until partly blackened and skin peeling.

  4. Cut off the stems of the peppers and peel off the outer skin that blistered from roasting. Remove the skin from the garlic.

  5. Place an empty crock or jar on a scale and tare or zero the scale.

  6. Fit the peppers and garlic snugly into the fermentation vessel

  7. Add enough water to submerge the vegetables and note the weight down.

  8. Calculate 2% of that weight, and weigh out that much salt into a bowl. (MAKE SURE you calculate and weigh exactly for safety, you can go above 2% but do not go below.)

  9. Pour the water out from the vessel and mix the salt until it dissolves.

  10. Pour the saline solution back over the vegetables. Make sure the peppers stay below the water level by using a lid, bowl, bag filled with water, or plastic wrap.

  11. Cover with the cap, and lightly screw on the cap, allowing nothing to enter, but loose enough that gas produced from fermentation can still escape.

  12. Now it is time to wait for at least 7 days, but leave them longer if you want to. Leave them at room temperature out of direct sunlight and check on them each day. Burp the peppers if needed. If a thin film starts to form this may be kahm yeast if it is skim it off the top. If something looks fuzzy, this is likely mold and you should start over.

  13. After 7 days (mine went 2 weeks), pour the vegetables and the brine to a blender. Pulse the peppers and garlic until they are completely smooth. Then for extra smoothness run it through mesh strainer. You can save and the solids that don't strain for other uses.

  14. Add the strained sauce back to the blender and add in our salt, vinegar, sugar, and water for seasoning. Use my amounts as a benchmark, but you really want to taste for each of these as you add them. Start with the salt, then go vinegar, then sugar and water. I would suggest going this order because everything needs salt, then the vinegar is a signature of the Louisiana style. Lastly, I would come in with sugar and water. Sugar to balance it and then I would only add some water if you want to thin it a little bit or if it's way too spicy and you really need to dilute the mixture.

  15. Once seasoned, add in .5 to 1 gram of xanthan gum per 250 grams of hot sauce while blending so it thickens a little. (optional) For this recipe, I had 500 grams of hot sauce and used 1 gram of xanthan.

  16. Pour the hot sauce in woozy jars and store it in the fridge for several months. You could can the extra sauce as well.

Ethan Chlebowski