This hot sauce is so unbelievably good. It’s hard for me to write any more than that because those words are pretty much all my brain can muster when I think about this fermented hot sauce, also known as “The Best Hot Sauce in the World.” Who needs sriracha when you have this homemade deliciousness?
Peppers for Fermented Hot Sauce
This hot sauce starts with dried hot peppers. These were Red Rocket peppers from the Barking Moon Farm stand at the Ashland farmer’s market.
We had received them in a CSA box a few years prior and I had no idea what to do with them until I came across this recipe from Frugally Sustainable for fermented hot sauce.
Of course that’s what I should do with them!
You can use any hot pepper you like for this recipe, fresh or dried. Each pepper variety will give it a totally different and unique flavor, so I recommend trying out whichever one you prefer.
If you are a hot sauce lover you can make a few batches using several different peppers to see which one you like best!
Fermented Hot Sauce Recipe
I adapted this recipe to use dehydrated peppers, but please feel free to use fresh when they are in season!
Cut off the stems if you wish, but they can also be left on. I think if I was using fresh peppers I would leave the stems on, but these dried ones were pretty tough.
Leave as many seeds in as you dare, depending on how hot your peppers are and how hot you like it! I probably ended up using about half of the seeds as these are very hot peppers.
Toss the peppers into a quart jar along with half an onion chopped and several whole garlic cloves (I used 6, but you can never have enough garlic in my mind!).
Put 2 tablespoons kosher or sea salt (not iodized) into the jar with the peppers and onions.
Fill the jar most of the way with water, but leave an inch or so of space at the top. Use a long spoon or chopstick to stir the the brine well to help dissolve all the salt.
You can alternatively cover the jar and shake everything up well.
So gorgeous! Put a weight on top of the veggies to keep them under the brine.
This weight fits into any wide mouth jar. It’s so cute and fits perfectly! It takes away that thought that I always have when I get to this point, which is “what the heck am I going to use as a weight?”
Fermentation Kit for Hot Sauce
I tried out a new little fermenting kit when I made this hot sauce. See that weight and airlock? That’s the Ferment’n Home Fermentation Kit. It turned out to be pretty useful, in my opinion, but unfortunately it doesn’t exist anymore.
If you’re wanting to get a fermenting kit, I suggest getting something like The Easy Fermenter or the Masontops Complete Fermentation Kit.
Of course a zip top bag or a smaller jar filled with water will do the trick, but having a fermentation weight is really handy.
Then you can either cover the jar with a clean cloth to keep the bugs out or use an airlock.
Many fermenting kits come with an airlock that fits onto a wide mouth jar. You just put a little bit of water into it and then screw the metal ring on to hold it in place. Pretty cool!
Ferment & Blend the Hot Sauce
Put the jar in a corner somewhere and let it ferment for about 2 weeks. This is when the magic happens!
The weight will probably be totally submerged after the fermentation period, and the color of the liquid may change a little, but it’s all good!
Pour the entire contents of the jar into a blender, along with a small splash of either white or apple cider vinegar, and blend the whole thing up.
It will smell spicy and delicious!
Pour it all back into the jar and there you have it. That’s it!
Put a lid on it, keep it in the fridge and it will keep indefinitely. It will continue to slowly ferment over time and get tastier, but it’s pretty amazing right away.
I’m sure that you will find yourself putting it on absolutely everything like I do!
Now go make yourself some of this awesome fermented hot sauce, you won’t be disappointed!
More Fermented Sauce Recipes
Love a good fermented sauce recipe as much as I do? Here are a few others for you to try!
- Jalapeno Hot Sauce
- Pepperoncini Hot Sauce
- Fermented Ketchup
- Chili Paste
- Kimchi (not quite a sauce, but a spicy and delicious condiment)
If you want to learn more about fermentation, check out my favorite books on fermenting and homebrewing!
Fermented Hot Sauce
Ingredients
- hot peppers fresh or dried
- ½ onion chopped
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 Tbsp kosher, pickling, or sea salt
- 1 quart water
Instructions
- Cut off the hot pepper stems if you wish. Leave as many seeds in as you like, depending on your taste (more seeds will make it spicier).
- Put the peppers, onion, and garlic into a quart jar.
- Sprinkle salt into the jar.
- Fill the jar most of the way with water, but leave an inch or so of space at the top.Â
- Use a long spoon or chopstick to stir the the brine well to help dissolve all the salt. (You can alternatively cover the jar and shake everything up well).
- Put a weight on top of the veggies to keep them under the brine.
- Cover the jar with a clean cloth to keep the bugs out or use an airlock.
- Allow to ferment for 2 weeks.
- Pour the entire contents of the jar into a blender, along with a small splash of either white or apple cider vinegar, and blend until smooth.
Notes
- Refrigerate the finished hot sauce in a covered jar.Â
- Shelf life is indefinite, but it will continue to slowly ferment over time.Â
I’d like to try this hot sauce recipe! I have made fermented hot sauce before, but not from dry peppers. I have some from my garden last year. Awesome!
I’m like most people on your blog. I’d love to try making fermented sriracha. Also, I just wanted to comment that I really love the round weight this kit has. The right tool for the right job.
Oooh, ooh, ooh, this looks so yummy!
Things I’d ferment… this hot sauce seems a good starting point. Then off the top of my head: ketchup, ginger carrots, dill green beans, and kimchi.
I love fermenting ,and would love to be so lucky as to win a new tool to try!
tasty healthy idea!!!
I’ve made a hot sauce similar to this but didn’t ferment it, now I’ve got something new to try, thanks! ☺
If I would win this I would put it to good use. It would be out of use only long enough to wash it and start a new ferment.
This such a great looking tool for fermenting. I would love to make the hot sauce. My sister would love this.
I just perused through the recipes on their site, and they have one for saurkraut that I would like to try.
The tiny weight looks awesome.
This recipe looks so good, and I would love to win the fermenting kit! I took a fermentation class at our local food pantry, and have really enjoyed experimenting with fermenting different foods.
I love sriracha, I need to replace my beloved hot sauce with a healthier alternative. Pick me!! I NEED this!! ;)
Yummy! Would love to make that hot sauce!
I’ve been wanting to ferment garlic for a while now so that’s what I’d do first…I could be totally convinced to do this hot sauce however…Maybe have to do the water in a baggie method.
I didn’t know about these kits before! I’m glad to have found them!
Wow. Just wow. I cannot wait to try this! And I think I have a great idea for Christmas gifts this year! Thanks for the recipe!
I would love, love, love to win this kit. I’m ready to ditch the plastic baggie filled with brine. It’s such a hassle to check on it all the time, and can’t be good for us. My husband loves hot sauce, this would be the first thing we try making with the kit. :-)
Fermenting is something I have wanted to try. I think I would make this hot sauce, or some kind of hot pepper.
Fermenting is something I have wanted to try out. I think I would make this hot sauce or some kind of fermented peppers. I love hot peppers.
Going to give this a try this weekend
Cabbage, for starters, is the food i most want to make because we love sauerkraut. i would also love to ferment carrots and beets.
This sauce looks absolutely delish. I would definitely give this a try!
This will be my next project.
I would love to try making this hot sauce. That fermenting kit would also be great for making kraut!
My husband would love this hot sauce!
Now I know why that verde down at the Mexican food place has a weird, almost alcohol-y, taste… they must’ve fermented it! D’uh!
I want to try this now! I’m a big fan of hot sauce. :D
If I won this prize, i would use it to make this sauce. Sounds and looks wonderful!
I would have to try the hot sauce! It sounds delicious & looks beautiful.
Great idea! I’ve never fermented hot sauce. Thank you for sharing your method.
Love to win a kit! Have a great day!