Two-Stage Ferment For Your Just-Hot-Enough Hot Sauce

Ferment a Mother Batch and Store in the Fridge. Then Brew Future Batches Using a Little of the Mother to Control the Heat You Seek.

I’ m not the least bit interested in super spicy anything. But I love the smell and flavor of “fruity” hot sauces using—Scotch Bonnets and Habañeros. These colorful chilies are staples in Caribbean cuisine. Add a touch of the bright hot sauce to almost any dish to wake up flavor. These chilies are built to scorch, though.

Over the years I tried to make a mild hot sauce using various amounts of these chilies, but I could never control the resultant super heat. I’ve resolved the problem.

1] Make a mother batch with very spicy chilies and store permanently in the fridge.

2] Next, ferment an everyday batch by adding small increments of the mother batch to any recipe—by the tablespoon— until you get the heat level you desire.

Pepper Power: Peppers can have every kind of heat under the sun. Over the decades I found the habañero and Scotch bonnet varieties offer the best fruity heat. However, their spice level—straight up—is too much for my liking. So let’s solve for flavor and modest heat.

L: With a Mother Batch We can Tame any Pepper R: I visit a Caribbean Supermarket in Orlando

Let’s Make a Mother Batch

Makes 1 Quart

Use mostly chilies and just enough of the remaining produce to make a packed quart. For added smokiness, preheat a heavy skillet and char the chilies and unpeeled garlic. No oil needed, 7-10 minutes

• chilies – 1 LB, Scotch bonnets or habañeros, chopped
• garlic – 1 TBS, sliced
• scallions – 1/2 cup [white part] sliced, [or shallots, or red onion]
• thyme – 1/2 tsp, dried or 4 sprigs fresh
• carrots – 1/2 cup, sliced [or bell pepper]
• BRINE
  • sea salt – 1 TBS [18g]
  • water – 2 cups, filtered

INSTRUCTIONS: WEAR GLOVES WHILE HANDLING CHILIES!

1. Wash your fermenter and parts in hot, soapy water
2. Chop the chilies [don’t remove the seeds], then thinly slice the remaining produce
3. Toss ingredients then add to jar, tamping as you go, until it reaches an inch below the lip [if you run out of ingredients, just add more carrots and/or onions]
4. Combine the salt and filtered water to make brine
5. Pour brine into jar until almost full. Review your fermenter instructions to complete: ensuring the produce is kept under the brine. [I use my invention, the Perfect Pickler]
6. Ferment for 7 days in a conditioned room [temperature at or below 78º]
7. Carefully puree the contents including the brine and pour back into the jar, seal with a standard lid, and refrigerate for up to one year

This is the Mother Batch [and is Ultra Spicy]

L: Mother Batch During Fermentation R: Mother Batch Finished[left] and Start of Everyday Batch

Everyday Batch

For Everyday batch: Scallions, Shallots, Garlic, Carrots, and Cuban oregano

INGREDIENTS:

One Quart

• carrots – 1 LB, thinly sliced
• chilies – 12 oz, milder chilies—[jalapeño, serrano], chopped
• garlic – 1 TBS, sliced
• scallions – 1 cup, white part, sliced [or shallots, or red onion]
• oregano – 1 tsp dried, or 1 TBS fresh
• brine – 2 cups filtered water with 1 TBS sea salt

For everyday batch follow the directions for mother batch above and ferment 7 days.

After Everyday Fermentation:

1. Strain and reserve the brine
2. Place the batch in a blender and add back a little of the reserved brine and puree; continue with more brine if needed to get the consistency you desire
3. Taste it for heat—add some of the mother batch by the tablespoon and stir, then taste
4. Now consider other add-ins:

POST FERMENT INGREDIENTS: Your ferment is not done until it tastes delicious. Add one or more of the following ingredients to tune for your palate.

If you are planning on codifying your own homemade batch, use measurements and practice on small test amounts. For instance, test a half cup of hot sauce with precise doses of the ingredients below. Stir and taste, write down the winners and then add it to your master recipe.

• Worcestershire
• fish sauce
• oyster sauce
• liquid smoke
• tomato paste
• smoked paprika
• cardamom
• citrus zest
• pineapple juice
• raw vinegar – 1/4 cup, any type you choose [red wine, apple cider, distilled white]
• sugar – 1 tsp, [optional]
• sea salt – 1 tsp
• xanthan gum – 1/4 tsp, [optional] used to thicken sauce. I usually puree and then thin with enough raw vinegar to yield a pourable consistency.

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STORAGE OPTIONS

You can also store everyday hot sauce in the fridge. If you want a shelf stable sauce, add a 1/4 cup vinegar and 1 tsp sea salt to the fermented everyday batch—SEE BELOW [I use rice or white wine vinegar]. This lowers the pH to reduce mold creation. If by chance you see mold, skim off and add additional vinegar.

OPTIONAL STYLE: If you want super fine results, pour the pureed sauce through a fine sieve and press out the liquid into a bowl; then compost the pulp; bottle the rest

Mother Batch is Center Bottle Workshop with Shelby, Charlie, and Mark:

Another happy hot sauce workshop!

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© 2024-26 Bill Hettig