Fermented Hot Sauces

Rockydoc

Well-Known Member
There was a thread about favorite hot sauces a while back and I mentioned my favorite is home made, fermented Cowhorn peppers( a variety of cayenne). My peppers were not ripe at the time so I had nothing for "show and tell".

Here are some photos of the anaerobic fermentation process and associated gear.IMG_0498.jpegIMG_0516.jpeg
The Cowhorns on the left are up to 8" long, compared to the Jalapeño and Thai bird pepper. The peppers ground in the food processor with 10% salt by weight.
IMG_0526.jpegIMG_0519.jpeg
You see a anaerobic fermentation kit from Amazon. This is to allow carbon dioxide to escape through a water check valve and not let any oxygen back into the jar. You furnish your own Mason jars.


IMG_0520.jpegIMG_0529.jpeg
 
Last edited:

Rick H

Well-Known Member
There was a time I would have loved that stuff.....somehow as I have aged and lost parts of me (gall bladder), that kind of "stuff" no longer loves me. I have had to tone down the hot stuff, the price I pay for eating it outweighs the pleasure.
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
Looks good! I'm currently growing a few different peppers in my garden, Sweet Red Bell, Jalapeno, Anaheim, Poblano, and Serano. Most of the Jalapenos will end up pickled, and the rest will be roasted, skinned, then freeze-dried.
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
There was a thread about favorite hot sauces a while back and I mentioned my favorite is home made, fermented Cowhorn peppers( a variety of cayenne). My peppers were not ripe at the time so I had nothing for "show and tell".

Here are some photos of the anaerobic fermentation process and associated gear.View attachment 22159View attachment 22160
The Cowhorns on the left are up to 8" long, compared to the Jalapeño and Thai bird pepper. The peppers ground in the food processor with 10% salt by weight.
View attachment 22161View attachment 22162
You see a anaerobic fermentation kit from Amazon. This is to allow carbon dioxide to escape through a water check valve and not let any oxygen back into the jar. You furnish your own Mason jars.


View attachment 22163View attachment 22164
Rocky, no brine, no weights holding the mash down? Just ground up peppers and salt?
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Thank you Rocky. My last small batch of kraut made in a two quart jar with a "Pickle Pipe", silicone venting gasket is the best I've ever made. Months later, kept in the fridge, it is as crispy and delicious as ever. Kraut lasts a long time around here because only I eat it and I was gifted some Crackovia kraut with carrots in it that was great.

I can't wait to try to make some hot sauce. Getting peppers here in WI can be a challenge.
 

Rockydoc

Well-Known Member
Homemade kraut is so much better than store bought to me. Not as salty. I like it as a side dish, just another vegetable.
I have a 5 liter crockpot with weights for making kraut.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Those peppers sound like they would suit my personal compression ratio nicely. I REALLY like the idea of pepper flavor minus the road-flare heat index. Anaheims have that effect if they aren't allowed to grow to great size and the seeds are all removed. Those &^%$ seeds are radioactive.

Also LOVE sauerkraut and red cabbage. Gotta be genetic, maternal grandmother immigrated from Frieburg (Germany) c. 1911. And German sausages? No such thing as too much.
 

Rockydoc

Well-Known Member
CZ,
Anaheims are too hot, usually, for most of my purposes. I like poblanos for several recipes. If you grow your own and like to make hot sauce, you will like Cowhorns. If you can’t find plants, I can send you some seeds. Just let me know.

That goes for any of the rest of you out there too.
 
Last edited:

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
We haven't grown peppers for some time. There are PLENTY of Hispanic verduros around us that grow all manner of peppers as well as tomatoes that rival any store-bought counterparts. Marie gets the fixings for salsas in that manner since we stopped growing our own. I won't give away her secrets here, but Roma tomatoes figure highly as the base element.
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
I used to do a Fermented ( 3 Months) Thai hot sauce...However I don't grow them any more. They were just too hot
Most of my fermented hot sauces now from Aleppo Chillies

I like to do "lacto-ferment" for 3 months...Gives them a very earthy flavor. I use them as is, and also add a vinegar garlic mix to a few bottles!
One of my favorites is the Aleppo / Urfa Bieber chili mix! Fermented 3 months this is a real gourmet blend
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Those peppers sound like they would suit my personal compression ratio nicely. I REALLY like the idea of pepper flavor minus the road-flare heat index. Anaheims have that effect if they aren't allowed to grow to great size and the seeds are all removed. Those &^%$ seeds are radioactive.

Also LOVE sauerkraut and red cabbage. Gotta be genetic, maternal grandmother immigrated from Frieburg (Germany) c. 1911. And German sausages? No such thing as too much.
When we were going out to N. Dakota duck hunting I made a Dutch/Deutsch red cabbage recipe I found in one of my old Buckskinner books. A head of red cabbage sliced up and put in a bowl of salty water for ten minutes. While you are waiting that out, saute' 3 pieces of good smoky bacon diced up fine, saute' some onion and granny smith apples in the bacon grease. When the cabbage has soaked, drain it good and put it in the pot with the cooked onion and apple, throw the bacon bits back in, pour in a cup of good red wine, (I use the same Pinot Noir I serve with the duck), and now the sweet and sour. Equal amounts of brown sugar and apple cider vinegar. Always 50/50, be it a 1/4 cup of each or a 1/2 cup of each. All depends on how big the head of cabbage was. Some fresh ground black pepper and maybe a little salt. This recipe was always well received by my fellow hunters and if there were left overs of it someone alwys asked if they could take it home.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
we really need a recipe/food/growing section here.

every time I see something I wanna try I can't find the directions again, which sucks,,, I got three heads of cabbage I need to get picked now, with more coming soon.
aaaand something done with them before the wife cooks them down to mush and expects me to eat it.
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Boy Rocky, I just looked up cow horn peppers and they sound about ideal for a guy like me who likes a little heat but has to draw the line at a judicious use of habanero salsas.

What do cow horns require as far as climate to grow them?
 

hporter

Active Member
I would like to see a recipes section too. It is interesting to me to read what others around the country like to cook and eat.

I think I might try Rockydoc's fermented pepper sauce. Our pepper plants have been going crazy this year, especially the habaneros. My wife took a big bag full of habaneros to work to get rid of some of them. During the winter she buys them at the grocery store and they are tiny, but the homegrown versions are as big as my Serrano's.

Peppers.JPG


I normally just cook the habaneros in vinegar on the stove and then strain and puree them adding back enough vinegar to make a sauce. But the fermented sauce sounds very interesting.

We make kimchee and sauerkraut all the time, so I already have the vents made for quart jars. My mouth is watering already at the thought of the combo of fermented habaneros and salt.

I have a pepper plant that produces peppers that look similar to the cowhorn. They were marked as peppers used for making the red pepper flakes like you sprinkle on at the Pizza place. So I dehydrated them and ground them up. Boy howdy are they hot! I was a bit heavy handed the first time I put some on my fried eggs, expecting them to be much milder. They do taste good though.