Simple Homemade Hot Sauce recipe that makes a fermented hot sauce from a versatile fermented pepper mash that can be used to make many different varieties of hot sauce at home.
Once you learn how to make hot sauce and bottle it you can make all sorts of homemade versions of your favorite hot sauce! It’s a great basic condiment to always have in your fridge. But also makes a very cute homemade food gift idea for Father’s Day, Christmas, Valentine’s day and more!
Best hot sauce
There are so many different hot sauces that the best hot sauce recipe is really just a matter of personal preference.
There are fermented hot sauces, like Tabasco, Sriracha (also known as rooster sauce thanks to the label of one popular sriracha brand), Frank’s Red Hot sauce, Crystal and Gochujang that are made from a mixture of fermented chili peppers and various other ingredients.
And there are fresh hot sauces made from fresh chilies like salsa, chutneys and even bottled unfermented hot sauces like Tapatio, Cholula and my husband’s personal favorite, Da Bomb hot sauce. I swear that last one is the hottest sauce in the world! It’s so hot we have to keep it stored in a plastic bag in the freezer to prevent any “da bomb accidents”.
The best hot sauce truly is dependent on your own personal tastes. So feel free to take this simple homemade hot sauce recipe and play around with different ingredients to get the best hot sauce recipe to fit your own unique tastes.
Once you learn how to make the basic fermented chili pepper mash you can get creative and make all sorts of different flavors of homemade hot sauce!
Fermented hot sauce
This homemade hot sauce is a fermented hot sauce which simply means that the chilies are brined in salt for a few days to make a chili pepper mash that will be used in the hot sauce recipe.
The difference between fermented hot sauces and fresh are that the fermentation process gives the hot sauce a milder, more complex flavor and extends the shelf life of the hot sauce (and also aids in gut health!). While non fermented hot sauces are blended quickly and typically meant to be consumed immediately.
It is not difficult to make hot sauce at home although it may require a little time to prepare. It takes roughly about 1 to 4 weeks to make fermented hot sauce at home, depending on the specific steps, fermentation time, and personal preference.
Ingredients
- Chili Peppers – red jalapeno peppers, cayenne peppers, fresno peppers, etc. Or green jalapenos, habanero, ghost peppers, serrano, cayenne pepper, etc. Or a mix of peppers.
- Fine salt – fine kosher salt or pickling salt
- Spring water – or boiled and cooled tap water if spring water is unavailable.
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar – dark brown sugar or light brown sugar can be substituted.
- Vinegar – use whatever mild vinegar you have on hand. Rice wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, etc.
- Garlic cloves
Step by step instructions
- Soften peppers by placing on a baking sheet and sun drying in the hot sun for a day or two. Or bake in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven for about an hour. Or until slightly softened but not cooked through. Softening the peppers ensures the peppers are ripe and aids in fermentation.
- Once softened gently pull on stems to remove stems and place peppers in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and massage to bruise the peppers but leave them mostly intact.
- Transfer salted peppers and any extracted liquid into a sterilized 1 quart wide-mouth glass jar or fermentation vessel. Reserve the peppers that do not fit to be used later.
- Fill pepper jar with water to fully submerge. Place a clean cloth or a fermentation lid on top of the jar to allow gases to escape while keeping out dust then secure the cover with a rubber band or jar ring.
- Store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight. After a day or two the jar will begin to fizz and the peppers will shrink. At this point add reserved peppers and cover again to continue fermenting.
- Allow the chiles to ferment for at least 1 week adding water as need to keep the chiles submerged. You can ferment two weeks or longer if desired. The flavor will become less sweet and more tangy the longer the mixture ferments.
- Transfer fermented peppers and a little of the brine to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Then strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, if desired. Or leave the seeds in the fermented pepper mash to add texture and spice and also help thicken hot sauce. Place pepper mash in the refrigerator to slow further fermentation.
- When ready to make hot sauce simmer sugars and vinegar over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
- Blend fermented pepper mash, cooled vinegar mixture and garlic cloves in blender or food processor until smooth.
- Transfer fermented hot sauce to sterilized glass bottles or jars.
- Enjoy!
How to use
Use homemade hot sauce on everything! Drizzle on soup and egg dishes. Use hot sauce as a flavorful sauce for hot wings, as part of a sweet and spicy marinade for chicken and even pumpkin seeds. Use it to season salsas and guacamole. Splash on tacos, burritos, enchiladas, sandwiches, anything!
Small bottles of hot sauce also make great homemade food gifts for Christmas, Father’s Day, Valentine’s day, weddings and more.
How to store
Store homemade fermented hot sauce in the refrigerator to slow the fermentation process and maintain freshness. If stored correctly this hot sauce will last at least 6 months.
Serving size
A typical serving size of hot sauce is 1 to 2 teaspoons and there are about 48 teaspoons of hot sauce in an 8 ounce bottle.
This recipe makes roughly 3 cups of fermented pepper mash and about the same amount of homemade hot sauce, enough for three 8 ounce bottles of hot sauce.
Do you have to ferment homemade hot sauce?
No, you do not have to ferment homemade hot sauce. You can make unfermented hot sauce instead.
To make a super quick and easy homemade hot sauce that can be used immediately simply skip the fermentation step. And blend the ingredients to make a fresh hot sauce in minutes. Refrigerate fresh, unfermented hot sauce and use within 3 weeks. Or simmer lightly after blending to mellow the flavors and increase the shelf life slightly to 5-6 weeks refrigerated.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chile peppers ripe, red preferred
- ¼ cup fine salt kosher salt or pickling salt
- 1 cup spring water
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup vinegar rice wine, white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
Instructions
- Soften chile peppers to ensure they are ripe and aid in fermentation. Place clean peppers on a baking sheet and bake in a 200-degree Fahrenheit oven for about an hour or until slightly softened but not cooked through. Set aside to cool.
- Once softened gently pull-on stems to remove stems and place peppers in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and massage to bruise the peppers but leave them mostly intact.
- Transfer salted peppers and any extracted liquid into a sterilized 1 quart wide-mouth glass jar or fermentation vessel. Reserve the peppers that do not fit to be used later.
- Fill pepper jar with water to fully submerge. Place a clean cloth or a fermentation lid on top of the jar to allow gases to escape while keeping out dust then secure the cover with a rubber band or jar ring.
- Store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight. After a day or two the jar will begin to fizz, and the peppers will shrink. At this point add reserved peppers and cover again to continue fermenting.
- Allow the chiles to ferment for at least 1 week adding water as need to keep the chiles submerged. You can ferment two weeks or longer if desired. The flavor will become less sweet and tangier the longer the mixture ferments.
- Transfer fermented peppers and a little of the brine to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Then strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, if desired. Or leave the seeds in the fermented pepper mash to add texture and spice and help thicken hot sauce. Place pepper mash in the refrigerated to slow further fermentation.
- When ready to make hot sauce simmer sugars and vinegar over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
- Blend fermented pepper mash, cooled vinegar mixture and garlic cloves in blender or food processor until smooth.
- Transfer fermented hot sauce to sterilized glass bottles or jars.
- Store refrigerated and use within 6 months.
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