Make Your Own Lacto-Fermented Hot Sauce | What's Eating Dan?

We all have our hot sauce loyalties, but it's time to try making your own. Not only does this recipe pack a lot of spice, but interesting flavor as well, thanks to lacto-fermentation.

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[orcaaaaaaaaaa]

this is great!... but I have a couple comments for those serious about trying fermenting!
- avoid using tap-water if you can, distilled water is best! (chlorine and other chemicals in tap-water can kill the lacto-bacteria)
- avoid regular table salt as well as they typically contain anti caking agents that could also make fermentation harder. the more natural salt the better!
- for fermenting peppers, you want approximately a 3% brine IMO. Take a liter of water and mix in 30 grams of salt.
- the plastic bag/parchment paper combo is a great method for submerging your peppers. make sure none of the veg is touching the surface!! very important!
- if you make your ferment in a closed container like a mason jar, make sure to open the seal daily to release the pressure created during fermentation.
- You want to ferment no less then 5 days, the longer you ferment the better the flavors develop. if you can maintain stable conditions it can ferment for a couple months safely!
- trust your senses! the brine might look murky and taste a bit sour, but that's normal. if it has a foul odor or tastes like yeast/beer it might be toast.
- When you think you are done fermenting, refrigerate the mix for a day or two to slow down the fermentation.
- when blending, first strain the peppers from the brine and keep the brine aside in another jar. (its a miraculous ingredient on its own!)
- blend the peppers as much as possible, adding brine as needed to reach your desired consistency. there is no need to strain the solids!! the solids are the sauce if you blend it enough!!!!
- Unless you prefer the flavor, do not add additional vinegar, salt or sugar. it kills all the happy microbes and bacteria you have just cultured!
- if you use the solids as the base for the sauce there is no xanthan gum debate! it will not need additional thickening.


Thank you for coming to my ted talk, this is the only passion in my life. Also Secret Aardvark is the best store bought sauce money can buy.

[brantrobertspercussion]

This is like “Its Alive with Brad” but for people who prefer cats to dogs.

[jeffp]

I like to use a blend of red poblanos, red jalapenos, and red cayenne peppers. I roast them on the grill until slightly charred, add some roasted onion and garlic, pulse them in the processor, and then I let it all ferment in a valved glass jar for 4-6 weeks.

[brownguy]

A Brad leone/Dan collab would be like matter and anti matter coming together

[MultiThissux]

My favorite is Valentina. My daughter bought me a bottle when I was visiting her in El Paso about seven years ago, and it's become my go-to ever since.

[josephgitter]

Brilliant vid, love the pacing and narration - it's an onslaught of delightfully digestible information.

[labourse]

Crystal Louisiana Hot Sauce is my 'go-to' hot sauce for decades. It seems to have a good balance among spiciness, vinegar, salt and pepper flavors. It was just this year that I could buy and have delivered Crystal Hot Sauce from Amazon to Paris where I live. In the past I had to import it in a suitcase or beg visitors to bring me a couple bottles. Recently I have added local harissa sauce (north African) to my selection. I can buy it in bulk in tubs at the local fresh market. Harissa is along the lines of Sriracha but thicker. It is quite salty.

[jessefiedler]

Lemon drop peppers, aka aji limon. Fairly hot with a mild lemony citrusness. Fermented flavors come together well. I made a fermented hot sauce from these earlier this year. The peppers are bright yellow, making a beautiful finished product.

[gabrielkay]

Had a bunch of chilles sitting in my fridge when I came across this video. Just started fermenting my first ever batch of hot sauce thanks to you Dan! Also this series is fantastic, keep up the great work.

[bruisedfrog]

Most used is Chipotle Tabasco. Favorite is what I use for breakfast tacos/burritos: BLiS Blast hot pepper sauce.

It's aged in for a year in barrel that's held bourbon, then Founder's KBS beer, then maple syrup, then finally the hot sauce.

That slight maple sweetness with breakfast tacos is the best

[jeffaxel]

Check out chiltepin hot sauce. Made from a huckleberry-sized hot pepper. They grow wild in very southern Arizona in the hills around Nogales and in Sonora, Mexico. I think they come in around 60, 000 Scoville units. I've only seen the sauce at Mexican grocery stores so I stock up when I find it.

[MrHappygolfer]

My favorite? Tapatio!! It works on everything! Of course, I use others as well.

[Rachara]

I've been making my own hot sauce with fresno peppers I started growing. Just with the peppers, pearl onions, salt, and vinegar, this has become my favorite hot sauce. Looking forward to trying this recipe!


Another pepper that has a great taste is datil, kind of a sweet flavor.

[louishunter]

A bottle of Texas Pete sets on my table at all times. Flavor + heat. The hottest sauce I ever got near was my ex-husband's 80 year old Panamanian aunt's home brew. Whew! Just a whiff of it would literally snap your head back! You could use it to bring back an unconscious person! LOL

[joelkennedy]

Note: He used a brine weight vs. a water weight in case of popping. If the bag pops, it doesn't mess up your brine's ratio.

[SusanBinks]

Dan, your teaching makes me so happy. I love learning about food science. I always imagine there could be a Khan Academy for food with you and Hannah at the helm.

[stevehiner]

My current favorite is D.L. Jardines Texas Champagne. My brother told me about it and I will forever be grateful. He just so happens to live about 5 miles from Puckerbutt Pepper Company where they grow the Carolina Reaper.

[MatoNupai]

For years I ate Tobasco. Three years ago a friend introduced me to Tapatio, and never went back.

[DanSheldon]

You should have mentioned that the longer you let ferment there is a change in flavor. Hot Ones Los Calientes is a great sauce comes in at 30-50K and has great flavor.

[charla_c]

Have banana pepper, garlic, carrot, and onion fermenting right now. Last batch was cherry bombs, jalapeño, garlic and onion..thanks Dan!