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Help with jalepeno/serrano ferment ideas.

Hi, 
 
I am in the later stages of my ferment.  I have been procrastinating because I am unsure exactly how to proceed.  I was hoping to lay out my progress so far and maybe get a couple ideas from the community here about how to proceed.  I don't mind doing the research but experience goes a long way and I see lots of experience here.
 
I received a huge bounty of jalepenos and some serranos in the fall and read up on making lacto fermented peppers for making a hot sauce.  I have home brewing supplies so I used a clean plastic 5 gallon fermenter with an airlock (grain alcohol in it) to ferment the peppers.  
 
To prepare the peppers, I soaked them in a sink of water with some lemon juice added to help clean them a bit.  A quick rinse and then I made a slice down the side to open them up and put them in brine.  I used starsan to keep things pretty clean.  I used a heavy plate to hold them a few inches below the brine and ended up with a 5 gallon fermenter just over half full when pushed down.  The contents are about 70% jalepenos, 20% red and green serranos, and 10% small red/green bell peppers.  I may have added a quartered onion and carrot too, I cannot recall for sure.   
 
It has been 5 months in the cellar and I never saw the airlock bubble much but it does appear that there is some pressure inside because it will bubble if I press the lid down a bit.  I have not opened it to know if I have any fuzzies but there shouldn't be any way for anything to float because the plate fits nicely in the bucket.
 
My first creeping doubt involved the use of the lemon juice.  Is it possible to kill the good microbes with a mild acid soak?  
 
Anyhow, I plan to open them up and take a ph reading as soon as I can find my ph meter.  I assume I just scoop out some brine with a clean spoon and test it straight away with my pen?  If it is 4.6 or less, they are good but I'm not confident on my next step. There are lots of peppers here...What is the best way to use them if they are indeed pickled?
 
I have considered making a hot sauce from them and maybe share some with friends. I was thinking of using a food processor to puree them and then strain through a food mill.  I guess my big questions are, do I use the brine in the sauce or do I use vinegar?  After reading advice on here, I am inclined to pressure can the resulting sauce as a safeguard from botulism.  If my batch looks, smells, tastes good, is it better to use them uncooked but refrigerated in brine?  
 
I see lots of advice on fermenting pepper mash but not much specifically about fermenting whole jalepenos.  Is there enough sugar in my pepper mix to get decent results?  Will fermented jalepenos and serranos be any good for sauce? Any ideas or recipes are appreciated.  Thanks for any help.
 
 
 
 
winsall said:
I will thank you.
Wow nice ok first take and post some pics easier for the members who ferment to see what's happening.
Now if you open and it looks clean and has a nice tangy sweet pepper smell you are in the game.
Definitely check ph after that long of a ferment you should be below 4.0 easily.
If you see white yeast looking material on top you most likely have Kahm yeast not harmful just scrape off and process.

Now as far as processing I keep some fresh ferment in my fridge to use for the benefit of the probiotics and it's delicious.
The rest I boil to stop the fermentation process add honey salt and any other ingredients I like for the sauce to be complete some I leave as is and use as close to original as possible. But if jarring make sure to boil for 10 minutes minimum to stop fermentation or bottles could explode. Or blow hot sauce all over someone upon opening.
If ph is below 4.0 I usually just water bath can my jars if the ph is higher I pressure can them to be safe. You can pressure can either way it's really up to you but I never PC unless ph is above 4.0 :)

Ok the brine is part of the sauce so pour the whole thing in pan to process first I boil then into food mill medium blade then into pan reboil then into blender blending for 2/3 minutes then for a really clean sauce back through food mill on fine screen. Makes an amazing clean smooth sauce this way. A little more work but the end results are spot on!!
I usually add a little Apple Cider vinegar and some honey to help balance the sauce maybe some salt as I use very little in my ferments.
Then I let rest after I process in half gallon jugs in the fridge for 20/30 days this allows the sauce to meld and mellow then I reheat taste adjust final seasonings and boil and can!!

Hope this helps my friend!!! :)

Oh and you can post in hot sauce making forum next time it's ok in here as well! :)
 
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