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Hot Sauce from Dried Peppers?

P

PaulF

I'm new at trying to make my own hot sauce... (and new at growing peppers, hoping to have a few pods this year...maybe... )
 
I ended up (long story, and boring) with a really BIG bag of dried Tien Tsin chinese dried peppers... the leathery kind you find in szechuan dishes at American Chinese restaurants.
I've made quite a few batches of chilli oil, stir frys, etc, but the level in this bag isn't moving appreciably!
 
So I'm wondering...
Would it be possible to make a fermented hot sauce using these dried chillies as a base? Or would they remain tough and leathery?
 
How would I start? That is, how would the process be different than the excellent FAQ on fermented sauces at the top of this forum that uses fresh peppers.
 
Or should I just make a much bigger batch of chilli oil? LOL.
 
Thanks for the "noob" help!
Paul F.
 
 
 
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This is the type ferment I do,I never tried to get the liquids out of yogurt

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Greenguru said:
I never tried to get the liquids out of yogurt
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Here's a pic of the back of a sour cream container from the very first ferment I did. This says "LIVE YOGURT CULTURES." This stuff will work, but in my opinion, the powdered probiotics work much faster. Most of the time I can see activity in the jar in 18 hours


Greenguru said:
Thanks for the tip very much :)
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Any time! Glad I could help ;)
 
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D3monic said:
so if i was to do a ferment I could use any ole jared store bought kraut or does it have to be one those fancy ones?
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canned kraut won't work..."canned" as in in a metal can or glass jar on a store shelf.  Refrigerated, (unpasteurized?) kraut juice will work.  We have some in 16 oz jars for about $8, there are some packets for less.  The one I used last was actually an uncooked dill pickle kraut.  I didn't really care for the dill pickle kraut, but the 1/2 cup of juice I poured out definitely kickstarted the fermentation. 
 
I think Kombucha drinks also have live cultures going on. 
 
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salsalady said:
canned kraut won't work..."canned" as in in a metal can or glass jar on a store shelf.  Refrigerated, (unpasteurized?) kraut juice will work.  We have some in 16 oz jars for about $8, there are some packets for less.  The one I used last was actually an uncooked dill pickle kraut.  I didn't really care for the dill pickle kraut, but the 1/2 cup of juice I poured out definitely kickstarted the fermentation. 
 
I think Kombucha drinks also have live cultures going on. 
Click to expand...
 
Ok, that's what I kind of figured. I've seen bags of live kraut before that where really good though I don't see them often. 
 
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Its soooooo easy to make your own culture from homemade kraut. I use a cheap fermenter with a inner lid that holds down the veggies. I make kraut and use a tbs or 2 of the juice as a starter. I set my kraut in a semi warm spot for 2-3 days then in the fridge it goes. Leave it alone for a couple weeks. I have kraut juice for many months from a single head of cabbage and a $14 fermenter. Havent had a batch go bad yet.
 
The nice side benefit is you have killer kraut to eat too with all the probiotics. I just put a batch of spicy kraut in the fridge yesterday. 3 days on the counter and it was already sour using this type of starter.
 
Get something like this and never look back.
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Just checking back in to say thanks, and keep the discussion going!
 
I have a big crock with airlock lid for making kraut (like the one in the link below, not selling, just showing)...  I have a batch of "red and green" kraut fermenting now, and as of sunday it's getting a decent sour after two weeks.  I plan on skimming some juice off to make a dried pepper mash if I have time next weekend!
 
https://www.everythingkitchens.com/tsm-german-style-harvest-fermentation-crock-5liter-31060.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=015913310603&gclid=Cj0KEQjwnsPGBRDo4c6RqK-Oqu8BEiQAwNviCX0qVPspPCEe25v1oz9AhCjtm9RsOndbHuqD6jDJD68aAoxv8P8HAQ
 
 
 
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Something else ive been using lately is Asian pear puree. You can use Bosc pear if you cant get Asian pear. The Lacto bacteria seems to love this stuff and it imparts very little flavor or sweetness to the finished ferment. It adds just enough sugars for the bacteria to get a good start.
 
Puree some pear, onion, garlic and tiny bit of fish sauce (optional) in just enough water to make a smoothie. Put it in a ice cube tray and freeze. Remove the cubes and place in a freezer bag for later use. Add 1-2 cubes to your ferments. I add Korean pepper flakes to mine until its a paste and then freeze it.
 
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salsalady said:
canned kraut won't work..."canned" as in in a metal can or glass jar on a store shelf.  Refrigerated, (unpasteurized?) kraut juice will work.  We have some in 16 oz jars for about $8, there are some packets for less.  The one I used last was actually an uncooked dill pickle kraut.  I didn't really care for the dill pickle kraut, but the 1/2 cup of juice I poured out definitely kickstarted the fermentation. 
 
I think Kombucha drinks also have live cultures going on. 
Click to expand...
Hello,

I was going to use some of the juice out of a cabbage ferment I have going I know it has been pasteurized. I think it will work OK thanks GG
 
ps...... i did read on down that it will work few teaspoons... how big of a batch will few teaspoons do I looking at batch size of Five gallons 
 
 
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PaulF said:
...

The peppers I have I've seen called Tian Jin, Tian Tsin, or Tien Tsin. I've you've ever had szechuan chicken and bit into a leathery thing, thats them :-)
I planted a bunch of seeds from the dried pods, and hopefully will have some NOT dried ones by fall... but still have this huge bag of the dried ones!

Paul F.
Click to expand...
 
Some inspiration for ya; Peter S does some cool shit with peppers. 
 
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/61375-street-kitchen-peppers/
 
Personally, I do some much goofy cooking with low-buck generic dried peppers from the "specialty market," i'm a bit ashamed that i never tried to plant any... especially being that there's so many extra seeds at the bottom of the bag!  I bet the germ rate would be woefully low, but still.... free seeds, right?
 
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Hey, you can definitely make a quality sauce from dried pods.  You will want to rehydrate them in warm water until they are soft.  After that, you can really go any direction you want.  
 
The basic recipe is:
 
Sautee an onion and garlic and add your rehydrated peppers.  Add a little bit of water, just enough to keep things from drying out.  Let the pot simmer for like 20-30 minutes.
 
Now you can turn off the heat and add about a cup of vinegar.  Throw everything in the blender and liquify the bejeebers out of it.  Then pass it through a foodmill or sieve.  Keep adding vinegar or water until you get your desired texture, then add salt to taste.  I usually add lime to almost every batch, but with Asian peppers you might wanna go a different direction.
 
Good luck.
 
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Anyone who ever asks this question, I always ask them if they've had a chipotle hot sauce. Yes? Well there you go. At one pint in the chipotle's life, it was dried. ;)
 
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Hello group!  Gonzo from Crestview, Florida.  I just signed up so this is my first (of many to come!) post. 
 
I've been making my own fermented hot sauces for about 3 years.  I typically ferment in a 2 gallon ceramic crock, and have made a lot of amazing products, and a few I had to ditch.  I have about 5 pounds of dried green cayenne, and am going to attempt to make my first ferment using the dried peppers.  ANY and ALL suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. 
 
Plan:
 
*Bust up the dried peppers a bit by hand
*Make a fresh cayenne mash, with peppers, 3 cloves of garlic, 
*Make brine
*Add starter and mash to dried peppers (Starter is a combo of yogurt whey and 1 gram probiotic powder.  Thought I'd double
 up on the starter since I machine dehydrated the peppers around 125-130 degrees F.)
*Weigh down
*Wait
 
I'll update along the way and let you all know how/if it's working.  
 

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PaulF said:
I'm new at trying to make my own hot sauce... (and new at growing peppers, hoping to have a few pods this year...maybe... )
 
I ended up (long story, and boring) with a really BIG bag of dried Tien Tsin chinese dried peppers... the leathery kind you find in szechuan dishes at American Chinese restaurants.
I've made quite a few batches of chilli oil, stir frys, etc, but the level in this bag isn't moving appreciably!
 
So I'm wondering...
Would it be possible to make a fermented hot sauce using these dried chillies as a base? Or would they remain tough and leathery?
 
How would I start? That is, how would the process be different than the excellent FAQ on fermented sauces at the top of this forum that uses fresh peppers.
 
Or should I just make a much bigger batch of chilli oil? LOL.
 
Thanks for the "noob" help!
Paul F.
 
 
Click to expand...
 
I may be late to the party but will add, I have made 3 or 4 batches of sauce using (mostly) dried peppers. I added fruit for the sugars and rehydrated the peppers. I will say, I never once had an issue with contamination, and the dried peppers, for me, always added a smoky note. That said, i still wish the pods were fresh. The heat is generally higher, but I lost that indescribable fruitiness that you get from super hots. In my case, the peppers used were yellow and chocolate moruga scorpions, purchased from someone on this site. Very high quality, and very good taste, but I am still looking for a fresh pod supplier that can do bulk. I discovered I can only grow a fraction of what I need.
 
 
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I have a recipe using dried Chinese peppers plus fresh habaneros. I break them up and put them in a high speed blender with the fresh peppers and vinegar and puree till all liquid. You can see little red "flakes" floating the the mix about the same size as black pepper "flakes". They are tiny. Then I boil that with my remaining ingredients. My thinking is that once they are ground up into tiny pieces they will rehydrate easier in the boiling mixture. I like using them cause they add some color plus I like they way they taste fresh in Chinese dishes at restaurants!
 
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This thread was a good read and inspired me to start a another ferment. I haven't completed my first one yet but figure never hurts to start another. 
 
What I did was got a bunch of Arbol Chili Pods from the store. I soaked them overnight in some white wine and had to add a little water to completely cover them good. Yesterday I blended them up. They didn't want to blend real easily so I had to add a touch of distilled water to get them going. Added a small onion and 4 garlic cloves and blended them up. Weighed them and added 4.5% canning salt and one separated capsule of Culturelle probiotic. It's my first time using a starter. Got it all stuffed in a quart jar and put on a waterless silicone airlock that I just got in. We shall see how it goes.
 
Thanks for the good reading. :thumbsup:  
 
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SoHot said:
This thread was a good read and inspired me to start a another ferment. I haven't completed my first one yet but figure never hurts to start another. 
 
What I did was got a bunch of Arbol Chili Pods from the store. I soaked them overnight in some white wine and had to add a little water to completely cover them good. Yesterday I blended them up. They didn't want to blend real easily so I had to add a touch of distilled water to get them going. Added a small onion and 4 garlic cloves and blended them up. Weighed them and added 4.5% canning salt and one separated capsule of Culturelle probiotic. It's my first time using a starter. Got it all stuffed in a quart jar and put on a waterless silicone airlock that I just got in. We shall see how it goes.
 
Thanks for the good reading. :thumbsup:  
Click to expand...
 
Sounds good to me! 
 
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