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fermenting Fermenting Question - Smoked Ferment?

buddy

buddy

Okay . . . you guys now have me hooked on fermenting.  I am going to be smoking some red morugas this weekend (either pecan or an apple/cherry mix on the smoke).  Question = has anyone ever fermented smoked chiles . . . is the process any different . . . what other ingredients (if any) may compliment the ferment?  Thanks in advance.
 
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Hey Buddy this same question came up in another thread and I don't think smoked peppers will do well in a ferment.  First off the wild lacto bacteria will be killed off in the heat of the smoke and even if you used a capsule I don't think there would be enough juices to ferment correctly.  What I suggest is add both to a sauce, some smoked peppers and some fermented peppers to get the desired flavor profile.
 
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Pepper Ridge Farm said:
Hey Buddy this same question came up in another thread and I don't think smoked peppers will do well in a ferment.  First off the wild lacto bacteria will be killed off in the heat of the smoke and even if you used a capsule I don't think there would be enough juices to ferment correctly.  What I suggest is add both to a sauce, some smoked peppers and some fermented peppers to get the desired flavor profile.
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Thanks Cappy!  I appreciate the advise . . . I am a beginner at this and quite frankly still don't exactly understand the entire process!
 
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Shorerider said:
Smoking peppers, making them into powder and adding them to a completed ferment will add a smoke flavor. I've done it with a non-fermented sauce and it works well.
 
Add small increments of powder until you have the taste you are after as a little goes a long way to adding that smoke taste.
 
 
SR.
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Thx!
 
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I've been fermenting smoked peppers for 3 seasons now and have had excellent, "normal" results - none of the potential issues described above actually.  
 
Right now I have 2 gallons of mash bubbling away in my basement, a mix of half a dozen different red and chocolate off-types that I smoked at 250 degrees over oak and mesquite for 2-3 hours, then put into ziplock freezer bags like you'd do when peeling roasted anchos, to cool and get all mushy in the fridge for a few days.  Then I put them into a blender, adding just enough water for the blender to work correctly, then added salt in proportion to the overall liquid volume, not just the added water, to get a ~3.5% solution.  A teaspoon of liquid from an old yogurt, and a week later its rolling right along like any other ferment.  
 
Maybe you can get the same taste by adding a smoked powder to a regular ferment, but that would seem like cheating to me, and unnecessarily complicated.
 
Give it a try - it's worked great for me.
 
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Obviously works too, I was trying to think why it wouldn't. I haven't done a ferment yet but I did do some smoked powder last season so that's what I had on hand for my sauces.
 
SR.
 
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can't think of why it wouldn't work as long as the pods aren't smoked to the point of dry.  If you were thinking to use all the smoked-fermented pods in one sauce, I would think the issue would be overpowering smoke flavor.  Either smoke the pods very lightly, or mix some unsmoked pods with the smoked pods for the fermentation process. 
 
As always- post pics! 
 
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I've used half smoked/half raw in several ferments with good results.  I find that the best ratio (for me) is around 1/4 smoked to 3/4 raw - as I tend to age my ferments for 6-8 weeks and the 1/2 n 1/2 batches were pretty powerfully 'smokey'.  Those batches made some damn fine bbq sauce though!  I do not know if an all smoked batch would ferment successfully without a starter.
 
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SmokenFire said:
I've used half smoked/half raw in several ferments with good results.  I find that the best ratio (for me) is around 1/4 smoked to 3/4 raw - as I tend to age my ferments for 6-8 weeks and the 1/2 n 1/2 batches were pretty powerfully 'smokey'.  Those batches made some damn fine bbq sauce though!  I do not know if an all smoked batch would ferment successfully without a starter.
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great answer SmokenFire, I've got 2 smoked pepper ferments going bubbling like crazy. I used the ratio method as well closer to half and half but working great. Watch out for mesquite thought can get bitter with peppers I prefer a fruit wood or pecan. Nice mellow smoke without being overpowering. Imoho :)
 
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Thinking about starting a ferment using SmokenFIre's basic recipe of:
 
1 pound Fresnos - stemmed
8 ounces habaneros - stemmed
1 pound carrots - trimmed
1 pound onions - quartered
6 ounces of garlic cloves - skinned
40 grams of canning or pickling salt
 
but instead of the Habaneros, substituting a jar (or some portion thereof) of smoked Moruga puree.  I started with over 1200 grams of smoked Morugas, used AJ's recipe, and ended up with 8 half pint jars.
 
Looking for some input on whether this will work (using already processed Morugas) and a rough idea of how much puree I should use.
 
Thanks.
 
TJP
 
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That's gonna be kick ass buddy!  I'd suggest you sample the mash and add the moruga puree to taste right before you add the starter and jar it up.  If you only end up using 4oz or whatever of the puree you can add another X oz of fresnos to keep volume the same.  would love to see pics of the finished sauce :)
 
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