Last year I made hot sauce for the first time. I was inspired by an article in Serious Eats, and used two of their recipes, a double berry habanero and a smoked pepper with cumin and garlic, as well as another that was pure red jalapeno with some cumin. They all came out delicious, although the habanero was a little harsh when I first bottled it. I pureed and bottled without pasteurization and kept them in the refrigerator. I didn't document the exact measurements or process outside of a single photo of them fermenting.
After such delicious success last year, I started doing some research and found this site. This year I want to make slightly larger batches with a more structured and recorded process, and with better food safety practices.
So far I've put up a single batch, a continuation of last year's pure jalapeno:
400g red jalapenos
100g sliced garlic
20g toasted whole cumin seeds
20g salt
I calculated 15g salt as being a 3% solution, then added another 5g for more of a safety envelope, so I guess it's a 4% solution - I should be including the weight of the garlic when calculating salt proportion, right? I added a dash of whey from commercial yogurt. When processing this one I added a 50-50 mixture of white vinegar and the brine from the batch described next.
The smoked pepper was the only one where I used a salt brine. The smoked chilis were a mixture of whatever I had around for making chili: ancho, mulato, pasilla. I added one or two sliced habaneros, and although the flavor was fantastic the heat was underwhelming. This year I'm thinking of going 50-50 between dried chilis and fresh habanero, as well as garlic and cumin.
The double berry habanero I'm planning on making as close to the same recipe as last year. It came out hot and acrid but mellowed in the fridge. This one was the hardest to figure out what it paired well with, but I think the fruity notes make it a good match for tacos, especially fish with mango. It's the only one where I have a bit left from last year's batch.
Last year I pureed them, poured straight into re-used hot sauce bottles, and stored in the fridge. This year I plan to pasteurize and use the hot/fill/hold process. I also plan to add a little xantham gum for body, but probably won't do any straining.
I plan to add a fourth batch this year, jalapeno with some smoked/dried peppers. Perhaps 300g jalapeno, 100g dried peppers, 100g garlic, 20g cumin, 20g salt. Maybe sub in 50g habanero for some jalapenos for a bit more heat.
Anyway, I wanted to introduce myself and describe my plans for this year's hot sauces to see if anyone has any feedback or suggestions.
After such delicious success last year, I started doing some research and found this site. This year I want to make slightly larger batches with a more structured and recorded process, and with better food safety practices.
So far I've put up a single batch, a continuation of last year's pure jalapeno:
400g red jalapenos
100g sliced garlic
20g toasted whole cumin seeds
20g salt
I calculated 15g salt as being a 3% solution, then added another 5g for more of a safety envelope, so I guess it's a 4% solution - I should be including the weight of the garlic when calculating salt proportion, right? I added a dash of whey from commercial yogurt. When processing this one I added a 50-50 mixture of white vinegar and the brine from the batch described next.
The smoked pepper was the only one where I used a salt brine. The smoked chilis were a mixture of whatever I had around for making chili: ancho, mulato, pasilla. I added one or two sliced habaneros, and although the flavor was fantastic the heat was underwhelming. This year I'm thinking of going 50-50 between dried chilis and fresh habanero, as well as garlic and cumin.
The double berry habanero I'm planning on making as close to the same recipe as last year. It came out hot and acrid but mellowed in the fridge. This one was the hardest to figure out what it paired well with, but I think the fruity notes make it a good match for tacos, especially fish with mango. It's the only one where I have a bit left from last year's batch.
Last year I pureed them, poured straight into re-used hot sauce bottles, and stored in the fridge. This year I plan to pasteurize and use the hot/fill/hold process. I also plan to add a little xantham gum for body, but probably won't do any straining.
I plan to add a fourth batch this year, jalapeno with some smoked/dried peppers. Perhaps 300g jalapeno, 100g dried peppers, 100g garlic, 20g cumin, 20g salt. Maybe sub in 50g habanero for some jalapenos for a bit more heat.
Anyway, I wanted to introduce myself and describe my plans for this year's hot sauces to see if anyone has any feedback or suggestions.
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