fermenting Using smoked peppers to make hot sauce

[Michael S]

I'm sure the answer is yes but as I'm new here, I thought I'd ask. Does anyone else smoke their hot peppers prior to fermenting them?

I've been doing this for about 3-4 years with pretty good success. Still trying out different peppers and smoke combinations so they keep getting better.

Maybe it's the smoke but the fermentation seems extremely slow even though I also add quite a bit of onion and garlic to give it some sugar.

After smoking the peppers and veggies, I chop into a fine mash and add 2.5 - 3% percent picking salt by weight to create brine. I then pack the mash in half gallon mason jars with air locks.

Fermentation is usually slow, but seems even more so this year. One batch is making a very few bubbles so I know something is going on but not much. The other batch is doing a little better. I guess I'll plan for a six month ferment.

Any thoughts or ideas?

 

[Siv]

Normal fermentation relies on the naturally occurring lactobacillus present in nature to multiply. By smoking the peppers, you are probably killing most of them (if not all) so it's not surprising that the ferments are slow. To counteract this, you can add a teaspoon of liquid from another ferment to repopulate the good bacteria. In fact, I've started adding a teaspoon of liquid from old ferments into all my new ones as it guarantees that the fermentation gets going quickly and the good bugs dominate. I've never had a problem with bad ferments after using this technique.

 

[NorCaliente916]

I just recently did something similar and had no problem with them fermenting. I smoked a combination of ghosts and a few Fresno's, as well as tomatoes for about 20 minutes. Added fresh garlic, bell pepper, onion, and some spices to a salt water brine. No problem with fermentation and had tons of bubbles within a few days. Smells smoky and delicious, cant wait for the finished product.

 

[Kramer]

I just started a smoked ferment last night. Siv's suggestion is great, but if you don't have any colonized brine handy, you can just mix some fresh peppers in with the smoked. I've had no problems getting a ferment off the ground doing this, but it obviously won't be as smokey as using all smoked peppers.

What kind of woods are yinz using?

 

[Michael S]

I just started a smoked ferment last night. Siv's suggestion is great, but if you don't have any colonized brine handy, you can just mix some fresh peppers in with the smoked. I've had no problems getting a ferment off the ground doing this, but it obviously won't be as smokey as using all smoked peppers.

What kind of woods are yinz using?

 
I'm not good enough to be picky about wood yet! I have a Traeger pellet smoker so no matter what the pellets say, they are probably mostly oak.
 
The batch that started out the slowest has sped up with one jar having juice come through the air lock. Not a huge amount but my home office in our basement where I age the ferment smells nicely of garlic and smoke.  
 
Next your I will definitely add some non smoked fresh peppers (although I have close to two and a half gallons fermenting including a non-smoked cranberry, orange, and jalapeno).  Hope fully I will be able to give away some good Christmas presents.  Anything I start next summer may have to continue fermenting for close to a year before I can process them. .