I Haba Obsession with Hot Sauce

Have you ever heard of or tried fermented hot sauce? My first exposure to this sauce was when I went to Omi’s Coffee Shop in Portland, ME. I ordered the breakfast sandwich and saw that I could add this bright red sauce on the side (Resurgam’s Back to Roots hot sauce). I tried it and fell in love with the hot, flavorful, and complex condiment.

Instead of ordering it, I wanted to try my hand at fermenting hot sauces. I purchased habanero peppers and Scorch Bonnets, about a pound of each. I then cut them in half and placed them in a mason jar. I filled the jar with a salt brine mixture (for every 1c of water, add 1 tsp of salt), added garlic, topped it with fermentation weights, and let the peppers ferment for over a month. I had enough peppers to make a smaller jar with half habaneros and half Scorch Bonnets! I’m sure it’ll be an interesting flavor combination. 

As an aside, fermentation weights help to keep the peppers submerged in the brine, which decreases the chance of bad bacteria growing. Also, as the peppers ferment, the healthy bacteria on the peppers will start to multiply and produce carbonation in the mason jars. I would recommend “burping” your jars, or opening the jars, once a day to let the gas out. If any water comes rushing out, that’s okay! It means your peppers are happily fermenting. Just be sure to wash your hands well, you wouldn’t want any hot peppers in your eye! 

Now that a month had passed, I experimented with add-ins to help mellow out the heat and add flavor. For the habanero sauce, I added Jack fruit! Never heard of Jack fruit before? You can find it in the International foods section in the market. I picked this fruit because I wanted to keep the bright orange / yellow color and add a bit of sweetness, but you can experiment with other fruit or veggies! 

PSA: When I tried just the habanero peppers blended, I had to lay down on the floor and contemplate my life choices. It was so spicy that I felt the burn all the way in my stomach. So be careful!!

If you use the Jack fruit, I would highly recommend one whole can with a splash of syrup with half of the habaneros (and no garlic). I used a small blender to combine and viola, fermented hot sauce! The flavor will get better as it sits in the fridge. 

Ingredients: 

1 lb of your favorite pepper

Salt brine (1 tsp salt for every 1c of water), enough to fill the mason jar, leaving an inch of space

6 cloves of garlic

1 can of jack fruit in simple syrup 

Directions:

1. Remove the stem from the pepper and cut in half. Place in the mason jar until full
2. Combine 2 c of water and 2 tsp of salt and add to mason jar, leaving an inch of space
3. Smash garlic and add to the jar and stir peppers around.
4. Add fermentation weight, close the jar, and let ferment for at least two weeks
5. In a blender, put the whole can of jack fruit (no syrup), half of the habanero peppers, drained, and blend until well combined. Feel free to adjust the taste by adding more/less fruit, or some of the simple syrup.
6. Put in a mason jar to store and keep in the fridge! Enjoy!