Fermented Hot Sauce Via the Pepper Mash Method (Part 1): Preparation & Kickoff

[@cameronmerrill_]

THANK YOU for explaining why too much head space is bad!!!!!! Youve helped me soo much!

[@richardguernsey908]

I went ahead and tried this with my many varieties of Thai chilis. Fermented the peppers on their own then added roasted garlic.. hot and delicious! Thanks for the video!

[@BenMonet]

I was about to ask about fermenting garlic with the mash, but then I saw "roasted garlic"! This is GENIUS! Thanks for the tip!

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

I also ferment garlic, onions, tomatoes, mangoes, etc along with my peppers too.

[@theangrycheeto]

I'm curious to know what happens if you leave more or less headspace? What is the idea or reasoning behind it?

[@dt2243]

Somehow I missed this video. I have gotten the itch to make some hot sauce. You're the king Larry!

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

I blame KZbin. 😉

[@Jack-zr2kv]

Dude saw your last video on tabasco sauce and had a go , after fermenting for Six weeks I Finished the process last week and got three small bottles which I am very happy with . Thanks

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

That’s very good.

[@TheTopperChef]

Delicious, thanks for sharing.

[@beeroquoisnation]

NICE! Corn Tortillas, cubed steak properly seasoned, onion, cilantro, lime, and some queso, maybe some actual Jalapeno's for garnish, and let's not forget the Cervesas. No cervesas, un Horchata grande. Well done Larry.

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

All sounds tasty.

[@trevor8049]

I need to try this again. I got loads of Tabasco and jalapeno peppers about to come off.

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

It’s time!

[@dalejoy193]

Great work Larry. I will give it a go. Last year I made chilli chutney and chilli jam. Year before added chilli to my lager beer. Chillies rock, endless possibilities.

[@DogzRewl]

One thing I have seen is people spraying vinegar around the exposed glass and top of the ferment to eliminate mold growth. I haven't tried it yet but will this next season.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

Looks really good. Cheers, Larry! ✌️

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Thank you. It’ll look (and taste) better when it’s finished.

[@harrymonk6]

Nice back story 👍

[@revolvermaster4939]

Hmmm, I don’t weigh anything, I chop up the peppers and cover them with brine, but I guess that’s not the mash method? And I didn’t notice any Scotch Whisky at your bar!

[@edwardfaris8516]

Looks swell Larry...I make pepper sauce myself...kinda like beer ...can't live without it. 😉

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

You always need a supply of both.

[@SmokyRibsBBQ]

Been wanting to try my hand at this for awhile now. I bought a fermentation kit a few years ago, and this video got me looking for it. Looking forward to the following videos on this hot sauce. Is there a reason why you didn't tare the scale to zero it out after putting the jar on, instead of subtracting the weight from the total? Just curious

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

I’ve learned the hard way that taring the empty vessel and filling it (instead of weighing it and using subtraction later) tends to cause me problems when the scales automatically turn off in the middle of using them and not knowing the weight of the vessel to do that sort of math later. I’ve experienced this problem too many times already with cooking and brewing, so I do the safest thing by knowing the empty weigh of every vessel ahead of time before I start working.

[@KenMurray-it4sr]

Great looking thank you ❤🌶🌶🌶

[@johnkirwan762]

Nice! U can just use the tare button to zero the scale after you put the jar on. Saves u having to subtract

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

No. It doesn’t. I still typically have to do the math anyway regardless because it turns itself off while measuring and resets itself when turned back in thus losing the tare while in the middle of filling any vessel. I’ve learned this hard lesson enough times in both cooking and brewing that I only rely on it if I’m doing a very quick measurement within the automatic time out limit of the scale used. Otherwise, you’re stuck in limbo having to empty the vessel to start all over again every time it shuts off; a real bummer.

[@andykappa5834]

Soooo, got all the way to the point where I was going to salt and mix when i realized im using normal size mason jars and my ferment kit lids are for wide brimed mason jars.. Throwing the chopped up peppers with normal lids in the fridge for a few days until i get get the larger mason jar.. They should be fine chopped up in fridge for a few days right?

[@microsoft-pox]

If you put plastic wrap on top of your mash, with a ziplock bag, with a bit of water, on top. It will seriously decrease the chance of mold. Despite how much air is above it. Look forward to part 2. I’m making spicy pepper jelly as I watch this.

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Thanks! I used to mess with the weighted water filled plastic bag but was unhappy with the fuss it caused me, so I switched to this approach. Only got a little fuzz on the first batch. It’s air space was about half the jar. The others shown have been fine.

[@harrymonk6]

or just add 4% salt

[@jimelshaw2665]

@@harrymonk6 hello. Is that true? 4% salt will prohibit mold growth? If so, good to know. Thank you.

[@harrymonk6]

@@jimelshaw2665 has for me 👍

[@BriO853]

Excellent. Do you rinse your peppers out of the garden before making the mash? TU

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Sure do.

[@ForgetU]

Could you dehydrate the peppers, and would this enable the bacteria to live instead of freezing and killing them? Another great video.

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Not sure. I’ve read that people use them dehydrated but I think they add them to fresh peppers or rehydrate them first since there’s no moisture in them for the lactobacteria to grow and flourish.

[@ForgetU]

@@BEERNBBQBYLARRY Guess I was thinking like yeast. Well, it's a nice project.

[@johnlove4183]

Really helpful, we have a big crop of tabascos about to come in. If I put fresh picked peppers on a cool smoke for 1/2 hour - would that smoky taste carry over to the fermented sauce?

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Not sure but I think doing so would probably be detrimental to the lactobateria on them. You could always smoke the batch after fermentation too.

[@foundry_wildlife]

I have an oil pour over pepper mix with mash that's started to ferment. It's 1 year preserve b4 opening. In a large Mason jar the oil remaining is half a jar, my wife know tired it was losing heat but was still very flavourful. Leaving the jar our of the fringe for lass then a week it over night started to ferment. Is it sill good or did the oil go bad.

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Fermentation can restart if it never finished or killed off before bottling.

[@theangrycheeto]

Fresh vegetables stored in oil have a serious risk of botulism.

[@foundry_wildlife]

@@theangrycheeto it was cooked in 375deg oil

[@curtpick628]

First! Send ma a bottle homey! 🔥

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Ha. Maybe. I may be making way more sauce than my GERD can handle.

[@curtpick628]

@@BEERNBBQBYLARRY 🤣

[@Enochulate88]

He's not a Simpson character It's typed Homie

[@Enochulate88]

@@BEERNBBQBYLARRY I'll buy some

[@curtpick628]

@@Enochulate88 ok HOLMES

[@mikeschneider9287]

Nice video! Do you rinse off your peppers after picking them or just straight to the cutting board and into the mash?

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Sometimes yes sometimes no. Depends if they look dirty.

[@71volare]

freezing does not kill the bacteria. Only if you blanch the peppers first.

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Perhaps not, but my ferments start off very sluggishly if I used too many frozen peppers; sometimes not even starting at all.

[@dalel6043]

Excited to try this. Do you have a recipe for the pepper amounts or do you just eyeball it? I like things more on the medium spice level and am afraid I will make something that will melt my face off

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

I am just winging it based upon what peppers are ripe at the time. I also thin it with vinegar later to reduce the heat level. Medium heat would be something like Fresno or jalapeños.

[@jazzyboydc]

alright I got a conundrum. so about year or 2 ago I had a good crop of jalapeños. so I cut them into rings and canned them. into homemade pepper rings. I tried one and they are extremely hot. almost too hot to eat. so I thought maybe I could transform it into a green hot sauce. the problem is I obviously killed off all the bacteria in the canning process. so it nearly impossible to make hot sauce right now. cuz no bacteria no fermentation. but at the time I didn't know how to make hot sauce. so I didn't think of it. any suggestion of how to get this going. should I just grow more jalapeños next year and mix them with my old batch. just trying to figure out how to fix it. not sure if it will even work. I also thought of buying a lactobacillus yeast starter and putting a little bit in each jar. but I didn't want to get any off flavors. let me know what u think. thnx larry

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

I’d just purée them and blend in some vinegar and/or some cooked fruit or vegetable to thin out the heat.

[@jimelshaw2665]

Hello Larry. I just started doing this but my first batch isn’t even filling my gallon size fermenting crock even half way. Didn’t realize that was gonna be an issue until I saw your video. Anywhoo…my question is, do you know the approximate amount of peppers, by weight, that it takes to fill your mason jars to the appropriate level? I just went and bought some of those lids with the fermenter locks and I’m gonna start putting the mash in those smaller jars. Thank you Jim Middleburg Hts. Ohio

[@jimelshaw2665]

PS. I really enjoy your videos. I’m also a home brewer, and when I finally made the jump up to all mash brewing, your videos were extremely helpful, I also love to cook and BBQ. When I saw you have hot sauce videos, just a week after I started making hot sauce I couldn’t believe it. Lol. Seems we have VERY similar interests and tastes. Cheers! 🍻

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

If I recall correctly, it's around 25 oz of peppers per quart jar, but that can vary depending on weight per volume of the peppers and other ingredients used. The head space concern is the same as for fermenting beer. Too much of it can allow undesired growth of bacteria/mold/fungus before the CO2 generated from the ferment forces out the air since it is the oxygen in the air that allows that crap to grow. You can also speed it up by buying/adding a lacto bacteria strain; from a brewing yeast provider for example.

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

@@jimelshaw2665 That's excellent on all points! :)

[@Learnerofthe]

Tare

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Taring only works if you’re not shooting a video on a scale with an auto off feature.

[@tommanning7337]

Awesome, 👍🏻👍🏻🍺🍺🌶️🌶️

[@tommanning7337]

Also, might be fun to use a small table top wooden barrel, bet that would be cool.👍🏻🌶️

[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

@@tommanning7337 I’ve added toasted oak chips in the past too. Is a spectacular addition, but made it harder to process the mash later into sauce.

[@chrismarichalar7919]

you should start selling it

[@fadielia1974]

U talk too much. Its notgood