Search for:
Recipes

Fermentation Experiment (Cayenne Pepper Sauce) – Pepper Geek



Get our eBook!
►► https://peppergeek.com/ebook

Join our channel for perks:
►► https://youtube.com/peppergeek/join

In this video, we’re attempting to make a fermented cayenne pepper sauce. This type of hot sauce is also known as Louisiana-style sauce, and has a fairly simple ingredient list.

While it did not come out perfect, we learned a lot during this trial run. We hope you’ll share your feedback and advice with us for our next batch!

***********************************************
Products mentioned (affiliate links):

FERMENTATION LIDS:
https://amzn.to/3y8IlNy

PH METER:
https://amzn.to/3SKKkzq

*We earn a commission if you purchase through our links.
***********************************************

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:08 Overview of the process
1:52 Starting the ferment
4:43 Checking in after 2 days
5:41 Grinding and adding vinegar
8:09 Finishing the sauce
9:22 Tasting and mistakes

***********************************************
Thanks for watching Pepper Geek!
#cayenne #pepper #hotsauce

28 Comments

  1. Thanks for the inspiration. I raided the garden: 1/2gal red Shishito, 1/2gal Sugar Rush Peach, 1/2gal Shishiti/Cubanelle/Sugar Rush Peach, 1.5qt Red Shishito/Sugar Rush Peach… all with fresh garlic. Lots of great comments from your followers!

  2. my first suggestion would be to use actual tabasco peppers. They are small and a bit of a PITA to gather and accumulate enought to make a batch. The second bit would be that tabasco sauce is a mash under essentially a cake of salt crystals, not an emulsification. But then again you said you wanted to make a buffalo sauce, not a tabasco-style sauce.

  3. Can you ferment dry peppers after you soften or would you add brine to the dry peppers?

  4. I normally stick to no more than one part to one part, but if I'm doing a ferment, the ferment already has that Tang taste. So I'll do a half a part of vinegar to one part of peppers. One good thing that I did try that tastes really good is to also ferment tomatillos along with the peppers which will add taste but cut down the heat

  5. Add whole cloves of garlic, and even some onions and carrots and I think you went light on the salt. I do it by weight of the veg and water.

  6. You want 3% of the total weight of the chilies and water combined. Good news is you can go as low as 2 and as high as 5%. Your fermentation went fast because of lower salt content. When making fermentations in warmer temps you need to increase the salt to slow it down.

  7. I like doing a pepper mash with crushed freshed garlic for the ferment. I do 1:1 on vinegar. I also like onion powder. Finally Xanthan gum rules for stabilizing it.

  8. Maybe I missed something but the video says it fermented for 4 days and then mixed the final result for 2 days. Were did the 3 weeks before bottling come from?

  9. Some lactic acid bacteria produce mucus, it is thought to be a Sort of carbohydrate deposit for the bacteria and iS usually being used up by it if you let the sauce sit for longer, as at some point all tje available sugar in the brine and peppera is fermented. I think it occurs mostly in media that are Glucose-rich.
    I learned about it in brewmasters school, as it can occur in lightly hopped beers, like Hefeweizen or Berliner Weisse, which is even supposed to have LAB.

  10. I almost died. Don't rinse the peppers! Vinegar needed is maybe 1/4 or 1/3 of the total mash volume. Not 2x🤦‍♂️

  11. Why would you rinse those fermented peppers. The best flavor comes from that virgin juice

  12. I've been bouncing around a bit looking for videos about hot sauce. I really want to make a habanero hot sauce with very little spiciness so my wife will try it.
    This channel has been the best source of info I've found so far. The perfect amount of information with a good pace, getting things done.

  13. Where can you buy fresh cayenne peppers? I live in California and I've only ever seen Jalepenos and habaneros and fesno chillies at my grocery stores?

  14. I have successfully made pepper ferments with only frozen peppers, just add some Lactobacillus Acidophilus spores from over the counter probiotic supplements to the mash before fermentation.

  15. Amazon sells a 45% acetic acid vinegar, roughly 9 times as strong as standard. By using some of the strong stuff, you can bring forwad the pepper character by diluting it less.
    Using a bit of xanthan gum will slow the separation of solids from liquid in the final product. Go easy on it, as it can muffle flavors if overdone.

Write A Comment