Claire's Hot Sauce: 3 ways

Photo by:

Laura Edwards

Hot sauce is one of those condiments that inspires near-irrational devotion. It makes you sweat, clears your sinuses, and sometimes leaves your ears ringing—yet somehow, you always reach for another spoonful. Long before hot sauce became a pantry staple, chile-based condiments were already shaping cuisines, cultures, and histories around the world.In this recipe, food writer and fermentation enthusiast Claire Dinhut returns to the roots of hot sauce with a simple fermented chile sauce. Fresh chiles, garlic, onion, and salt transform over the course of a week into something tangy, complex, and deeply flavorful. Once you've mastered the base recipe, you can customize it with additions like sweet carrots and cumin or bright cilantro and jalapeños.

Ingredients

FOR THE BASIC HOT SAUCE

4 medium-spiced chile peppers
½ medium white onion
1 garlic clove
Surya Salt
Filtered or distilled water

FOR THE CARROT CUMIN HOT SAUCE

2 red serrano chiles
2 orange or yellow habanero chiles
½ medium white onion
1 garlic clove, peeled
Salt
Filtered or distilled water
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
½ teaspoon ground Jodhana Cumin
¼ teaspoon Basiya Ginger

FOR THE JALEPEÑO CILANTRO HOT SAUCE

4 jalapeño chiles
½ medium white onion
1 garlic clove, peeled
Salt
Filtered or distilled water
1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves

Methods

FOR THE BASIC HOT SAUCE

With gloved hands, split the chiles lengthwise and remove the seeds and ribs.
Weigh the prepared chiles, onion, and garlic, then place in a sterilized 32- ounce glass jar. Multiply the vegetables’ weight by .025 to calculate the amount (weight) of salt needed, and add that salt to the jar. Fill the jar 80 percent full with water. Top the jar with a lid and shake until the salt has dissolved. Uncap the jar and add enough weights into the jar’s mouth (i.e., pie weights, a smaller jar, or Tupperware filled with water) to fully submerge the ingredients in the salt brine. Re-cover the jar and set in a cool, dark place to ferment for about a week.
Once a day, “burp” the jar by opening the lid just enough to release the carbon dioxide created by the fermentation process. (The little popping sound is extremely satisfying, so prepare to love burping from now on.) After a few days, you will start to see loads of little bubbles. Continue this process until the contents have fermented to your liking. Depending on the climate, it should take around a week. There should be loads of little bubbles and it should smell tangy, spicy, and fresh.
Once you’re satisfied with your fermented chiles, transfer them, along with the garlic and onion, to a blender, reserving some of the brine (to loosen up the hot sauce). If you want to incorporate any herbs or spices into your hot sauce, add them to the blender now. Puree until very smooth, adding as much of the reserved brine as needed to make a sauce as thin or thick as you prefer. Strain again to make sure there are no chunks. Transfer to small bottles and store in the refrigerator for up to few months.

FOR THE CARROT CUMIN HOT SAUCE

Follow the basic hot sauce recipe, using the serranos and habaneros and adding the onion, garlic, salt, and water. Add the carrots to the jar before fermenting. Just before blending, add the cumin and ginger, then blend, strain, and store as usual.

FOR THE JALEPEÑO CILANTRO HOT SAUCE

Follow the basic hot sauce recipe, using jalapeños and adding the onion, garlic, salt, and water. After fermenting, add the cilantro. Blend, strain, transfer to the jar, and store as usual.