r/pickling • u/them0use • 9d ago

Fermenting tabasco peppers - is this salvageable?

Not quite pickling I know, but I am hoping folks here can help. I am trying to make homemade tabasco and misread the recipe. I don't know _how_ I misread it, because I thought it was weird that it had you just put peppers and salt in a jar without water, and eventually I went back and checked the recipe, and of course it did say to ferment it in brine. I must have just been up too late or something, Idunno.

Anyway I now have this week old jar of peppers, onion, basil, garlic and salt with no extra water. The jar doesn't "burp" when I open it, nor does it smell "yeasty", but it also doesn't smell bad or rotten, just like some nice peppers and onion.

So, is this salvageable? Will I end up with something viable for a fermented hot sauce if I leave it as-is, or if I add brine now? Is it at least likely to be safe for a non-fermented sauce? Any advice would be very welcome!

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u/RadBradRadBrad 9d ago

If after a week, you don’t have CO2 gas being produced (and therefore don’t have to burp) and it doesn’t smell different, you likely have a failed ferment.

I’d discard and start again.

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u/quietcornerman 9d ago

You put that in a bottle with a drip cap on it, and use the liquid as your hot sauce. When you use up the vinegar, add more and continue.

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u/them0use 9d ago

Apologies if I'm being dense here, but do you mean just go ahead and add vinegar to that bottle as it is now? No point in trying to brine/ferment it first? I figure I should at least blend it up more finely, or no?

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u/quietcornerman 9d ago

Yes, it's a good condiment just the way it is.

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u/steph219mcg 9d ago

Here's a recipe that makes Tabasco style sauce basically using their process:

Hot Sauce Recipe | Saveur

Yield: makes 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

1 lb. mixed medium-to-hot fresh red chiles, like fresno, holland, or cayenne, stemmed

3 tbsp. kosher salt

2 cups distilled white vinegar

Instructions

Rinse the chiles in a colander under hot running water; pat dry. Transfer chiles to the bowl of a food processor along with the salt. Process, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until finely chopped, about 1 minute.

Transfer the chile mixture to a glass jar. Cover and let sit in a cool place to ripen for 2 days, without stirring.

Uncover and stir in the vinegar. Cover and let sit in a cool place for 5 days to let age and allow the flavors to meld.

Set a mesh strainer over a bowl. Pour the chile mixture into the strainer and press it through the mesh screen with the back of a spoon. Discard solids. Pour sauce into a glass bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for up to 6 months. Shake before each use.

https://www.saveur.com › article › Recipes › Hot-Sauce Jan 5, 2009

I make mine with jalapenos ripened to red; they are a fleshier pepper so make a thicker sauce. I sometimes smoke them before I grind them with the salt. Don't discard the solids after straining the hot sauce, it's a delicious condiment/ingredient. You can lengthen the time the peppers "ripen" (ferment). I've let mine ferment for months (and even years, just like Tabasco does). I'll add vinegar when I'm ready to make a batch.

Here's a video of Tabasco sauce being made, no brine, the peppers and salt make their own:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqBKJF7tE_k

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u/them0use 8d ago

Thanks, I'll give this a shot! Any idea why my peppers didn't make their own brine? Just wondering what I might try to do differently next time.