Fun With Fermentation – Home Made Sriracha Part 2

The fermentation process went fairly smooth, save for one episode of pressure building up that almost blew the lid of the jar clear off.  Note to self, open the lid just the slightest bit every day to release the pressure that is building up. So after the 7 days I took my peppery soup, added 1/2 a cup of distilled vinegar and a little bit of garlic powder then blended the heck out of it.  The final step is to put this mixture into a pan and bring it to a boil then simmer for a few minutes, this helps it thicken up a bit more not to mention I think the final step of making any hot sauce should involve it boiling like lava.

I luckily an empty Sriracha bottle laying around my place so I just transferred my custom batch into there once it had cooled.  By this time the anticipation of tasting the final product was killing me, I let it refrigerate for a little bit and finally had at it. First was just a little on the tip of my finger, success!! not only did it taste great but I didnt go blind or have any other terrifying fictional side effects I made up as a result of consuming fermented peppers. I was really careful about removing all the seeds and ribs from the peppers I used so this batch turned out fairly mild, which meant people other than myself enjoyed it.  Next time around I’m going to leave a bit of the ribs in the peppers to lend a bit more heat.  But as a whole I am entirely pleased with how this batch of Sriracha turned out. Word on the home made sriracha street is that a batch will last for anywhere from 30-60 days before going rancid, I am confident that at the rate I’ve been consuming this sauce this time frame will not be an issue.

I really encourage you to try out making your own sriracha if you enjoy the store bought stuff at all.  You end up with great control over how the sauce turns out, you can easily  tweak the amount of garlic or the spiciness of the sauce to cater to any flavor preference.  Not to mention there is a degree of awesome that is associated with making your own hot sauce, especially one that turns out bright red and burns your nose when you smell it.

After this experiment with home fermentation I think I’m ready to try something else, I’m thinking pickles, any suggestions?