Hot Sauce

Ferment the Peppers (~ 1 week)

1. Make Brine: 3%. (Approximately 1 1/4 t salt to 1 c water)
2. Heat brine and stir until salt is dissolved.
3. Wash peppers, chop in several chunks. Add to jar large enough to hold peppers, brine, and a weight on top. Cover. Make sure all peppers / solids are submerged. Anything touching air can form mold. We don’t want that. 
4. Let ferment 5 days to up to 2 weeks, burping the jar or allowing bubbles to escape by lightly placing cover on. 
5. Brine solution should have bubbles, and should turn cloudy – that’s a good sign it’s fermenting correctly. If any mold develops, discard. 

Make the sauce!

1. Strain hot peppers, reserving the brine.
2. Put 1/4 c oil in a small saucepan. Add sliced garlic cloves and lightly toast until just starting to turn golden.
3. Strain garlic, reserving oil.
4. In blender, combine hot peppers, garlic, 35 ml vinegar, + 1/4 c brine. Blend well.
5. Stream in half of the oil and salt to taste. Add more brine as needed to thin it out and add more spice. Taste.
6. Add bell pepper, shallot, and tomato and blend again. Taste and adjust to your liking.
7. Strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, pressing out as much of the liquid as possible. Optional: add some of that pulp back into the sauce to have some texture.

Optional: ways to thicken

1. Add xanthan gum or cornstarch and blend to thicken or help keep from separating. If using cornstarch, cook on stove for a bit to allow it to thicken.
2. Simmer for 10-30 minutes to thicken
3. Bottle! Store in refrigerator.