Fermented Sweet Pepper Tabasco Sauce

Wash your hands and thoroughly clean the equipment. Wearing gloves, rinse and stem the Tabasco peppers, then cut them in half lengthwise. Prepare and dice the red bell pepper. Weigh the peppers after trimming: you need 250 g Tabasco peppers and 150 g bell pepper.

Toss the peppers with 12 g kosher salt in the mixing bowl. Let stand for 20 minutes, stirring once. The produce salt basis is 3% of the combined prepared pepper weight: 400 g peppers × 0.03 = 12 g salt.

Dissolve the remaining 6 g salt in 200 ml filtered water. This additional salt makes a matching 3% brine by water weight, preventing the added water from diluting the salt level.

Pack the peppers and their released juices into the jar. Add all the brine, press the peppers down, and place the fermentation weight on top. Keep every piece below the liquid, with at least 1½ inches of headspace above the brine.

Fit the lid loosely so gas can escape; do not tighten it airtight. Set the jar on the tray, away from direct sunlight, at room temperature, ideally 65–75°F (18–24°C).

Ferment for approximately 7–14 days. Every day, briefly loosen and lift the lid to release trapped gas, then replace it loosely. Check that the peppers remain submerged, pressing the weight down with a clean spoon if necessary. Cloudy brine and bubbles are normal.

Calibrate the food pH meter and check a representative mashed sample of peppers and brine. Verify pH 5.2 or lower within 24 hours and below 4.6 within 48 hours. Discard without tasting if either deadline is missed; do not rescue failed fermentation with vinegar. Discard tested samples. Continue monitoring until the recipe's final pH target of 4.5 or below is reached.

Finish fermentation when bubbling has noticeably slowed, the aroma is pleasantly tangy, and the peppers have developed clear acidity, with the brine at pH 4.5 or below. This usually takes 7–14 days. Do not rely on the calendar alone.

Drain the fermented peppers, reserving exactly 60 ml (¼ cup) brine. Discard the remaining brine. Blend the peppers, reserved brine, and all 120 ml white vinegar for 1–2 minutes, until very smooth. The vinegar is added only now, after fermentation.

Push the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer with a clean spoon, leaving tough skins and seeds behind. Check that the finished sauce remains at pH 4.5 or below, then transfer it to the clean bottle and refrigerate immediately.

Let the sauce mellow in the refrigerator for 24 hours for the best flavor. Shake before serving in 1-teaspoon portions alongside tacos, beans, roasted vegetables, and other savory dishes.