Fire Roasted Fermented / Bourbon Infused Hot Sauce

This post shares a fun variation on a recipe from my book that infuses the warmth of your pepper harvests into a sauce with a flavor that is smokey, complex (yet simple to make) and full of probiotics

If you have seen any of my recipe blog posts or read my recipe book you may have noticed that I love hot peppers. This has been the case since I was quite young when I would go on fridge raiding missions to find pickled hot peppers and eat fiery fresh home made salsas with homemade tortilla chips.

2023 pepper harvest from our garden

Well, when I discovered the magic of fermenting hot peppers about a decade ago and all the additional flavors and health benefits that simple process unlocks I became even more infatuated with the beauty of hot chilis in culinary art and I have been creating a diverse array of medicinal grade ultra delicious gourmet hot sauces ever since.

ingredients for a sauce that we call “𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟳 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗲” packed into a jar, ready to add salt brine and begin fermenting to make the sauce

Pepper season has started for some of you in the south and here in southern Ontario, some of us heirloom chili fanatics have been slaving away over wintering second and third year peppers plants and growing plants inside (from seed) since February so we can catch up to you guys and get a first few rare June peppers harvested. As the peppers start piling up in the kitchen it is time to make use of one of these recipes so you can infuse the flavor, heat and nutrition into a versatile condiment that can be enjoyed for many months ahead.

Beuna Mulata peppers starting to gain momentum in our garden early last summer (2023)

first peppers harvested for 2024

Below I will share two variations I like to make with our garden harvests of heirloom chilis where I like to stack functions when bbq-ing up some sausages or burgers and I will simultaneously roast up some chilis until they are nice and charred and then set those aside for making smokey homemade hot sauces another night.

I also sometimes make an entire night of sauce making and I will invite some friends over to hang out by an applewood, oak or cherrywood camp fire, watch the dancing flames while listening to some tunes, enjoying fermented beverages and roast up a big pile of peppers, onions, tomatoes and other ingredients (like mangos, peaches or pineapples) and then commemorate the evening by infusing it’s essence into a few dozen bottles of next level homemade hot sauce that we can all enjoy for months to come and share with family/friends.

As my way of inviting you all to be able to experience that same sense of satisfaction and comradery when you crack open a bottle of homemade hot sauce and remember that fun night you had around the fire, I share the following:

First up i`ll share my basic method for making a simple fire roasted fermented hot sauce.

my most recent batch of bbq-ed and then fermented hot sauce (pic taken today, June 10th, 2024)

I use the “fermented mash” technique here so that all you have to do is roast up some peppers and other complementary ingredients, let them cool, grind them up on pulse mode until you have a nice chunky mash mixture, measure it and then add in 1 tsp of sea salt per 250ml of mash, stir it daily and wait a week or so and shazam, you`ll have yourself a mind blowingly delicious hot sauce.

Here are some pics of a batch I just made using that method the other night.

roasted cayenne’s and zucchini on the bbq (the zucchini was for a different recipe, which I will share next month)

other roasted ingredients (including scotch bonnet peppers, onions and mangos)

after cooling and blending the roasted ingredients, about to measure the volume and add 1 tsp of sea salt per 250 ml of mash, add the mixture to jars and leave in a room temperature space out of direct sunlight to begin fermenting.

after adding the mixture to a jar

pepper mash in a jar ready to begin fermenting

pepper mash after sitting at room temperature for a couple days with active fermentation underway (visible via the CO-2 expulsion and bubbles forming)

after stirring daily for 5 days active fermentation subsided. You can enjoy like this or let it ferment another day or two before putting in fridge to add more depth of flavor.

Basically the rule for my fermented pepper mash mixes is do not put more than 10% volume in roasted non-pepper ingredients (like onions, tomatoes, fruit, spices, berries etc) and then as long as you mix it daily it usually works out beautifully.

finished batch of bbq-ed fermented cayenne pepper hot sauce 2024

If any white mold grows on the top of the mash inbetween mixing times just scoop it off, discard and keep mixing and it is safe to eat after fermentation subsides. If you get colorful (blue or green molds) discard the batch into compost and try again (that has only happened once to me in over a hundred batches and it was likely because I added too much fruit).

i like to leave it chunky and full of character but you can emulsify for a more store bought predictable texture and experience if you prefer

Okay, so that is how I make roasted and fermented hot sauce. Now here is another variation that results in a classic bourbon infused hot sauce that will knock your socks off in the flavor department and makes for a fun evening for the pepper roasters too! ;)

heirloom hot peppers from the garden

Making variations of this hot sauce with your garden harvests of heirloom chilis is a great way to infuse the essence of summer into a bottle and carry the warmth with you into the winter months :) It is also a fun way to spend an evening and the end result offers a nutrient-dense condiment with a long list of health benefits.

a bottle of finished fire roasted hot sauce

Many a night were spent sitting round’ the blazing campfire roasting all manners of peppers and veggies to hone this recipe to perfection. This sauce hits you with a smoky slow glow of heat and flavor that will make you think of “that fun night around the campfire” every time you splash it onto your favorite foods.

roasting onions over the open flames of an apple wood camp fire

Fire Roasted Bourbon Infused Hot Sauce

some of the ingredients that go into one of our typical fire roasted hot sauces

Ingredients:

- 7 to 10 ripe Habaneros (or other ‘super hots’ like “ghost" aka Bhut Jolokia peppers etc.)

- 1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper

- 12 long ripe cayenne peppers (or other medium heat peppers such as jalapenos etc.)

- 1 small white onion                                                                                                                                 

 - 1 tomato

- 1 teaspoon brown sugar                                                                                                                             

- 1 teaspoon salt

- pinch of black pepper 

- Vinegar (enough to cover the chopped ingredients in the pot halfway)                                    

- a splash of apple cider vinegar

- water to fill the rest of the pot                                                                                                                          

- 1 tbsp of molasses                                                                                                                                         

- 2 oz Bourbon whiskey

(optional ingredients for creating interesting variations on the central recipe for this hot sauce) 

- 1 or 2 ripe peaches

- 2 to 3 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce

Instructions:

First of all get yourself a nice campfire going with some glowing orange embers. Have a drink of your whiskey, take in the scenery and contemplate making the sauce for an hour or two.

fire roasted peppers (ready for adding to the sauce)

 (Disclaimer of highly potent pepper fumes, make sure you open all the windows  if making indoors because I have seen the fumes make a few tough guys cry like babies.)

Then,  when you decide to really get started wash all the veggies (and peaches if using) and place them in a sealed grill cage. Roast 'em over the embers until lightly blackened. Then remove from heat and put aside in a large bowl. 

fire roasted tomatoes (ready for adding to the sauce)

Dice up all those roasted veggies (hot peppers, tomato, bell pepper and onion (and peaches if using).  Toss the veggies into a medium-sized pot and add just enough white vinegar so that the ingredients are half covered.

diced up roasted ingredients ready to be covered in vinegar/water mixture and simmered to perfection before blending

Throw in a splash of apple cider vinegar and add the brown sugar, honey, whiskey, salt and black pepper.  Stir well.  Add enough water to completely cover the ingredients. (about 1 cm above) Turn the heat to high and bring the ingredients to a boil. Once it gets to a rolling boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer with lid closed for ten minutes.  After ten minutes remove from heat, set it aside and let it cool for at least 30 min (or until you feel comfortable that it's at a temperature your blender or Cuisinart can handle.) 

Once cooled add everything to your blender or Cuisinart and blend until smooth.  Pour into sterilized jars or bottles and refrigerate. This sauce will last up to at least 6 months but don't forget to keep it in the fridge!

Below is a video showing one version of this fire roasted whiskey infused hot sauce that I made about 7 years ago when my little brother and father visited last. We used aged Irish Whiskey in the case of that particular sauce (and roasted the peppers while listening to Omnia) so we called that batch “Celtic Heat”.

You can watch an older garden video journal I have on youtube which shows how I made several variations of this sauce way back in the early days for some ideas to customize your own versions here:

For those that are interested in learning more, I wrote an in depth article on the health benefits offered by hot peppers which you can find here.

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The recipe above is an adapted version of a recipe from my book (cover shown in image below).

For those of you interested in purchasing an Ebook copy of my book that option is now available through this link: https://payhip.com/b/6P5Ab?fbclid=IwAR1eIyc1hZU0q_KjJJDv2LGUfirxErNpey_jTpMV7vdVx4maB1ahZX2SNNM

For those interested in purchasing a physical copy of the book you can do so through this link:

https://recipesforreciprocity.com/shop/softcover/

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Here are a few of the types of songs I like to listen to as I roast peppers over the camp fire with friends for creating the recipes above, Enjoy! :)