the hot sauce I make every July

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Hello lovely readers. I wanted to pop on today and share a favorite recipe which I’ve made every July for many years now. It’s a favorite hot sauce, one I make for us and also specifically for a hot sauce loving friend of mine’s birthday. I just made it again and thought I’d share, as it’s the perfect thing right now for preserving the season— fresh chiles are abundant and flavorful right now.

It’s a lightly fermented hot sauce, but don’t let that put you off if you haven’t fermented before, it’s just a few days and it requires no special equipment. The fermentation process gives it a wonderful depth of flavor that makes it stand out, I think.

Don’t be afraid to double the batch here if you’d like to make extra. It will keep at least six months in the fridge, although it never lasts that long here because we all eat it too fast!

I’ve always made this with either red fresno chiles or very ripe, red serranos, but I imagine it would be good with other red chiles, too, either singly or as a mix. For example, throwing in a few red thai birdseye chiles to make it spicier.

notes: I usually always use red Fresno chiles for the bulk of this, as they have an excellent rich deep flavor. If you’d like a spicier sauce, add in a few fresh birdseye chiles. You can also use red jalapeños, red serranos, any ripe red chile you like/have access to. Keep with red, though, for the most beautiful colour.

½ lb / 227 g fresh red Fresno chiles

1 garlic clove

2 tsp fine sea salt

1/4 c white distilled vinegar

1/4 c fresh lime juice

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp neutral oil

Pulse chiles, garlic, salt in a food processor to a fine paste, scraping the sides down once or twice. Transfer to a clean glass jar, pat down so that it’s one flat single layer without any slopped on the sides. Cover with cheesecloth or a lid just set on the top loosely, not screwed on. Let sit at room temperature for two days.

Transfer to a blender; add vinegar, lime, and sugar and purée until smooth. Transfer mixture to a clean jar, cover again with the cheesecloth or loose lid, and ferment 1-2 more days.

Blend again, adding the oil, until silky smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the bits of seeds for a silky smooth texture.

Keep in the fridge for up to six months.

postscript:

The little tag I made for said hot sauce, to make it even more fun.

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See you Saturday with a meal plan.

x A