This hot sauce recipe uses serrano peppers that have been fermented, then processed with vinegar, garlic, tequila and lime juice. It is juicy, tart and just the right amount of spicy.
Spicy Serrano Hot Sauce Recipe
More hot sauce coming at you, my friends. If you can believe it, our garden is STILL producing peppers because of this phenomenal weather we've been having. I know cold weather is on the way, but we've been a bit lucky here in zone 5 this year and I'm reaping the benefits.
I grew serrano peppers this year and HOLY WOW did they go wild. I only planted a single plant and that plant has produced marvelously. If you're going to grow peppers, be sure to include a serrano plant. One of the most productive plants in the garden.
The big question, though, when growing serrano peppers is...
What Can I Do With a LOT of Serrano Peppers?
Here's an idea for you. Make HOT SAUCE.
Yes!
This is a fermented hot sauce recipe and it requires an entire pound of serrano peppers, which may not seems like a lot of weight, but it takes quite a few serrano peppers to weigh 1 pound.
To Ferment or Use Fresh Peppers?
If you're not comfortable with fermenting (you SHOULD be, though), you CAN make this hot sauce with fresh serrano peppers. Just skip steps 1-4 in the recipe. Start by processing the peppers in a food processor, then jump to step 5 and make your serrano hot sauce.
It will still be a good hot sauce, for sure, but you'll have a fresher, greener flavor that is not quite as developed that you achieve by fermenting.
Check out my page on How to Make Fermented Pepper Mash to learn more about why you should be fermenting chili peppers.
Fermented hot sauces are mellower and have a deeper flavor, so I've been fermenting a LOT of chili peppers this year for hot sauces.
This is actually a hot sauce for Patty, because she tends to lean toward green hot sauces and seasonings. I tend to favor vibrant red and orange sauces, but Patty loves her serrano peppers.
So here you go, Patty! She loves this one. It is slightly garlicky and tart and distinctive with the addition of tequila, something else Patty loves.
Enjoy and check out my other Hot Sauce Recipes, too.
Where'd you get that sauce bottle?
I find them locally sometimes, but I also order through Amazon. Here is a link to some bottles I like (affiliate link, my friends!): Swing Top Glass Bottles, 8.5 Ounce - Set of 4. If you like the smaller bottles that most hot sauce makers use, here's another link: Hot Sauce Bottles, 5 Oz - 24 Pack.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Process this hot sauce for longer storage. Just be sure to use proper canning/jarring safety procedures.
- Wondering what to do with this sauce? Aside from drizzling it over anything you please, here's a post I did about How to Cook with Hot Sauce. As if you need even MORE reasons to eat hot sauce. I hope you find it helpful!
- After you strain out the solids to thin out the hot sauce, you can throw the solids away, OR --- dehydrate them and use them for seasoning. Or simply do not strain for a thicker sauce. Those solids still have plenty of life left in them, and hey, what a great way to make some homemade seasonings for yourself? Sprinkle it over foods or use it as a rub. It would be GREAT on chicken. Give it a little ZING, right?
Storage
This sauce should keep many months easily in the fridge, or even longer. It's all about the acidity. To be technical, target level ph for shelf stable foods is below 4.6 ph, but should probably be lower for home cooks, around 4.0 or so, to account for errors. If you're concerned, add more vinegar to lower the ph. Sauces made with fermented chili peppers will last even longer.
The best ph meters that I recommend are from Thermoworks. Get yourself a ph meter from Thermoworks today. I am a happy affiliate.
Check out more Hot Sauce Recipes or learn more about How to Make Hot Sauce.
More Hot Sauce Recipes to Try
More Serrano Recipes to Try
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Spicy Serrano Hot Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound serrano peppers
- 3 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 quart unchlorinated water
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 ounces white wine vinegar
- 1.5 ounces reposado tequila
- Juice from 1 lime
Instructions
- First, ferment the serrano peppers. Process your fresh peppers in a food processor. If you don’t have a processor, use a mortar and pestle or simply rough chop them. Pack them into a jar, leaving at least 1 inch of head space. The peppers may rise a bit when fermenting.
- Next, mix 1 quart unchlorinated water with 3 tablespoons sea salt. Pour just enough brine over the peppers to cover them, pressing them down a bit as you go. Discard or save any remaining brine for another use. It is important to keep the peppers covered with brine to avoid spoilage. Check this daily.
- Screw on the lid and set the jar away from direct sunlight to ferment for at least 1 week. Ideal temperatures are between 55-75 degrees F. The most active fermentation period is between 1-2 weeks, sobe sure to monitor it during this time. “Burp” the jars often by unscrewing the lid a bit to let out some of the accumulating gases. Or, use an airlock or membrane for easier fermenting. See our page, “How to Make Fermented Pepper Mash”, for further instruction.
- After 1-2 weeks, the fermenting activity will diminish and the brine will turn cloudy and taste acidic.
- Pour the fermented serrano peppers, including the brine, into a pot along with garlic, vinegar and tequila. Bring to a quick boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. NOTE: If you feel the brine will make your hot sauce too salty, you can strain the peppers and use fresh water instead, just enough to cover the peppers in the pot. Or, use a combination of brine and fresh water.
- Cool slightly then add to a food processor with the lime juice. Process until smooth.
- Strain the mixture to remove the solids, if desired. Pour into hot sauce bottles and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Peggy Waltz says
I want to make a Cayenne hot sauce. I have a ton in the garden. I want to roast a few and add to the rest. I don’t want to ferment them but I do want to can them with a hot water bath. The bottles I ordered have hard plastic caps. Is it okay to put them in a hot water bath? Thanks for your help. I have researched and can’t find an answer.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Peggy, I have a number of cayenne sauces on the site. Try these:
How to Make Hot Sauce: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/how-to-make-hot-sauce/
Homemade Tabasco Sauce (Just use Cayennes): https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/tabasco-sauce/
Homemade Louisiana Style Hot Sauce: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/hot-sauces/homemade-louisiana-hot-sauce/
Regarding the caps - a lot of times those plastic caps can crack or stretch, making them not so ideal for home canning. You might look into bottles with metal caps, or use jars for canning. Good luck!
Dana says
Hi Michael,
Here we are 3 weeks later, and fermentation went great after I took the jars out of the refrigerator. The hot sauce tasted fantastic after simmering for 15 minutes. Then after blending, it turned incredibly bitter. Do you have any idea why this happened? We’re so disappointed. I’m thinking that if I try this recipe again, I will skip the blending after simmering. Other than the minced garlic, no additional solid ingredients were added, so maybe that last blend is unnecessary? Would love your input. Thanks.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sorry to hear, Dana. It could be from any included seeds, or if you had any bitter kahm yeast in the batch. Cooking does stop the fermenting process, but is not necessary. You can enjoy the uncooked, fermented peppers on their own.
sarah says
I don’t know what I did wrong. I tried fermenting my green Serrano
for 2weeks, but I am not certain it came out right. When I went to boil/simmer the mix with tequila and garlic, it never reduced. It was just a thin liquid with pulp. Then put in processor which made a mess. I ended up with really thin liquid and pulp.
Suggestions? So happy I found your site I obviously have A LOT to learn .
Thank you
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Sarah, this is meant to be a fairly liquidy, thin sauce. However, when you boil and simmer, you can leave it on the heat longer until it reduces to your own preferences. You probably just needed a longer simmer. I hope this helps.
Colin O'Grady says
I'd like to roast the Serranos instead of fermenting them just to get a little bit of a different flavor going. What do y'all recommend to account for the lack of the brine? Just add some water before cooking? Add more lime juice and/or vinegar? If anyone has tried anything, or has successes to share, they'd be much appreciated!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Colin, yes, I would just add in some liquid (water, citrus, vinegar, a combination of) along with seasonings, then process and simmer. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Dana says
Thank you for the quick response! They are now on the countertop with a couple extra whole peppers submerged. It’s hot where I am, so we’ll see what happens! I’ll touch base in a couple weeks. Thanks for your help!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Great, enjoy!
Dana says
So I was thrilled to find this recipe, as my Serrano plant has been producing like crazy. Two weeks after I put them in the jar per the recipe to ferment, there’s no fermentation happening. I just reread the recipe and somehow I thought the jars needed to go in the refrigerator, rather than what I now see is a temp of 55-75. Have I completely screwed this up? It’s been sitting in brine this whole time. Please let me know if and how I can salvage this, thanks!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Dana, you are fine and they are still usable. If you want fermentation to occur, just take them out of the refrigerator. If fermentation doesn't start, add in some fresh pods. Let me know how it goes.
Anders says
This was my first time fermenting and couldn't see much happening so I was afraid I wasn't doing it right. I was burping every night and did not see any growth or excess air coming out. After 10 days fermentation, I cooked for 15 minutes and blended and it turned out quite mild. I am very happy with the result and the flavors are amazing, but could have done with a slightly spicer sauce.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Anders! Glad you enjoyed it!
Grace says
Do I need to ferment the peppers or is it ok to just cook them down straight from the garden?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Grace, you don't need to ferment if you don't want to. You can just cook them down straight from the garden. Let me know how it goes.
shelly says
Great, thanks for quick reply.... I love growing peppers, but can never use all them...
Shelly says
Michael, exited to try this recipe.
As Andrea asked could you ferment the peppers whole, or at least just halfed? I think this would be easier to keep summered in container.
And how do you prep? do you take seeds out or keep in?
Hate to discard all these peppers i have this season, as there is no way i can eat all of them.
Thanks much in advance.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Shelly, yes, you can ferment peppers whole, or you can slice them in half or rough chop them to better fit them in your fermentation containers. They are easier to keep submerged when in larger pieces. You can leave in the seeds and innards, no problem. Let me know how it goes for you. Enjoy.
Andrea says
Hey, I'm really excited to try this recipe. I have a whole lot more serranos than I ever thought would produce.
I'm curious, what is the benefit to fermenting after processing the chilis. Could you ferment them whole and then blend and process? I'm just wondering if that might be a less messy route.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Andrea, fermenting will mellow the flavors in ways you won't get without fermentation. Cooking them stops the fermenting process. You don't have to cook after if you don't want to. Just process and use. You may need to burp your containers occasionally, though. I hope you enjoy it.
Josh says
Just started this recipe, if I have bits of mash floating at the top do I need to scrape them out, or are they fine / will they settle? The weight/spring that came with my lids is not a solid piece.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Josh, it's important to keep the bits submerged, or you run the risk of contamination. Try using a plastic baggie partially filled with water. Stuff it into the top to see if that will work.
Julie says
That was an interesting experience, resulting in a hot sauce I can handle and husband likes. I only had 3/4lb of serranos and cut the recipe down to fit. Used rum, but honestly can't taste it. Perhaps I will have to buy a small jar of tequila for the next batch.
My fermenting, in a Ball jar, kept on spilling out the brine. Yes, I burped it....more than once a day. Definitely recommend putting the jar of fermenting peppers sitting in a plastic container that will keep any spill from surfaces that you don't want it on. In my case, the inside of my cabinet.
All in all this was a really fun way to try something new with little risk involved. Grew my own serranos so very little investment at risk if the batch got put down the drain. Instead, my husband is headed to grab the nacho chips and sauce. Ours came out more like a salsa since I left the solids in.
Thanks so much!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Excellent, Julie! Glad you guys are enjoying it!!