How To: Legsbig's Pepper Mash Pictorial

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Thanks for the info, very nicely done. I'm looking to take my "Death Camp" Naga dip to the liquid stage & had no idea where to start. I also applaud your taste in peppers. Unfortunately the last of my Fataliis are earmarked for shrimp, cheese & bacon stuffing, and all my nagas are going out as promised dips. But this year's batch we're goin for the Bhut cousins (I forget the name, but they're over a mil in scovilles ;)!
 
Don't Boil Your Mash

Hey, this is a great post and clearly a lot of effort has been put into it. However, the boiling step should be omitted. Also, put the lids on half tight so the gasses released during fermentation can escape. Don't worry, your jars won't explode if you put on too tight.

The whole idea behind fermenting is to let the lacto bacteria go to work on the food so it makes no sense to sterilize the food and kill this bacteria. If you don't believe me check out some books on making sauerkraut or Korean Kimchi or other pickled (fermented, not vinegared) foods. The information available is better than for pepper mash, but it's the same technique.

If you are making sauce with the mash then feel free to can in a water bath. Just make sure your fermentation is completed first.
 
So, you're telling me the mix I've had sitting in a jar for 6 months is just as when I put it in? Sigh. Is there any way to begin the fermentation now? Perhaps cracking open the jar & resalting? Or do I just have a jar of chopped (very) hot peppers?
 
Did you get bubbles at first? If you are getting fermentation, you should see bubbles within several days. The fermentation is rapid in the first few weeks and is mostly complete after one month. The bubbles will stop then.

If you sterilized everything and sealed it up tight you probably don't have any fermentation. That's OK, though - just open the jar! I'd take the lid off and loosely cover with a clean cloth until you see some bubbles. Then put the lid back on, but only half tight to let the bubbles escape.
 
I almost forgot - you also should make sure that the pepper solids are covered up by the liquid that forms when the salt is added. Pack everything down to squeeze the liquid to the top. If you skip this step you are likely to get some mold on top. Hope this helps.
 
Mash Recipe - Just What I needed - THANKS!

My buddy kept giving me Habanero, Cayenne, and Tabasco Peppers and I made some vinegar, garlic, and salt "splashing" sauce. I wanted to take it to the next level and this was one of the few threads that explained it well enough to do. I currently have a 70/30 mix of Habanero/Cayenne and a 50/30/20 of Habanero(ripe and green)/Cayenne/Tabasco brewing as I write this.

Didn't realize I needed to pop the lid, but did it one week later. Hope it's ok.

Anyone know if Tabascos mix well with others?
 
me and a buddy of mine are starting a lil side job selling hot stuff.. we are using habanero and jalapenos we was just boiling our stuff in vinegar then blinding it together with some other stuff and we keep getting the same taste do u think vinegar is a bad thing to use to boil them in?? well we are gonna try and make this mash stuff.. we left the seeds in some sites say not to.. is it bad to do that??
 
I think most people leave the seeds in when making mash. The mash will be hotter that way and it's just too much work to take them out!
 
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Re about boil

Hello

I am new to this site and was wondering about the whole fermentation process. I boiled my mash with canning jars and some sucked down on the lids and others didnt, this is why I came back and read the rest of this post and now I am confused. So now I am going to pop open all my lids and pack down the pepers till the juices come to the top ( by juices do you mean the juice from the peppers or add water to the top after I packed them down and fyi I put a tablespoon of salt at the top pre boil and gave a slight shake) and wait for bubbles. Know here is my question, after I do all this I lightly close the lid now these are canning jars I used if I pack salt around the top where the canning jar ring and the lid connect will that give a well enough seal after the gasses escape, or should I use a completly diffrent container. LOL please help I love hot sauces and this is my first atempt at sacraficing my little babies that I grew all summer.
 
Salt-Free process question???

This is a great thread. I've read lots of other sites and this has the most useful information. One question. I love everything hot, but also have hypertension which means keeping salt low. One good site is Mild to Wild where they describe the process they use to make mash. What's unique is they don't use any salt! I'm wondering if the wine-making water fermentation air locks mentioned on a few posts here could be used and then just skip the salt layering used here? There have no feedback/comments on actual experience from those mentioning air locks. Would appreciate some advice?
Thanks much!
 
I got a hot pepper sauce kit for Christmas a few years back, and it came with
a fermentation air lock. Instructions had no salt layer mentioned.

My puppy at the time ate the freaking air lock while I was happily preparing my
mash, so I never got a chance to use it......
 
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