In late summer in Texas almost every grocery store carries the delicious New Mexican Hatch Valley Chile. You can find it freshly roasted out front in a rotary furnace, in salsa, or used in a variety of dishes at the indoor deli. They are really versatile chiles and can be frozen and used year round on everything from burgers to enchiladas.

This year I decided to try another hot sauce project using Hatch chiles and a fairly simple fermentation formula. After blending the chiles, the flavor was really good – heat forward with a slightly smokey, shallot-to-onion flavor. I really liked the fresh, vibrant taste of the mash, but I didn’t think it was hot enough to withstand the mellowing of the fermentation. Plus, I felt a chile like the habanero would round out the heat from front to back.

Here is the formula and the plan:

– 15:1 Hatch chiles to habanero’s with and end concentration of 2.5% Redmond Real Salt (unrefined mineral sea salt). I used about 1500 grams of fresh Hatch chiles.

– Blended with seeds and packed into sterile fermentation jars.

– Allow natural fermentation for 1 month at room temperature then combine with vinegar for 2 to 4 weeks before straining and bottling.

More to follow!

#hotsauce #hatchchile #fermentation #habanero