Reaper Madness
Description
I was surprised to see that the Carolina Reaper pepper is no longer the hottest pepper in the world. In fact, there are some new varietals out there such as “Pepper X”, which are clocking in at around 3,000,000 Scoville units for an individual pepper…which is, quite a Lot.
For me, this sauce was more of a tiny experiment, as I know that the Carolina Reaper pepper packs quite a bunch.
I tried to make (and would advise making) a smaller-sized batch of this particular sauce, as it was almost too spicy for me to be enjoyable—and I love spicy foods and condiments!
In any event, you can ferment this sauce in a smaller-sized fermented vessel, as it makes roughly 250 mL of finished sauce, as opposed to the other recipes in this book which yield larger quantities.
One item to note with the SINGLE Carolina Reaper pepper used in this recipe—it was almost too much for me. For this recipe, I’ve recommended using a half of one Carolina Reaper pepper. Add the whole thing if you like—although one half of one Reaper pepper felt like enough here.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Fermentation Time: 1 week, or longer if desired
Yield: 12 oz
Ingredients
Instructions
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Clean a one-pint mason jar with hot soapy water, and set aside to completely dry.
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Add the hot peppers, red onion, pineapple, and strawberry to your clean container.
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In a separate container, mix together the water with the Kosher salt until the salt is completely dissolved.
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Pour the salt water brine over the fruit and vegetables, and press the vegetables down beneath the surface of the brine.
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Cover the submerged contents with a glass or ceramic weight, and close the lid on the jar.
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Allow the contents to ferment at room temperature for roughly one week, or until you are satisfied with the degree of fermentation and acidity.
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Make sure to carefully open the jars at least once per day as they ferment, and make sure the contents remain submerged.
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When you are ready to finalize and bottle your hot sauce, discard 1/3 of the liquid brine.
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Stir together the white wine vinegar with the white granulated sugar until the sugar has dissolved, and add the sugar and vinegar mixture to your fermented hot sauce mixture with the remaining brine.
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Blend the contents using an immersion blender or food processor, and taste the contents.
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Add more salt, sugar, or vinegar, if desired.
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Strain the hot sauce through a fine mesh strainer.
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Transfer the strained hot sauce into individual bottles, and store the bottles in the fridge to cool down.
User Reviews
Be careful–these peppers are super spicy. Consider wearing gloves when handling them!