The picture above was taken about a month ago. This is a collection of Thai chili, cherry bomb, habenero, serrano, and jalapeno peppers. The jalapenos and serranos were segregated and the red and orange chilis were ground and tossed with a generous amount of garlic, salt, and a little vodka, and were set aside to ferment. Adding salt to vegetables causes the onset of lactic fermentation, the same biological process at work in Kosher pickles or sauerkraut, producing a pleasant tang and causing a host of complex flavors and aromas to develop. Fermentation is one of my very favorite ways we manipulate food. It gives us spirits, wine and beer, dry cured sausages, cheese, bread, soy sauce and miso...all the things I love to eat most. It can be tricky to control and early efforts often end in failure, but when it works, remarkable things happen.
Here we are a month later, bottled and ready to burn. After fermenting, the sauce was pureed and strained and a little cider vinegar was added. It has a great tang, a ton of garlic, and a fairly generous amount of heat thanks to our friend the habenero. Not so spicy that the full flavor of fermentation and the character of the peppers is obscured.
This process mimics the one used in making Tabasco, thought theirs takes three years and happens in wooden barrels. One day...
Stop into Reserve and check it out with some oysters. Right now we have Kumomoto, Fanny Bay, and Misty Point. The Misty Points are from Chesapeake Bay, are a bit salty, and have a celery like flavor. Perfect vehicle for hot sauce.
Wow, it is great to see all the blog posts. I attended some cooking classes at Journeyman and have always appreciated what you're doing Chef Millar (and staff). I'm a little slow though, having just found out you are at Reserve. Better late then never, I guess. Good luck, can't wait to make it in.
ReplyDelete