Mango Habanero Cherry Bomb Sauce

Mango Habanero Cherry Bomb Sauce

(Approximately 60 fluid oz. (1.75 L) finished hot sauce)

Though not a beer recipe, this hot sauce made with Lactobacillus-fermented hot peppers is another use I have for my “kettle” souring keg. It’s a cleaner tasting alternative to vinegar-based sauces. The fruit adds sweetness that balances the heat. Use this sauce on eggs, burritos, pizza, or your favorite chip or cracker-like delivery vehicle.

Ingredients (day 1)
4 tbsp. corn sugar
1⁄2 Goodbelly StraightShot or 1 Swanson Probiotic L. plantarum capsule
48 fluid oz. (1.4 L) spring water or other dechlorinated water
4 oz. (0.11 kg) orange habanero peppers, sanitized, stemmed and quartered
16 oz. (0.45 kg) cherry peppers, sanitized, stemmed and cut into eighths
5 large cloves garlic, sanitized and crushed
Sea salt

Ingredients (after fermentation)
16 oz. (0.45 kg) mango chunks

Step by Step

Pre-Fermentation Process

Stir together the sugar, the Goodbelly or the contents of the L. plantarum capsule, and water in a mixing bowl. Add the prepared peppers and garlic. Weigh the mixed ingredients (excluding the weight of the bowl) and add sea salt equal to 3% of the other ingredients’ weight, stirring well.

Fermentation Process

Transfer ingredients to souring keg. Seal the keg and purge with CO₂, leaving about 20 PSI of pressure in the headspace after purging.

Allow the L. plantarum to ferment the pepper mixture for about 3 days at 95 °F (35 °C) or about a week at room temperature, shaking/swirling the keg daily.

Post-Fermentation Process

Transfer the pepper mixture to a blender and blend until most of the seeds are no longer whole. Pour the contents into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by about 50%. Transfer to the blender and purée along with the mango chunks. Transfer to the kettle and heat to at least 180 °F (82 °C) and hold for at least 8 minutes. Bottle in sanitized bottles or jars and refrigerate until use.

Tips for success:

If fermenting in a container other than a dedicated souring keg, flood the container headspace (if possible) with CO₂ and cover as tightly as possible. Keep the container close to 95 °F (35 °C).

Leaving 20 PSI of pressure in the souring keg’s headspace after purging helps ensure positive pressure to keep the
keg sealed.

If you do not have a spunding valve, check the keg’s pressure periodically and if the souring keg’s pressure actually increases (unlikely), bleed some of it off using the pressure relief valve. 

Don’t worry if your souring keg’s thermowell doesn’t reach all the way down into the pepper mixture. It will still measure the temperature well enough.

This recipe makes a fairly thick, “toothy” sauce that can be poured very controllably without a “shaker” bottle insert. For a thinner sauce, you could skip the “simmer until reduced” step, but you’d need a blender larger than the typical 2-qt. (2-L) size, or would have to split the final purée step into two stages.

This recipe can easily be scaled up, with all ingredients
scaled proportionally, as there is plenty of room in the souring keg. However, the purée steps would have to be split into multiple stages.

As written, the recipe makes a sauce with a “medium” or “medium-plus” heat. For a hotter sauce, increase the habanero peppers and decrease the cherry peppers, while holding the total weight constant. For a smokier, less “citrusy” sauce, substitute red Fresno peppers for the cherry peppers. Finally, try other fruits (raspberries work well) as a substitute for some or all of the mango.