Go Back
Old-Fashioned Louisiana Hot Sauce recipe - photo 4
Chef Ava

Old-Fashioned Louisiana Hot Sauce

A tangy, spicy, wonderfully simple Louisiana-style hot sauce with a fermented and a quick non-fermented method, adding a lively kick to eggs, soups, fried chicken and gumbo.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 20 servings
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Southern
Calories: 8
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound red chili peppers such as cayenne, Tabasco, or red jalapeños
For the Fermented Version
  • 4 cups unchlorinated water
  • 3 tablespoons sea salt
  • 1/2-1 cup white wine vinegar
For the Non-Fermented Version
  • 1 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon salt
  • water as needed for thinning

Method
 

Fermented Version
  1. Chop the peppers and pack them into a clean glass jar, leaving at least 1 inch of space at the top.
    Old-Fashioned Louisiana Hot Sauce recipe
  2. Dissolve the sea salt in the unchlorinated water to make the brine.
  3. Pour enough brine over the peppers to cover them completely. Keep all peppers submerged using a fermentation weight.
  4. Cover with a fermentation airlock or a suitable fermentation lid. Leave at 55–75°F, away from direct sunlight, for 7–14 days.
    Old-Fashioned Louisiana Hot Sauce recipe - photo 2
  5. Check regularly to make sure the peppers remain submerged. Follow your fermentation lid's instructions for safely releasing gas if needed.
  6. Once fermentation is complete, transfer the peppers and brine to a saucepan. Add ½–1 cup vinegar and bring to a quick boil.
  7. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.
  8. Blend until completely smooth, then strain out the solids. Pour into clean bottles and refrigerate.
    Old-Fashioned Louisiana Hot Sauce recipe - photo 3
Non-Fermented Version
  1. Place the chopped peppers, vinegar, and salt in a saucepan.
  2. Bring to a quick boil over medium-high heat.
  3. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the peppers are soft.
  4. Let cool slightly, then blend until smooth.
  5. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time if the sauce is too thick.
  6. Strain out the solids and pour into clean bottles. Refrigerate.
    Old-Fashioned Louisiana Hot Sauce recipe - photo 4

Notes

Total time is 20–25 minutes, excluding fermentation (7–14 days for the fermented version). Keep homemade hot sauce refrigerated. For shelf-stable storage, use a tested preservation recipe and process; do not rely on taste or vinegar alone. A pH of 4.0 or lower is a useful target, but measuring pH by itself does not make a sauce safe for room-temperature storage.