[CH] Here it is - Tabasco recipe
Suzanne (suz@avana.net)
Sat, 22 Aug 1998 08:36:11 -0400
I had enough requests that it seemed prudent just to repost this.
>Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 15:30:25 -0400
>From: Ed Johnson <ejohnso1@maine.rr.com>
>To: "Chile-Heads@globalgarden.com" <Chile-Heads@globalgarden.com>
>Subject: [CH] Here it is - Tabasco recipe
>Sender: owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com
>Reply-To: Ed Johnson <ejohnso1@maine.rr.com>
>
>Hi, everybody. Carey Starzinger was kind enough to respond to my request
>for his Tabasco recipe within an hour of my requesting it! Thanks,
>Carey.
>
>=Forwarded from <stars@sisna.com>
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
>
>Hi Ed,
> And away we go. I have included how I do it as well as the
>original
>McilHenny method. This should be a big hit. I have had the
>fermentation
>start very early in the aging stage, but I have also had a delay of up
>to 6
>months before it started. I assume it is due to temperature
>differences. I
>just set it on a shelf with the fermentation lock on and checked it
>every
>once in a while.
>
> Hope you and all the members enjoy it. I know that I certainly
>do
>and it is worth the effort even though it may take a year or more.
>
>Carey
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>The Original McIlheny method (1800's)
>
>Grind peppers. Add 1/2 cup kosher salt per gallon of ground peppers
>and allow to age 1 month in glass or crockery jars. Add white wine
>vinegar to taste and bottle in cologne bottles. Age before using to
>blend the flavors together. Try to find somebody to buy it. Get
>famous.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>Nowadays they do it the same, except that the salted mash goes
>directly into oak barrels. The mash is packed down and the top sealed
>with oak planks into which holes have been drilled. Avery Island
>(trivia: the "island"`is really a natural salt dome; originally all
>salt used in production came from natural salt digs in the area. ),
>where some of the peppers are grown, is the production site. The
>barrels are topped with a thick layer of salt and allowed to ferment.
>The salt layer serves as a permeable barrier that allows gases to
>escape but allows no bacteria, fruit flies, etc. access to the mash.
>McIlhenny allows them to age three years in these oak barrels. After
>aging, the mash is pulled, checked for quality and, if OK, it is
>blended with white wine vinegar (they don't say how much) and aged
>some weeks more ('nother secret!). Finally, the product is pulled,
>strained and the liquid bottled. They already have buyers and the
>stuff *is* famous.
>
>The US version has potassium sorbate added to inhibit fermentation.
>Same
>method except the peppers are aged not fermented.
>
>Adapting this to your home:
>
>Note: as you must pull the liquid from the peppers, they must be
>fresh, fleshy and of the right state of ripeness. At Avery Island they
>still use the original "critique baton rouge", a red stick tinted to
>the exact color of the peppers to be harvested. Peppers not matching
>the "critique" are rejected. Old or overdried peppers are the key to
>failure. One trick for garden peppers is picking them as they are just
>at the right stage (I've been doing this with habanero peppers for
>weeks), then popping them into freezer bags until you have enough to
>make a batch of sauce.
>
>The ratio of mash to salt seems to be about the same as for
>sauerkraut. Grind peppers, seeds and all, in a medium to fine grind
>(compare To KitchenAid cutters). Mix with Kosher salt and put into
>gallon jug. Add enough sterile water so the whole puree is pourable.
>Place a
>fermentation lock (available from homebrew/wine making shops) on the
>jug.
>Use a campden tablet (from same source as above) in the lock. Liquid
>will
>form. Allow to ferment until the mash stabilizes (stops fermenting). It
>may
>be 3-5 months before obvious fermentation begins. It is a very slow
>ferment.
>It will last a couple of months. Place the whole thing in a larger,
>sterile
>crock and add sterile white wine vinegar to taste. Allow to meld another
>
>week or so. Run the mash through a chinoise, fine strainer, or, last
>resort,
>throw it all into a bowl lined with cheesecloth, fold the cheesecloth up
>
>into a ball (like making cottage cheese) and twist & squeeze until the
>juice is extracted. Adjust for
>taste with salt. Bottle the juice and keep in fridge. You might want
>to heat the sauce to pasteurize it, or not. I use potassium sorbate
>(available from the same homebrew/wine making shop) in the concentration
>for
>wine.
>
>If there is a question as to whether the material has fermented, if the
>liquid that forms on top (with the pepper slurry settled out) is very
>red,
>then fermentation has occurred. Otherwise the liquid on top will be
>very
>pale and almost colorless. (i.e. not red)
>
>Variables: Age of peppers. Variety. Water content. Consistency of
>ripeness.
>
>Hope this helps. Win or lose, it's a lot of fun. The key is : Keep all
>your stuff clean and sanitized! Enjoy the effort! Amaze and astound
>your friends with *your own* hot pepper sauce. If it doesn't beat
>Tabasco, sweat it not. It took him a couple of years to perfect it.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>