George, how do you process the whole peppers before adding the salt?
I.e., seeding, cutting open, etc.
Checking the Google Group archives, it seem that you add about 1/3 to
1/2 cup of pickling salt per gallon of prepared peppers... is that
right? Do you mix the salt in, or layer it on top?
What's the poundage of a gallon of peppers, approximately?

Just picked up about a pound of mixed anaheim, serrano, jalepeno, and
yellow wax peppers, plus a lone habanero.

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I put them through the food processor and coarsely chop them. The salt
goes on top of the peppers, preferably in a crust. Don't have any idea
about what a lb of peppers weigh. The red sauce I just made had about 6
gallons of peppers, that's six gallon zipper bags of peppers, that
almost filled a 3 gallon crock to the top.

I don't worry about "how much" until I get to the point of processing
the stuff into a slurry and then run it through the food mill.

George

Scott wrote:
> George, how do you process the whole peppers before adding the salt?
> I.e., seeding, cutting open, etc.
> Checking the Google Group archives, it seem that you add about 1/3 to
> 1/2 cup of pickling salt per gallon of prepared peppers... is that
> right? Do you mix the salt in, or layer it on top?
> What's the poundage of a gallon of peppers, approximately?
>
> Just picked up about a pound of mixed anaheim, serrano, jalepeno, and
> yellow wax peppers, plus a lone habanero.
>

In article >,
George Shirley > wrote:

> I put them through the food processor and coarsely chop them. The salt
> goes on top of the peppers, preferably in a crust. Don't have any idea
> about what a lb of peppers weigh. The red sauce I just made had about 6
> gallons of peppers, that's six gallon zipper bags of peppers, that
> almost filled a 3 gallon crock to the top.
>
> I don't worry about "how much" until I get to the point of processing
> the stuff into a slurry and then run it through the food mill.


Just chopped up a pound of peppers, and it yielded even less than I
expected, about 2 pints. I put them into a mason jar, and plan to get a
couple more pounds tomorrow. Figured that 2 tablespoons of salt won't do
much of a job covering the mash.

They were mainly green peppers, with the sole red habanero mixed in.
I'll see what I dig up tomorrow.

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Scott wrote:
> In article >,
> George Shirley > wrote:
>
>
>>I put them through the food processor and coarsely chop them. The salt
>>goes on top of the peppers, preferably in a crust. Don't have any idea
>>about what a lb of peppers weigh. The red sauce I just made had about 6
>>gallons of peppers, that's six gallon zipper bags of peppers, that
>>almost filled a 3 gallon crock to the top.
>>
>>I don't worry about "how much" until I get to the point of processing
>>the stuff into a slurry and then run it through the food mill.
>
>
>
> Just chopped up a pound of peppers, and it yielded even less than I
> expected, about 2 pints. I put them into a mason jar, and plan to get a
> couple more pounds tomorrow. Figured that 2 tablespoons of salt won't do
> much of a job covering the mash.
>
> They were mainly green peppers, with the sole red habanero mixed in.
> I'll see what I dig up tomorrow.
>
Watched a John Ratzenberger "Made In America" episode the other day
about making Tabasco. John was "Cliffie the mailman" in Cheers.'

Once Tabasco has the crushed/chopped peppers in the wooden barrel, all
the way to the top, they put the lid on and put the last hoop on it. the
lid has holes drilled in it and the people then layer on about a 2 or 3
inch layer of salt. With them the idea is to exclude air so the peppers
will ferment naturally. At the end of about 3 years they break the salt
crust, dump it and then process the barrel contents. they also talked
about the discolored peppers at the top of the barrel where air got to
them as "oxidized", ie oxygen in the air turned them dark. those peppers
get dumped too. I do much the same thing but on a zillion times smaller
scale. To avoid getting over salty sauce I would throw away the salt at
the end of the fermentation period, that's what I'm doing nowadays and
it makes a better sauce. At least I think it's better. Barb, Bob, what
say ye?

George

George Shirley wrote:

> Scott wrote:
>
>> In article >,
>> George Shirley > wrote:
>>
>>
>>> I put them through the food processor and coarsely chop them. The
>>> salt goes on top of the peppers, preferably in a crust. Don't have
>>> any idea about what a lb of peppers weigh. The red sauce I just made
>>> had about 6 gallons of peppers, that's six gallon zipper bags of
>>> peppers, that almost filled a 3 gallon crock to the top.
>>>
>>> I don't worry about "how much" until I get to the point of processing
>>> the stuff into a slurry and then run it through the food mill.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Just chopped up a pound of peppers, and it yielded even less than I
>> expected, about 2 pints. I put them into a mason jar, and plan to get
>> a couple more pounds tomorrow. Figured that 2 tablespoons of salt
>> won't do much of a job covering the mash.
>>
>> They were mainly green peppers, with the sole red habanero mixed in.
>> I'll see what I dig up tomorrow.
>>
> Watched a John Ratzenberger "Made In America" episode the other day
> about making Tabasco. John was "Cliffie the mailman" in Cheers.'
>
> Once Tabasco has the crushed/chopped peppers in the wooden barrel, all
> the way to the top, they put the lid on and put the last hoop on it. the
> lid has holes drilled in it and the people then layer on about a 2 or 3
> inch layer of salt. With them the idea is to exclude air so the peppers
> will ferment naturally. At the end of about 3 years they break the salt
> crust, dump it and then process the barrel contents. they also talked
> about the discolored peppers at the top of the barrel where air got to
> them as "oxidized", ie oxygen in the air turned them dark. those peppers
> get dumped too. I do much the same thing but on a zillion times smaller
> scale. To avoid getting over salty sauce I would throw away the salt at
> the end of the fermentation period, that's what I'm doing nowadays and
> it makes a better sauce. At least I think it's better. Barb, Bob, what
> say ye?
>
> George
>

I never tasted your earlier works to compare, but the sauces are very nice.
The red is a lot thicker than Tabasco, not nearly as hot, and a much
better flavor. It's similar to the best of the commercial "Louisiana
style" hot sauces. The salt content is just about right. Not too vinegary.

The yellow ("yeller") sauce is a lot closer to Tabasco. I don't know if
that's what you were shooting for.) It's thinner and a lot hotter than the
red. The heat lingers longer than the red. It tastes a lot better than
Tabasco.

Both sauces are keepers, and they are quite different -- not just different
colors.

BTW, I opened that jar of Kumquat Rosemary Marmalade this morning.
Wonderful stuff. It's not very bitter like that seville orange marmalade
that I made, but since I'm not British I don't like marmalade to be overly
bitter. I can taste the kumquat in it; not just a vague citrus taste. I
don't taste the rosemary, but I smell it and it goes very well with the
citrus flavor. The sprig of rosemary in the top of the jar was a nice touch.

I'm making whole wheat bread today; planning to eat a lot of toast next week.

Best regards,
Bob

zxcvbob wrote:
> George Shirley wrote:
>
>> Scott wrote:
>>
>>> In article >,
>>> George Shirley > wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> I put them through the food processor and coarsely chop them. The
>>>> salt goes on top of the peppers, preferably in a crust. Don't have
>>>> any idea about what a lb of peppers weigh. The red sauce I just made
>>>> had about 6 gallons of peppers, that's six gallon zipper bags of
>>>> peppers, that almost filled a 3 gallon crock to the top.
>>>>
>>>> I don't worry about "how much" until I get to the point of
>>>> processing the stuff into a slurry and then run it through the food
>>>> mill.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Just chopped up a pound of peppers, and it yielded even less than I
>>> expected, about 2 pints. I put them into a mason jar, and plan to get
>>> a couple more pounds tomorrow. Figured that 2 tablespoons of salt
>>> won't do much of a job covering the mash.
>>>
>>> They were mainly green peppers, with the sole red habanero mixed in.
>>> I'll see what I dig up tomorrow.
>>>
>> Watched a John Ratzenberger "Made In America" episode the other day
>> about making Tabasco. John was "Cliffie the mailman" in Cheers.'
>>
>> Once Tabasco has the crushed/chopped peppers in the wooden barrel, all
>> the way to the top, they put the lid on and put the last hoop on it.
>> the lid has holes drilled in it and the people then layer on about a 2
>> or 3 inch layer of salt. With them the idea is to exclude air so the
>> peppers will ferment naturally. At the end of about 3 years they break
>> the salt crust, dump it and then process the barrel contents. they
>> also talked about the discolored peppers at the top of the barrel
>> where air got to them as "oxidized", ie oxygen in the air turned them
>> dark. those peppers get dumped too. I do much the same thing but on a
>> zillion times smaller scale. To avoid getting over salty sauce I would
>> throw away the salt at the end of the fermentation period, that's what
>> I'm doing nowadays and it makes a better sauce. At least I think it's
>> better. Barb, Bob, what say ye?
>>
>> George
>>
>
> I never tasted your earlier works to compare, but the sauces are very
> nice. The red is a lot thicker than Tabasco, not nearly as hot, and a
> much better flavor. It's similar to the best of the commercial
> "Louisiana style" hot sauces. The salt content is just about right.
> Not too vinegary.
>
> The yellow ("yeller") sauce is a lot closer to Tabasco. I don't know if
> that's what you were shooting for.) It's thinner and a lot hotter than
> the red. The heat lingers longer than the red. It tastes a lot better
> than Tabasco.
>
> Both sauces are keepers, and they are quite different -- not just
> different colors.
>
> BTW, I opened that jar of Kumquat Rosemary Marmalade this morning.
> Wonderful stuff. It's not very bitter like that seville orange
> marmalade that I made, but since I'm not British I don't like marmalade
> to be overly bitter. I can taste the kumquat in it; not just a vague
> citrus taste. I don't taste the rosemary, but I smell it and it goes
> very well with the citrus flavor. The sprig of rosemary in the top of
> the jar was a nice touch.
>
> I'm making whole wheat bread today; planning to eat a lot of toast next
> week.
>
> Best regards,
> Bob

The yellow was meant to be hotter than the red. Next time I may put a
few yellow bells in the mix to tone it down a bit. We like the rosemary
kumquat marmalade too, so far a pint of it has gone on toast and fresh
baked biscuits. Got it off this NG some time ago, would have to look to
see who from. It was originally rosemary orange marmalade but I don't
grow oranges, yet. I've been making kumquat marmalade for years and am
seriously thinking about a hot pepper kumquat marmalade next year. May
have to do very small batches until I get it right.

Those yellow peppers were also made into a hot pepper jelly that will
like your heart fires. I do like it on a rotisseried pork loin though,
both as a baste and as a condiment.

Eldest grandson, his wife and daughter are coming to visit today,
driving over from Houston area. We're having grilled ribeyes, GDIL's
favorite meat and one they can't often afford, baked potatoes,
vegetarian beans, ie pork and beans without the pork, freshly made
dinner rolls (rising first time as we speak), and cherry pie with Blue
Bell Homemade Vanilla on top.

Tomorrow breakfast will be taquitos: flour tortillas warmed and filled
with scrambled eggs, chorizo sausage, cheese, and salsa. Grandson can
eat about eight of them.

George

In article >,
George Shirley > wrote:

> Once Tabasco has the crushed/chopped peppers in the wooden barrel, all
> the way to the top, they put the lid on and put the last hoop on it. the
> lid has holes drilled in it and the people then layer on about a 2 or 3
> inch layer of salt. With them the idea is to exclude air so the peppers
> will ferment naturally. At the end of about 3 years they break the salt
> crust, dump it and then process the barrel contents. they also talked
> about the discolored peppers at the top of the barrel where air got to
> them as "oxidized", ie oxygen in the air turned them dark. those peppers
> get dumped too. I do much the same thing but on a zillion times smaller
> scale. To avoid getting over salty sauce I would throw away the salt at
> the end of the fermentation period, that's what I'm doing nowadays and
> it makes a better sauce. At least I think it's better. Barb, Bob, what
> say ye?
>

So (based on what you said about excluding air), you pack the peppers
down when you put them in the container? How thick is the salt layer?
I didn't have the optimal container; I used a... oh, I don't know, about
a three litre glass mason jar, and the chopped pepper comes up about
halfway. I added 1/4 cup salt, which covered all the peppers, but by no
more than 1/16" or so. I suppose that, if I'm tossing the salt anyway, I
could just add more on to make sure everything's adequately covered.

I suppose I won't have anything usable until this fall, or thereabouts.

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Scott wrote:

> In article >,
> George Shirley > wrote:
>
>
>>Once Tabasco has the crushed/chopped peppers in the wooden barrel, all
>>the way to the top, they put the lid on and put the last hoop on it. the
>>lid has holes drilled in it and the people then layer on about a 2 or 3
>>inch layer of salt. With them the idea is to exclude air so the peppers
>>will ferment naturally. At the end of about 3 years they break the salt
>>crust, dump it and then process the barrel contents. they also talked
>>about the discolored peppers at the top of the barrel where air got to
>>them as "oxidized", ie oxygen in the air turned them dark. those peppers
>>get dumped too. I do much the same thing but on a zillion times smaller
>>scale. To avoid getting over salty sauce I would throw away the salt at
>>the end of the fermentation period, that's what I'm doing nowadays and
>>it makes a better sauce. At least I think it's better. Barb, Bob, what
>>say ye?
>>
>
>
> So (based on what you said about excluding air), you pack the peppers
> down when you put them in the container? How thick is the salt layer?
> I didn't have the optimal container; I used a... oh, I don't know, about
> a three litre glass mason jar, and the chopped pepper comes up about
> halfway. I added 1/4 cup salt, which covered all the peppers, but by no
> more than 1/16" or so. I suppose that, if I'm tossing the salt anyway, I
> could just add more on to make sure everything's adequately covered.
>
> I suppose I won't have anything usable until this fall, or thereabouts.
>

I have a three gallon crock and three one gallon crocks that I use. I
save the peppers in zip bags in the freezer until I get enough to fill a
crock to the top. I do pack them down but not greatly, just enough to
even out the peppers. I used to use just enough salt to sprinkle on the
peppers but have determine I will use the Tabasco method in the future
and try to exclude the air by packing pickling salt atop the crock full
of chopped peppers. I would think you could add salt to the pureed
peppers when you start processing them to give you the taste you want. I
figure enough gets in there from the top layer that I don't worry about it.

I'm not making sauce this year or even next as I have more than enough
to last two years on hand. The 2005 pepper crop will include peppers to
make the 2006 vintage sauce. How's that for planning?

George

il Sat, 06 Mar 2004 07:52:35 -0600, George Shirley ha scritto:

> Watched a John Ratzenberger "Made In America" episode the other day
> about making Tabasco. John was "Cliffie the mailman" in Cheers.'
>
> Once Tabasco has the crushed/chopped peppers in the wooden barrel, all
> the way to the top, they put the lid on and put the last hoop on it. the
> lid has holes drilled in it and the people then layer on about a 2 or 3
> inch layer of salt. With them the idea is to exclude air so the peppers
> will ferment naturally. At the end of about 3 years they break the salt
> crust, dump it and then process the barrel contents. they also talked
> about the discolored peppers at the top of the barrel where air got to
> them as "oxidized", ie oxygen in the air turned them dark. those peppers
> get dumped too. I do much the same thing but on a zillion times smaller
> scale. To avoid getting over salty sauce I would throw away the salt at
> the end of the fermentation period, that's what I'm doing nowadays and
> it makes a better sauce. At least I think it's better. Barb, Bob, what
> say ye?
>
> George

There goes my idea of turning my tabascos into sauce, I'm not doing
anything that takes 3 years!
--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

Loki wrote:

> il Sat, 06 Mar 2004 07:52:35 -0600, George Shirley ha scritto:
>
>
>>Watched a John Ratzenberger "Made In America" episode the other day
>>about making Tabasco. John was "Cliffie the mailman" in Cheers.'
>>
>>Once Tabasco has the crushed/chopped peppers in the wooden barrel, all
>>the way to the top, they put the lid on and put the last hoop on it. the
>>lid has holes drilled in it and the people then layer on about a 2 or 3
>>inch layer of salt. With them the idea is to exclude air so the peppers
>>will ferment naturally. At the end of about 3 years they break the salt
>>crust, dump it and then process the barrel contents. they also talked
>>about the discolored peppers at the top of the barrel where air got to
>>them as "oxidized", ie oxygen in the air turned them dark. those peppers
>>get dumped too. I do much the same thing but on a zillion times smaller
>>scale. To avoid getting over salty sauce I would throw away the salt at
>>the end of the fermentation period, that's what I'm doing nowadays and
>>it makes a better sauce. At least I think it's better. Barb, Bob, what
>>say ye?
>>
>>George
>
>
> There goes my idea of turning my tabascos into sauce, I'm not doing
> anything that takes 3 years!

None of my sauces lasts in the crock that long either. Tabasco owns a
salt mine and the temperature stays at 52F year around. Longest I've
been able to get them to stay in the crock was a year once and mostly it
is two to three months. There are folks who make a fresh hot sauce and
like it quite well.

George