Depending on the ambient temperature of your kitchen, the fermentation process could take as little as a week, or as long as three. It hasn’t been very cold this winter, so I found that the chile mash took about 12 days to ferment properly. You’ll know that fermentation has slowed when the mash sinks back down to in the jar. At this point, it should smell like Sriracha. You’ll probably be more than ready to eat it.

After fermentation has slowed down, transfer the chile mash to a blender with distilled vinegar and puree. Photo: Kate Williams

But before digging in, you’ll need to turn the chunky chile mash into smooth sauce. First, transfer the mash to a blender (the stronger the motor, the better) with 1/2 cup of regular white vinegar. Slowly crank the blender up to high and puree the mixture as smooth as possible. Once it looks smooth, blend it some more.

When straining the mixture, use a spatuala to press as much of the chile flesh through the strainer as possible. Leave only a dry mixture of skins and seeds behind. Photo: Kate Williams

Now pour the vinegar and chile mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a medium saucepan. I like to use a spatula or wooden spoon to smoosh as much of the chile flesh through the strainer as possible, leaving behind only the seeds and remaining pieces of skin. (If your strainer is on the small side, you will likely need to do this step in batches. Take your time, and consider this step to be your arm workout for the week.)

Finally, once I’ve smooshed the puree through the strainer, I bring the sauce to a simmer, and continue to cook it until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Now all that’s left to do is bottle the sauce; a plastic squeeze bottle is nice for serving, but I like the aesthetics of a glass bottle myself. Go ahead, use it on everything.

Recipe: DIY Sriracha

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup plain yogurt with live cultures
1 1/2 pounds red jalapenos or Fresno chiles, stems snipped off leaving green tops intact
12 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

Equipment:

Fine-mesh strainer
Coffee Filters
Food processor
Blender
1-quart glass jar with two-part lid
Medium saucepan
Glass jar or plastic squeeze bottle for storage

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DIY Sriracha: Make it at Home and Never Worry About a Hot Sauce Shortage Again