Fermentation Creations with Brian: Breakfast Hot Sauce

Last month, we learned about making hot honey from a long-time employee, Brian R., as a foray into hot sauces and fermentation. Today, Brian comes to us with a simple way to make a hot sauce to keep in your fridge that will add flavor to a variety of your favorite foods. Brian's favorite use? Breakfast!

For some time my children and I have been trying to create a breakfast hot sauce. We've had a few failures but after some trial and error, we have landed on the right formula. This is the recipe I will be sharing with you today!

This recipe involves lacto-fermentation. You may be wondering, "What is lacto-fermentation"? Lacto-fermentation is the process by which bacteria break down the sugar in foods and form lactic acid. While lactic acid acts as a preservation method of food, it's also key to creating flavor profiles you find in foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha.

Things you will need: 

  • one 12-ounce mason jar or jar with a rubber seal and latch that can be burped twice a day, OR, a fermentation kit*

  • one tomato 

  • one red onion

  • two cloves of garlic 

  • two habaneros 

  • salt 

  • water 

*Fermentation kits are easily accessible and relatively inexpensive!

Recipe:

  1. Make sure your hot sauce vessel is clean. Wash it with warm soapy water and dry with a towel.

  2. Rinse off your tomatoes and habaneros to get any unwanted residue that could throw off your fermentation. 

  3. Quarter the tomato and dice half the red onion. Peel the two cloves of garlic and half the habaneros. (You can de-seed the habaneros if you're concerned about the level of heat.)

  4. Start to fill your jar. I like to do half of the onions on the bottom then I add the garlic, habaneros, tomatoes, and then top it off with the remaining onions. You may have too much veg and it won't all fit depending on the size of your vegetables. If that's the case just fill it with even amounts almost up to the lip of the jar. Make sure to leave a little room for air, about a half-inch.

  5. Add a teaspoon of salt and then fill it with water until all the vegetable mixture is submerged, remembering to leave a half-inch of air. I use less salt than most, so adjust accordingly to your tastes.

  6. Now put the tops on. Or, if you're using a jar, latch the lid. Store in a dark place that is between 55 and 75 degrees. If you are working with a fermentation kit, leave it for 7 to 9 days before processing the vegetables. If you are using a jar, burp it once or twice a day by unlatching the jar and moving the lid open and closed to let the built-up pressure release.

  7. After 7 to 9 days take the jar out of storage. Open and remove the small film of mold off the top. Place the contents of the jar in a blender and blend them until they are smooth. Pour the now blended veg into a wire mesh colander over a bowl. With a spatula work the remaining veg through the screen. 

  8. Funnel the hot sauce into your bottle or its vessel and refrigerate. Let the flavors marry for a couple of days. After two days, you should have a super delicious hot sauce! I love to use it for breakfast eggs, skillets, and more.

What We Eat

For all the years leading up to my time at the Smokehaus, I ate the Cajun Finn. Exclusively. My only deviation was if I was lucky enough to show up on Taco Tuesday. Once I started working here, I knew I needed to explore the very expansive menu for no other reason than product knowledge. While doing research under the cloak of product testing, I learned what I've always known: we make some ridiculously good food. If you’ve ever come to the deli and asked the person working what their favorite sandwich is and saw them hesitate, hmm and haw... it’s for good reason. There’s much to choose from and rarely is it a bad choice. While I still love The Finn, I have yet to go wrong deviating from my old standby.

I took an informal poll of some staff (okay, I drug them aside and demanded an answer), veteran and new-ish and everything in-between. Here are the results: 

Nic P: "Italiensk. I love it because it features our salamundos (large diameter salamis) and the mortadella which are some of my favorite products we make here."

Cho: “Probably The ‘06 because I really like our bison pastrami. Our meats are so quality and you can really taste it in the pastrami. And who doesn’t love a toasty sandwich?"

Tyler: “The ‘06 or a Phoebe for a good food coma. If I need to go light: Sitka Sushi for the win. Or, a pizza on a naan”.  Author’s notes: I had to inform Tyler that pizza, indeed, is not on our menu. No, really, we can't make you a pizza.

Emma: “Spring Roll on a Square (vegan mode!). I love the pickled veg, it has such a unique flavor profile. The almonds? DEVINE. So good! They give it the crunch. God bless Patricia.” Author's Note: Our Spring Roll used to be served on a Naan (thus, the "roll") but moving forward it will be served on a square ciabatta which makes this solid vegetarian option a vegan sandwich too!

Cal: "D-Luxxx with Turkey. Always the turkey. Or, a Cold Turkey or, a Cedar's Secret. The turkey is so good." Author's note: Cal's been working here since he's been in the womb. So if he says the turkey's good, it's good.

Nicholas Matthew Ruszat Klee: “For years I’ve ordered the Cold Turkey, now I make the Cold Turkey, thus the circle of life continues.” When asked what he would do if we were out of Crayo, a critical ingredient in this second best selling sandwich, Nick responded, mournfully, that he “would simply weep”. 

Taylor P: "Big Dipper. The porketta here is so good and it feels like the regional favorite that I grew up eating is less common. Plus, people generally wouldn't think of making a sandwich with this as the key ingredient."

Brian: "Hedonist or Bahn Faux Mi. Both feature the country pâté which has such a great, complex flavor. I see people who have worked here for a very long time regularly eat the country pâté which is an indicator that a product is good and has lasting power."

Justin: "Bahn Faux Mi." Author's notes: Justin is a man of few words.

Ben: "I worked in the pizza industry for a long time. When I go to a place that specializes in pizza, I get the most basic thing they have, a cheese pizza. If their crust and their sauce aren't great, their pizza won't be great. So here, I would recommend some of our most basic sandwiches like the The Northern Bagel with Smoked Salmon or Gravlax. You'll get to taste what we do best and guaranteed, it will be delicious."

Have a Gift Card?

For a little over a year now, we moved to a pick-up and delivery model here at our humble little deli. It has had its challenges and we work to stay in front of those as fast as you can say “One Cajun Finn, please”.  Many of you have wondered, “Can I use this gift card burning a hole in my pocket if I can’t come inside the deli?” YES! Yes you can!!

But first, let's determine what KIND of gift card you have. We have two varieties here at The Smokehaus: the online "gift card" (really an online coupon) and physical gift cards (see picture below.)

The online gift cards are for orders placed in our nationwide shipping mail order department. Sending someone from out-of-town a little love from MN? This is where you would use this. The second species of gift card is a physical card that you would normally use at the register... normally. Except that things aren't the normal we used to know.

Gift-Card-2019.jpeg

To order for pick-up or delivery using your gift card:

  1. Call us to place your order. (218-724-7307, Option 1)

  2. Let us know you’re paying with a gift card and take note of the numbers on the back because they are extra tiny. We’ll ask you for those numbers to process the payment.

Need a last minute gift for your friend that you haven’t seen a year… because Covid? We’ve got you! Call us on the phone and we’ll treat that gift card just like a sandwich order and coordinate with you on a pick up here at the deli.