ok, dr. d... went to the grocery store and checked out some ingredients, i think i'm about ready. but please help clarify a few things first (or if anyone else wants to chime in)...
1: on a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your concoction? 1 being very mild, 10 being very, very hot. i'm usually partial to an 8 or so, not quite advanced enough to handle something extreme...
about a 7 ish. IIRC it started off hotter and became more mild. To get it hotter add more Jalapeno seeds. The seeds are what adds spice. So "gut" 10 jalapenos and if it needs to be hotter add more. You can always add more, you can't take away.
2: would you recommend leaving the batch on the counter, or letting it sit in the fridge? did you notice any difference between the two batches?
No difference. The salt and honey preserves it well. I would suggest keeping it mostly anaerobic though cause with the air in there it kinda separated and tasted a little like dead mold. Not bad, just not as "fresh"
3: how long did the sauce sit before you considered it "ready"?
Right away. I have noticed no change over time. Again, I attribute it to the salt and honey preserving it. If you want to attempt at a fermenting hot sauce (which would honestly be closer to a salsa with a thick texture) then instead of blending just chop and add salt, then jar it and let it sit anaerobic for a month. But I like the runny hot sauce personally, it has an even flavor.
i really don't know much about peppers, and how hot they are... most spicy mexican dishes i've enjoyed have been red colored... would you recommend red peppers over the green? are these more spicy? there were a lot of different varieties of peppers to choose from... i'm just leery about making a batch i can't handle (mucha caliente no es bueno! sin salsa de fuego, por favor!), and not knowing how to calm it down for the next batch...
the red and green have different flavors. Green actually is usually spicier because the red is tomato based and the green is jalapeno based. Often they will use some sort of smoky flavor that I can only attribute to sun-dried tomatoes... maybe with some garlic, but definitely there is a cooked flavor there so I doubt we could get that raw. Maybe cold-smoking? Idk why though. For spiciness, keep out the seeds as you mix all the plant matter together. Mix more in until you reach desired hotness.
I'm planning on making another installment with a red sauce when I make it. I just havent gotten to it yet. My green has lasted so long and is good.
By the way, As a suggestion, try taking a glass-full out and adding in some ACV, probably about 1 tbsp. worth for that much hot sauce. That is what gives the zing/tang over the spice in hot sauce like in tobasco. Although, this isnt a tobasco recipe and being raw it tastes different. But still good.