Trinidad Scorpion Hot Sauce Recipe (Edit recipe)

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Trinidad Scorpion hot sauce is a fermented superhot pepper sauce made with Trinidad Scorpion peppers, beet, ancho chile, Fresno peppers, aromatics, apple cider vinegar, and reserved fermentation brine. This recipe creates an intensely hot sauce with fruity pepper flavor, smoky notes, tangy acidity, and savory depth. The peppers ferment in a 3% salt brine for 28 days before blending, straining, and gently heating. Trinidad Scorpion peppers belong to the superhot pepper category and can reach around 1.5 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU), so the finished sauce is best used in small amounts. The recipe requires about 1 hour of active preparation and finishing, plus 28 days of fermentation. One batch produces approximately 4 cups (950 ml) of strained hot sauce. Serve it with grilled meats, tacos, fried foods, eggs, rice dishes, jerk-style chicken, and other savory meals.

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Original Recipe

PREP TIME

1 hour

COOK TIME

15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

14

Serves: 32

Ingredients

14 oz Chili Peppers
1 Beets
2 Dried Chiles
3 Fresno Chiles
0.5 Red Bell Pepper
0.7 oz Ginger Root
0.7 oz Turmeric
0.5 tsp Cardamom Seed
1 Yellow Onion
5 cups Water, Filtered or distilled water
36 grams Pickling Salt
4 cloves Garlic
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 grams Xanthan Gum, Optional, for texture stability

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Process

Cook Mode

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

Step 1: Prepare the peppers and vegetables. Wear gloves and eye protection before handling Trinidad Scorpion peppers. Remove stems, cut Scorpion peppers into quarters, chop beet, Fresno peppers, bell pepper, ginger, and turmeric into roughly 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces. Remove stems from ancho chiles and slice onion into rings.
Step 2: Make the 3% brine. Combine 5 cups (1.2 L) filtered or distilled water with 36 g non-iodized salt. Stir until the salt completely dissolves.
Step 3: Pack the fermentation jar. Place Trinidad Scorpion peppers, beet, ancho chiles, Fresno peppers, bell pepper, ginger, turmeric, and cardamom into a clean 3 L fermentation jar. Add onion rings on top, place a fermentation weight, then pour in enough brine to fully submerge the vegetables.
Step 4: Ferment for 28 days. Keep the jar in a dark location at 68–72°F (20–22°C) for 28 days. Ensure all vegetables remain below the brine surface. Check for fermentation signs such as bubbles, cloudy brine, and softened vegetables.
Step 5: Drain and blend the fermented ingredients. Drain the fermented vegetables while reserving the brine. Add fermented peppers and vegetables to a blender with garlic cloves, 1 cup (240 ml) apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup (240 ml) reserved fermentation brine. Blend for 60–90 seconds until smooth.
Step 6: Adjust the texture and strain. Press the blended sauce through a fine-mesh sieve for a smoother bottle-style sauce, or keep the solids for a thicker texture. Add xanthan gum while blending if a more stable texture is desired.
Step 7: Heat the finished sauce. Transfer the sauce to a saucepan and heat gradually to 145°F (63°C). Hold at this temperature for 15 minutes while stirring occasionally.
Step 8: Bottle and refrigerate. Transfer the warm sauce into clean glass bottles or airtight jars. Allow containers to cool, then refrigerate.

Notes

Wear nitrile or rubber gloves and protect your eyes when handling Trinidad Scorpion peppers. Keep fermentation vegetables fully submerged under the brine. Use non-iodized salt and filtered or distilled water for the fermentation process. Ferment at 68–72°F (20–22°C) for 28 days for deeper fermented flavor. Trinidad Scorpion peppers are extremely hot, so taste and serve the sauce in very small amounts. Strain the sauce for a smoother bottle texture or keep the pulp for a thicker sauce. Store the finished sauce refrigerated because this homemade recipe does not use a validated shelf-stable preservation process.

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About This Recipe

Show nutritional information

This is our estimate based on online research.
Calories:	23
Fat:	0 g
Carbohydrates:	5 g
Protein:	1 g
Cholesterol:	0 g
Sodium:	5 mg
Fiber:	1 g
Sugars:	2 g
Sugar Alcohol:	0 g
Calculated per serving.