I've been updating my old post about finding a co-packer with my current hot sauce endeavors. I decided to ask Huskee to split my recent posts from my old thread into a separate topic since the updates really should have their own topic (he will add them below now that I've made this new post)
I grow some of the peppers in my garden since they are the two main peppers in the sauce and one of them I can't find for sale anywhere. When I have enough I add a few other peppers from the store along with some garlic and I run them through a food processor until they are a coarse mash. I add 2.5% salt and then let them ferment. The salt lets the beneficial bacteria do their magic while preventing bad bacteria (botulism) from growing. When they finish fermenting the pH is about 3.5. By law the pH must be below 4.6 to be safe. I then add some vinegar and let the mash set for a month or so before straining and adding more vinegar to the right consistency. The pH at this point ranges between 3.2 - 3.35. Then I bottle and sell it. I have to note the batch number on the labels.
This is all done according to the Texas Cottage Industry laws which means that I have to produce everything in my residential kitchen and keep a log of each batch. I can't use a separate room or building on my property for this. I also have a Texas Food Handler's license.
I am currently producing three products:
Original Recipe: A blend of six peppers. It is a little hotter than Tabasco and has less vinegar.
Heavenly Hatch: Original recipe with a lot of red Hatch chilies added, about 25% are fire roasted.
Fiery Pepper Powder: The dried and powdered puree that I strain out of the hot sauce; as hot as cayenne but more complex with all of the different peppers added, especially the powder I make from the Heavenly Hatch which has a toasty aroma and flavor from the fire roasted peppers.
The name of my cottage business, Neches Hot Sauce Company, comes from the Neches River which empties into Lake Sabine here. Numerous businesses around here are called "Neches ....." and one of the nearby towns is Port Neches.
I grow some of the peppers in my garden since they are the two main peppers in the sauce and one of them I can't find for sale anywhere. When I have enough I add a few other peppers from the store along with some garlic and I run them through a food processor until they are a coarse mash. I add 2.5% salt and then let them ferment. The salt lets the beneficial bacteria do their magic while preventing bad bacteria (botulism) from growing. When they finish fermenting the pH is about 3.5. By law the pH must be below 4.6 to be safe. I then add some vinegar and let the mash set for a month or so before straining and adding more vinegar to the right consistency. The pH at this point ranges between 3.2 - 3.35. Then I bottle and sell it. I have to note the batch number on the labels.
This is all done according to the Texas Cottage Industry laws which means that I have to produce everything in my residential kitchen and keep a log of each batch. I can't use a separate room or building on my property for this. I also have a Texas Food Handler's license.
I am currently producing three products:
Original Recipe: A blend of six peppers. It is a little hotter than Tabasco and has less vinegar.
Heavenly Hatch: Original recipe with a lot of red Hatch chilies added, about 25% are fire roasted.
Fiery Pepper Powder: The dried and powdered puree that I strain out of the hot sauce; as hot as cayenne but more complex with all of the different peppers added, especially the powder I make from the Heavenly Hatch which has a toasty aroma and flavor from the fire roasted peppers.
The name of my cottage business, Neches Hot Sauce Company, comes from the Neches River which empties into Lake Sabine here. Numerous businesses around here are called "Neches ....." and one of the nearby towns is Port Neches.
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