Ramp It Up A Notch: Tabasco-Style Ramp Hot Sauce

Looking for a delicious (and spicy) DIY project to work on this spring? This recipe for foraged, tabasco-style ramp hot sauce is sure to turn up the heat. With just a handful of ramp leaves, some jalapeños, and a little bit of patience, you’ll be able to whip up this sauce like a pro.

The following is an excerpt from The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora by Alan Bergo. It has been adapted for the web.

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Preserving & Cooking Dried Ramp Leaves

One of my favorite ways to preserve ramp leaves is to dehydrate them, then crumble them before adding to recipes. Dried ramp leaves lend a telltale aroma to foods but are milder in flavor than either onion or garlic powder, so you can use more of them in your cooking. They also make a good base ingredient for rubs and seasonings.

To dry them, put clean leaves in a dehydrator, making sure to use high heat (145°F/60°C or higher) until the leaves are cracker-dry. Drying at lower temperatures can yield chewy, soft leaves—still delicious, just chewy and difficult to grind to a fine powder. Once dehydrated, store the leaves in an airtight bag or jar, and crumble as needed. For a fine powder for making rubs, grind the dried leaves in a coffee grinder or high-speed blender.

RECIPE: Tabasco-Style Ramp Hot Sauce

Makes about 3 quarts (3 L)

The holy grail of ramp sauces in my world: a long-fermented hot sauce modeled after Tabasco. This makes 3 quarts (3 L), so consider making a half recipe if you don’t want a lot of hot sauce, or if it’s your first time making it. That being said, once you taste this sauce on a plate of eggs, you might want to start doubling the recipe. It’s a great DIY project to start in the spring and enjoy in the cold months.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce (28 g) kosher salt
• 2 cups (480 ml) water
• 14 ounces (400 g) ramp leaves
• 2 pounds (910 g) jalapeño peppers, stemmed and chopped, seeds included, to yield about 13/4 pounds (795 g)
• 3 1/2 cups (850 ml) cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

Procedure

1. Add the salt to the water, and whisk to dissolve. Chop the ramp leaves, combine with the jalapeños, and pack into a 3-quart (3 L) (or larger) container. Pour the salt water over the ramp mix, cover tightly, and store in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks, stirring every few days. After the fermentation stops, the mix- ture will be stable, and you won’t need to stir it (or “burp” it, as chefs say) regularly. Continue aging the mixture for at least 2 months, and up to 6.
2. To finish the sauce, add the cider vinegar and purée 4 cups (945 ml) at a time (or less, if you have a small blender), adding 1/2 tea- spoon of xanthan gum to each 4-cup batch to thicken it slightly. Strain the sauce for the smoothest finished product, discarding the leftover solids. From here, the sauce can be canned and processed in a water bath, which I recommend if you’re giving it as a gift. It’s fine stored at room temperature, but will keep the brightest flavor if refrigerated after opening. It will keep indefinitely.

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