• Wash peppers. 
  
• Cut peppers into pieces. (Depending on the type of chili you use, you may want to wear gloves and goggles to protect your hands and eyes.)

To Prepare Brine Solution

• Add salt to water.

To Prepare Chilis for Fermentation

• Place chopped chilies into a clean quart-sized jar.
• Add aromatics: a couple cloves of crushed garlic, thyme, onions; whatever you like that will infuse your hot sauce with more flavor.
• Add your brine solution. 
• At this point, the chilis will want to float up. Press them down so they stay below the brine. I used an onion with the outside layers removed; on top of that I placed a pickling weight to keep everything down. If you don’t do this you may get mold growth, a definite no-no! Also, be sure not to use anything metal as it will react with the salt.

Fermentation Process

• Put quart jar on a plate for storage.
• Place a lid loosely on top to allow the CO2 gas that will be created to escape.
• Place the in a dark spot at room temperature, allowing it to ferment for a minimum of 10 days. (Two to three weeks is probably optimal.) 
• Once it is happily fermented, place it in the refrigerator to slow down the fermentation process. 

To make the Hot Sauce

• Remove the pickling weight and pour all of the chili peppers through a strainer. 
• Using a blender or a Vitamix, liquify the peppers, increasing the speed slowly as you go. (You may need to add back a little of the brine to aid in the process.)
• Using a funnel, pour your hot sauce into a decorative bottle, or even a recycled hot sauce bottle. (I used an antique bottle my husband found in the woods.)