[CH] smoked jalapenos
Tony Owens (towens@iafrica.com)
Sat, 22 Aug 1998 11:47:39 +0200
Greetings O Fiery Ones
The very name Chile-Heads filled me with trepidation and fear and now that I
have actually joined your noble organisation and read some of your writings
I realise that capsaicin is not a chemical to be trifled with. I had heard
of chile highs and other nameless horrors but I never realised that growing
these lovely plants could actually lead to madness. I was introduced to the
Capsicum family by the innocent gift of a few seeds from a friend who had
become a raving addict after spending some time at North Texas State
University and my life has been severely changed ever since. I neglect my
wife and and my work and I devote hours of my valuable time trying to grow
habaneros in a Medditeranean climate when they clearly would rather be back
in New Mexico.......sigh.
I did have a bumper crop of jalapenos last season and after many hours of
sweat and toil and a fortune in fuel, I had only managed to produce a few
miserable chipotles and so I hit on another method which is very fast and
produces a nice smoked chile. I split them in half lengthwise and then hot
smoke them (like little fish) for about 15 minutes. I use a handful of saw
dust in an old steel ammunition box fitted with a few grid layers so that I
can pack a lot in. The short time
seems more than enough to saturate them with the smoky flavor. After that I
put the still wet chiles in the sun and let nature do the rest. They dry out
very quickly and taste pretty good.
Best regards from Cape Town, I'm off to my chilepatch to meditate with a jug
of our excellent cheap wine.
Tony