Matt, I think pods dried at lower temperatures taste better than those dried at say 165° or above. And the color remains more vivid. I dry the thin-walled pods until they easily crumble between my fingertips before smoking them. My pepper passion revolves around C. pubescens and you know they aren't going to easily crumble when dry. I dry them until they will break cleanly rather than bend. Smoking time varies quite a bit depending on the wood type used. A couple of hours usually does it. Smoking the dried pods can actually hydrate them somewhat and they sometimes need a little more time in the dehydrator before grinding them. And I want to make clear that I am not an expert at smoking peppers. This is only my 2nd year doing it & I'm still very much in learning mode. JohnT ----- Original Message ----- From: T. Matthew Evans To: Love2Troll ; chile-heads Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2003 11:35 AM Subject: Re: [CH] Smoked Chiles / Powders Thanks, John -- But....do you dehydrate the chiles "completely" prior to smoking? Or, just get them started? How long do you smoke them? Also, why such a low temperature? How long does it take? Obviously, will vary depending on the type of chile.... Thanks again. Matt --- Love2Troll <Love2Troll@kc.rr.com> wrote: > I dehydrate my pods at 95 or 105°F first & then put them in the smoker. My > Little Chief smoker is used only for peppers so as to not impart a meat > taste. > > So far I am satisfied with the results, but am looking forward to hear how > the pros do it. > > Some woods seem to give an adequate smoky taste in a hurry. Mesquite is one > of them. > > JohnT > > >