[CH] Smoked Chiles / Powders

Dannie Scates (dannies@midohio.net)
Sun, 12 Oct 2003 16:29:59 -0400 

(unlurking)
I like to smoke peppers too. (They are cooked and many are burned) 
This is how I got that ‘ole smokehouse’ flavor in the Misc peppers Heavy
smoked with Oak that I offered at the Open Fields this year. (Many
Thanks to Jim Campbell and everyone that was there.)
1. Use only ripe peppers (whatever is available)
2. Wash
3. de-stem
4. slit open to check for mold ect
5. I have made a wire basket made of ½” hardware cloth to fit my
Brinkman Smoker. There is another piece of ¼” hardware cloth I use in
the bottom to contain small peppers. I fill the basket up to 4” deep
with pepper halves placed inside up to hold the juices. I build a
charcoal fire in the fire pan when white ash is visible and no more odor
put the smoke material on top, put the empty water pan in place above
the fire, and place the basket of peppers on the top rack close up and
enjoy the smell.
6. After smoke stops (about 4 hours)check peppers. If they still look
edible, put more smoke material on fire and smoke another 4 hours. Keep
the temp gage below “normal”. This should leave all the peppers cooked,
full of their own juice, and 
some evidence of charring around the edge of the basket.  In other words
they look terrible but smell great.
7. Place these in a dehydrator and dry till brittle. ( no moisture at
all)
8. grind with your favorite grinder. I use a Corona corn mill.
9. store in air tight containers for years
10. mark what you did on the label
11. enjoy

 Dannie

(lurking)
- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: T. Matthew Evans 
To: Chile Heads 
Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2003 10:00 AM
Subject: [CH] Smoked Chiles / Powders


Hello, CH's --

I have smoked chiles many times in the past, but usually for immediate
use -- e.g., I'm smoking some ribs, so I throw a few chiles on the grill
and use them in the barbecue sauce. Late last season, I bought a food
dehydrator, and this past weekend I smoked some chiles to dry and grind
into powder. The problem is, after pulling the chiles out of the
dehydrator, the smoky flavor was nearly gone.

Obviously, it would be ideal to dry the chiles completely in the smoker,
but I have neither the equipment nor the time for that. So, what methods
are used by others on the list for smoking chiles and preserving the
results?

As always, thanks for the help.

Matt