Chipotles on a 020

Removed seeds and ground in an old blade type coffee grinder. Most but not all peppers were completely dry. Put stragglers in house oven at 170* until dry. Smoke infusion was ok. Overall better than I hoped for first time.

Taste and smells like it should. Hot!

I will probably split them on next batch, prior to smoking, for even more smoke infusion, and to help them dry more completely.

This tray probably produced 1/4 cup of fresh ground chipotle. Prep time is minimal

If you grow peppers and have ample supply of red japs this is a good way to keep them.. The store bought is just fine otherwise.

Thanks for sharing this one again. If I buy them from the store, can I let the green ones go red on the counter?

My experience is if they have begun slightly to turn red you may get some more red after picked. I don't recall green ones turning red after picked.(dunno) Like tomatoes, its best to find the red ripe ones.

If interested, check your local farmer's market on Saturday. There are a couple pepper growers at our NC market in Greensboro. They had red and green.

The good thing about growing them is they produce like crazy and bugs aren't too fond of them. I've grown them in pots.

I have a ton of green ones popping up. I put in three plants to make ABT's this year. It sure is hard to mess up these plants. They are producing like crazy.

Could I try to use my green ones to get a similar result??? I know that red are traditional, but how much difference in flavor is there???

Thanks redoadNC.
Went to my garden yesterday and picked 13 red jalapenos to make some chipotles. Also picked 12 big green japs and cored them, filled with sausage, onions,garlic and cheese and put them in the smoker for about 45 minutes. All my pepper plants are doing well. I have jalapenos, serrano, habanero, and banana peppers and all are producing like crazy.

I am taking your advise and half them before I smoke them. Will do it this weekend. The poppers were really good.

Don't know redoak,

But now you ARE a pepper guy. You've posted a great report, with photos.

That makes you THE guy....

LOL

Glad to see that Smokin' has passed the mantle on to someone that has the time.

Still have the contacts,and friendships,to stay deeply involved,and have the climate.

I've found,that after proving I could do it,I couldn't utilize all my knowledge produced.

Seems like it kept taking us away from the goal of cooking.

Kinda like sauce making.

It is sometimes much more productive to purchase from someone that has the passion,enthusism,and time to specialize in a product.

Go for it.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom:..It is sometimes much more productive to purchase from someone that has the passion,enthusism,and time to specialize in a product.

Well said. I agree...and for the record I don't know squat about peppers except what I've read here...

Second Batch:

Split and removed the seed membrane. Should have removed the stem too - harder to do once dry.

Wanted to see how much smoke they would take. I decided to start in smoker like before, wait for initial heavy smoke period to die down(1 hour or so), turn off smoker open door. Put in fresh wood(maybe not needed but I have extra) and restart once cooled below 100*. I did this 3X then lowered temp to 175* for duration.

If you split them they don't need 24 hours in smoker to dry completely. I started them one evening and they were very dry when I first checked them late the next morning (16-18hr?)

Smoke flavor was improved

Splitting the jalapenos prior to smoking produces better results IMO. Most of all (for my smoker) multiple cold starts with fresh wood produced the smoke level I was after.

Thanks for the updated, I may have to try smoking them too. Splitting them sounds like a good idea to cut the smoking/drying time down, but the heat is in the ribs and seeds. So by tossing them out you should get a mild pepper.

I can never find the red ones so the two times I have made them I used green. I dont spilt them, but instead put a slit in each one lengthwise from near the top to near the bottom which still lets the moisture out. I use these to add a kick to bbq sauce when Im in a pinch. I can take a bottle of off the shelf sauce and add lots of flavor and some kick. I just put one or two of the chipotles in a food processor with the sauce and pulverize. Turns out real good!

just about to do some...

my questioning is about the cookshack temp ??
200f ?

and wood ?? I was thinking mesquite ??

I also have hickory, maple, apple and cherry...??

I'm glad that "Tha Freak" bumped this thread up since I somehow previously missed it. I've been making my own chipotles for many years and thought that I would add my own 2 cents.

There are 2 general types of chipotles, the chipotle morita and the chipotle meco (or ahumado, or tipico). The morita, primarily from the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, are the ones most Americans are familiar with. They're typically reddish brown in color with a leathery texture. The meco is more common to central and southern Mexico, and are light brown or tan in color with a less pliable texture. While they're both smoked jalapenos, the difference between the 2 is in the amount of time the pepper is smoked. The moritas are smoked for a few hours, while the smoking tome for a meco is measured in days. Throughout Mexico the morita is considered far inferior to the meco. Very few mecos make it north of the border since almost all of them are retained internally for personal use. Also, the primary reason that the morita is the chipotle most common to Americans is that they're much cheaper to produce and export.

I first discovered mecos about 20 years ago at a market in the little Mexican village of Chiconcuac, near the ruins of the ancient city of Teotihuacan. I purchased about a half pound was amazed by the taste when ground or used otherwise - much deeper in flavor, more robust, and smokier. I never tried making mecos until I got my 008 5+ years ago, and now it's a cinch.

My method of making chipotles is pretty much as follows:

Type of jalapeno: Reds only, especially the ones with the black stripes on the skin. They've lost the most moisture as they've aged longest.

Quantity: You'll lose a lot of weight, especially with longer smoking times. I normally start with 10 lbs of fresh peppers and end up with 1 lb of chipotles.

Prep: I cut 1 or 2 slits down the sides, and leave the seeds and membranes in. On a few occasions, I've cut the peppers crosswise into rings to reduce the smoking time needed.

Wood: I use 3 oz of oak and 1 oz of mesquite. I don't replenish the wood, because after a point the goal is not to add more smoke, but to continue to drying process.

Process: Smoker temp @ 200F. For moritas - 12-24 hours. For mecos - 3-4 days.

Note: If, when finished, you don't feel they've pulled out enough moisture, you can continue the drying process with a dehydrator, provided you have one. Alternatively, put the chipotles in a single layer in a roasting pan, and into an oven on warm for as many hours as needed.

When done, I remove the stems and grind about half of the finished product for powder. I use the remainder to make chipotles en adobo.

How do you do the adobo?

quote:

Originally posted by Todd G.:
How do you do the adobo?

Todd - For adobo recipe, click here

Thank you. That looks like a keeper. Now all I have to do is find some nice red jalapenos. Your mecos recipe has me all worked up.

Thanks !!!

A lot of good informations !!


question, if you don't replentish the wood, why keep them in for 3-4 days ??

beside beign drier, what do they gain for the extra 72 hours ??

Guys, when you post recipes PLEASE post them in the recipe forum and create a link here.

I hate to see good recipes go unused, but since the title might not tell them, using the recipe section is a good way.

It also helps a lot because after I archive this, the recipes are easier to find in that forum.

Appreciate the help.

Moderator

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinOkie:
Guys, when you post recipes PLEASE post them in the recipe forum and create a link here.

I hate to see good recipes go unused, but since the title might not tell them, using the recipe section is a good way.

It also helps a lot because after I archive this, the recipes are easier to find in that forum.

Appreciate the help.

Moderator

Moved it to the recipe forum with a link.

quote:

Originally posted by Tha Freak:
Thanks !!!

A lot of good informations !!


question, if you don't replentish the wood, why keep them in for 3-4 days ??

beside beign drier, what do they gain for the extra 72 hours ??

Besides drying out more, nothing much happens with the extra time. That's the objective.

As for wood type, is ½hikory ½mesquite a good mix?

Could I just put mesquite or it's too bitter ?

no one on that one ??