ABT heat

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billbo

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Aug 19, 2007
1,393
34
Upstate NY
I have done some ABT's in the past using Japs and sweet peppers (WBT's) or wimpy buffalo turds.

My question is this. Every time I use Japs they are just so wicked hot that even I cannot eat more than one. I de-seed them so that is not the issue. They are just too spicy to eat. I am not a wimp and love hot food but this is over the top. Am I doing something wrong?
 
Japs are too hot for me too and I find they don't have that much flavor either. I use ancho/poblano (depends on what store I shop at as to what they're called) chiles instead. Just cut it in half lengthwise and fill it that way. There is still some heat, but also a lot more flavor than you get with a jap.
 
WBT's... hilarious.
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Strange...

I've only made ABT's twice - and both times, I was surprised how LITTLE heat there was to these! I mean, considering that for my entire life I've always eaten jalapeños in very small doses, when I smoke these apps I can eat 3 or 4 whole and not notice hardly any heat?? Nothing but good taste coming through...

Maybe this is too simple, but I think you just need to smoke them longer...low and slow seems to take the heat out for me.

What temps and how long are you smoking them now? I would increase the smoke time and see if that helps.
 
I agree, I do mine about 2 hours, and I think a good long smoke, the wrapping in bacon, and putting them right on the grates takes out alot of the heat.
 
I have done the low & slow with no luck, what is this white membrane Nitrous speaks of?
 
The white membrane holds a lot of heat! Its the part that holds the seeds to the meat of the pepper. I take mine and cut length wise in half then scrape out the seeds and the white membrane. I would say that is where your heat is coming from.
 
Also can be called veins. Make sure that all the seeds and the veins are gone. That is where the heat is. Buy a good coring tool and the rest will be history. Friend cleaned up anaheims to add to the mix and one lit me up hard-she didn't know that all the stuff inside had to go. It was a good anaheim but it lit me up.

Steve
 
Thank you everyone! I think the vein is the culprit! Now I need to try another batch!!
 
I leave a little vein in a couple peppers and keep them off to the side to have a few that'll blow the lid off those who like it hot. I can only handle one myself, but I have some buddies that are true chilli heads that can't get it hot enough.

My better half grabbed one of these by accident and took it in one bite then turned beat red... Now she always takes a test bite before taking a whole one down.
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Deseed them and devein them as much as possible, cold water rinse, soak my in Whole milk for about an hour or two and then another cold water rinse and they MAY have a little kick to them but most do not. I too cannot stand the heat but this way I was really surprised that it worked.
 
I've checked out a lot of variables on this heat thing with the jalapenos and one thing I would suggest is to note where you buy them. I can buy the jalapenos at food city here where I live for 99 cents a pound and they are very rarely hot. I can get them at Kroger for 1.49, cook them the same way and they will set you on fire. If I'm not familiar with the jalapenos I'm buying I agree with the suggestion of soaking them in milk for a couple hours before stuffing them making sure you get out the seeds and veins. It also seems the longer cook time the milder they get. I love these things and eat them by the dozen when they aren't too hot. One off the chart hot ones slows me down and I will save them for scrambled eggs the next day.
 
I have grown them 20 years or so and growing the varities from seed and experimenting gives a jap flavor you would have a hard time finding in stores.If i pick some green in june they are NEVER as hot as july-sept.The hot weather makes mine hotter/sweeter

I grow 16 plants. 10 for chipotles powder or re-hydrating/adobes etc...
The rest relatives stuff for bbq comps etc.

When a jap is RED mature and corked the flavor sweetens and in my varities looses some heat.Totaly different then same fruit green.I let them mature to deep red at least two weeks.

Some japs in this years garden










Picked this one wdnesday-4.5 inch x 1.5
 
Now that is a Jap Alex. Wish they would grow that size down here. I'd keep growing them then. Instead, I'll opt out to Sav-A-Lot and there $ .79 to .89 cents a LB. Japs.
 
I love hot peppers and eat them like candy so JAPs don't seem hot to me. I use Habanero Hot Sauce on about everything, the wife doesn't even like black pepper so I guess opposites do attract. LOL

Here is a link to the Scoville Heat Scale showing how hot each pepper is. It may be useful to some of you.

http://ushotstuff.com/Heat.Scale.htm
 
I find that cooking them till the bright shiny green color has been replaced by a sort of army drab olive color gets rid of some of the heat. The best way to do Japs so they are not to hot is to do Anehiems instead of Japs. They are somewhere between a Jap and a bell pepper in the heat range. My wife likes Japs with minced serranos inside them I like the WBT's myself.
 
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