Smoked paprika?

[SimmerSizzle]

Sorry if this is a dumb question...has anyone bought regular paprika and then smoked it, instead of spending a fortune on smoked paprika? Or is it the pepper pods that are smoked, and then ground?

 

[johnmeyer]

Is smoked paprika really that much more expensive than regular paprika? I have never seen much difference. By the time you fire up the smoker, and spend money on fuel and chips smoking the paprika, any difference would be narrowed.

I'd be much more interested in finding out if someone has actually smoked their own paprika, and if so, was the final product better tasting than what you can buy in the store?

As for paprika itself, there is a HUGE difference in quality between expensive Penzy (and other high-end spice brands) and generic brand paprika. For some things, like rubs, I don't think it pays to spend the extra money on the good stuff, but if you're making a goulash or something else where paprika is the star, my recommendation would be to splurge and get the best.

 

[GaryHibbert]

I smoke store bought paprika all the time--both Hungarian and the cheap bulk stuff. The Smoked Hungarian Paprika is, IMO, much, much better.
Just spread the paprika out over a shallow tinfoil dish (pie plates work great) or a pizza pan. Put it in the smoker for
5 1/2 hours of cold smoking. My preferred wood for paprika is hickory. Then bottle it up in an airtight container and let it sit for about a week. The results are fantastic.
Gary

 

[bluewhisper]

The variable thing about paprika is, it's fine-ground red pepper - but what kind of pepper? How hot?

You can buy a big bag of dried red peppers like New Mex, stem them and smoke them. With the right combination of heat and time, they lose their leathery texture and you can crumble and grind them.

I have a few smoked pepper powders on hand, mostly rather hot, but I also have some smoked Guajillo which isn't hot but really rich in a chili.

Sometimes I've bought whole chipotles, usually Jalapenos, and those are usually smoked to the point of being rigid and dry. That must take a while. I'd like to watch that process. They must run huge batches. Imagine getting a whiff of that.

 

[johnmeyer]

I smoke store bought paprika all the time--both Hungarian and the cheap bulk stuff. The Smoked Hungarian Paprika is, IMO, much, much better.
Just spread the paprika out over a shallow tinfoil dish (pie plates work great) or a pizza pan. Put it in the smoker for
5 1/2 hours of cold smoking. My preferred wood for paprika is hickory. Then bottle it up in an airtight container and let it sit for about a week. The results are fantastic.
Gary

Thanks, Gary, that's really useful information. I wouldn't have known to cold-smoke it and would have tried something like 150 degrees.

 

[dls1]

Sorry if this is a dumb question...has anyone bought regular paprika and then smoked it, instead of spending a fortune on smoked paprika? Or is it the pepper pods that are smoked, and then ground?

The paprika we use exclusively is smoked Spanish Pimenton de La Vera. When harvested, the peppers are stemmed then smoke-dried over a Mediterranean species of oak known as Holm oak for 2-3 weeks. From there, the peppers are ground using a series of stone wheels (usually 8) which move very slowly to avoid heat build up from excessive friction. The end result is a paprika that has a very distinct, yet smooth, smoky aroma and flavor that can't be compared to the run of the mill "smoked" paprika commonly available on U.S. grocery store shelves.

I have no idea how the peppers are processed for mass producers such as McCormick, etc., but I can't imagine that the same or similar process is used as it would be too cost prohibitive to them. If I had to guess, I would say that the peppers are kiln-dried, ground, them smoked.

 

[SimmerSizzle]

Excellent! Thank you so much. We are going to try cold smoking it. I've been making dry rubs for the different meats we've been smoking, and I want to use smoked paprika. From looking it up online, and in stores, it seems much more expensive, so this will be interesting. I've looked up what kind of peppers paprika is made from, and I can't get a clear answer, so we'll try this first. Maybe by next growing season, I can come up with an idea of what to plant. Thank you everyone for your help!