Yesterday I smoked dried peppers. Nothing could be easier. Drip pan? Save it. Internal temperature? Pffft. Too much smoke? Bring it. Get distracted and leave the food on the grate overnight? No problem.
This time it was guajillos. I chose them because they have a mild heat level. I have bags and jars of smoked hot peppers like habaneros and such, and I love them, but I wanted some smoked pepper flavor without the heat that turns other people away.
These are big flat pods with a leathery texture; you can fold them. Normally they are simmered to reconstitute, then made into a sauce. For smoking, they can go straight onto the grate. I ran a smoky maple fire in the offset and the cooking chamber never reached a normal smoking temp range. Ambient temperature was about 50F with a strong breeze.
The result is dried brittle pods, not scorched, which is what I wanted. Today I'll stem and seed them, then grind them in the old Oster blender to make a powder. I may or may not add salt, haven't made up my mind.
But wait, there's more! I also got a bag of puyas, a bag of anchos and a bag of de arbol. The de arbol are usually the peppers used in a "diablo" sauce in a Mexican restaurant. I'll smoke those pods today, though the de arbol are small enough that I'll need to make a foil tray for them instead of putting them straight on the grate.
As you might have guessed, I found a good Mexican grocery. I'll be back; I've only begun to hit the meat case.
This time it was guajillos. I chose them because they have a mild heat level. I have bags and jars of smoked hot peppers like habaneros and such, and I love them, but I wanted some smoked pepper flavor without the heat that turns other people away.
These are big flat pods with a leathery texture; you can fold them. Normally they are simmered to reconstitute, then made into a sauce. For smoking, they can go straight onto the grate. I ran a smoky maple fire in the offset and the cooking chamber never reached a normal smoking temp range. Ambient temperature was about 50F with a strong breeze.
The result is dried brittle pods, not scorched, which is what I wanted. Today I'll stem and seed them, then grind them in the old Oster blender to make a powder. I may or may not add salt, haven't made up my mind.
But wait, there's more! I also got a bag of puyas, a bag of anchos and a bag of de arbol. The de arbol are usually the peppers used in a "diablo" sauce in a Mexican restaurant. I'll smoke those pods today, though the de arbol are small enough that I'll need to make a foil tray for them instead of putting them straight on the grate.
As you might have guessed, I found a good Mexican grocery. I'll be back; I've only begun to hit the meat case.
