What type of wood to smoke paprika?

[macnmotion]

I am growing Leutschauer Hungarian Paprika, which I will dry and grind into powder. I'd like to smoke some of the pods to make smoked paprika as well. From what I have read, Oak is traditionally used to make smoked paprika, however I cannot easily get that where I live. I currently have Hickory and Pecan -- would either of those be appropriate for smoked paprika? I also have cherry and apple but I'm assuming fruit wood isn't desired. Any suggestions would be great.

 

[TNJAKE]

Go with the pecan. Will be delicious

 

[macnmotion]

Go with the pecan. Will be delicious

That's where I was leaning. Thanks!

 

[motocrash]

I agree with the pecan, mellow yet flavorful.

 

[chopsaw]

How seasoned is your smoker ? Might not even need any wood to get a light smoke flavor .
I dry peppers in a well seasoned MES 30 . Always has a hint of smoke .

 

[macnmotion]

It's well seasoned. However, growing these chilis takes many months -- I'd hate to smoke them without additional wood only to find they aren't smoky enough.

 

[macnmotion]

Here's the result -- Smoked with pecan and dried in the smoker, then crushed into powder with mortar and pestle

 

[Mr. Zorg]

Here's the result -- Smoked with pecan and dried in the smoker, then crushed into powder with mortar and pestle

How's the flavor profile? I'm betting it's fantastic!

 

[SmokinEdge]

Are you happy with it? Looks delicious.

 

[jcam222]

Very cool. How is the aroma and taste of the finished product?

 

[macnmotion]

The aroma is so much nicer than the plan palrika I dried a couple weeks ago. I love smokds foods, I'm sure that has something to do with it.

It's as hot as the plain paptika. Leutschauer is one of the hotter paptikas, but the flesh is also quite sweet before the heat hits. It's a very prolific grower -- highly recommended.

I've sprinkled it on french fries and it tasted great. And yesterday I used it in a Mexican dish, and while much of it's flavor melds with everything else the dish itself was fantastic.

 

[DivingDoug]

I am growing Leutschauer Hungarian Paprika, which I will dry and grind into powder......

Came across your post while looking for methods of smoking paprika peppers and saw you were growing the Leutschauer Hungarian peppers. I grew (and still harvesting a few stragglers) of Hungarian Magyar paprika peppers. Wanted to see if you would be interested in doing a seed swap. I'm always looking to get authentic seeds for different grades of paprika and such. Just reply or pm me if interested. Thanks !!

 

[Colin1230]

Hey D DivingDoug , welcome to the forum. And thanks for bumping a very interesting post.

 

[Dave in AZ]

I agree with Colin1230 , very interesting thread! Welcome to forum D DivingDoug , and I'd like to hear more about your paprika too! I'm starting to think maybe I shouldn't be buying bulk "paprika"...

 

[DivingDoug]

Hey guys. Yea, my initial endeavor here is pretty crude. I made a custom rack by adhering an #80 Mesh stainless screen to a small stainless baking rack (8-1/2 x 12) to place the already ground paprika on, figuring the smoke would better infiltrate the ground paprika versus using the smoker to just dry the cut strips of the pepper. I grew a traditional Hungarian Magyar paprika pepper and ended up with a so-so harvest, ending up with maybe a 1/2 cup of powder from 8 plants in pots.

Finding a way to grind consistently for any volume is the challenge. The mortar and pestle will work for small qty's but with as much as I had, I invested in a low cost coffee / spice grinder. Makes a big mess so probably won't use that next year. Instead, will shell out the bucks for the actual grain mill for the Kitchenaid mixer.

I also want to experiment with smoking other ingredients and plan on experimenting with cinnamon and cocoa. Smoked fudge could be interesting.

My issue right now is all I have to use is my traditional gas grill. I set a small chip box on one side and the screen with the spice on the top rack on the other side. Was working on getting the right temperature when I ran out of propane so have to try again later this week. My plan is to set up another burner for smoking the chips and feed it into the main grill with just minimal heat to help the smoke penetrate the powder. Can't afford any type of real smoker right now but I have a shop and can fabricate most of what I need.

Hoping to hear back from the OP as I want to be able to sample different traditional paprika peppers and compare them for flavor and such. I also grew some Habanero pepper and may try smoking some of those for some really hot smoky flavor.

Thanks for the welcome !!

 

[tallbm]

Hey guys. Yea, my initial endeavor here is pretty crude. I made a custom rack by adhering an #80 Mesh stainless screen to a small stainless baking rack (8-1/2 x 12) to place the already ground paprika on, figuring the smoke would better infiltrate the ground paprika versus using the smoker to just dry the cut strips of the pepper. I grew a traditional Hungarian Magyar paprika pepper and ended up with a so-so harvest, ending up with maybe a 1/2 cup of powder from 8 plants in pots.

Finding a way to grind consistently for any volume is the challenge. The mortar and pestle will work for small qty's but with as much as I had, I invested in a low cost coffee / spice grinder. Makes a big mess so probably won't use that next year. Instead, will shell out the bucks for the actual grain mill for the Kitchenaid mixer.

I also want to experiment with smoking other ingredients and plan on experimenting with cinnamon and cocoa. Smoked fudge could be interesting.

My issue right now is all I have to use is my traditional gas grill. I set a small chip box on one side and the screen with the spice on the top rack on the other side. Was working on getting the right temperature when I ran out of propane so have to try again later this week. My plan is to set up another burner for smoking the chips and feed it into the main grill with just minimal heat to help the smoke penetrate the powder. Can't afford any type of real smoker right now but I have a shop and can fabricate most of what I need.

Hoping to hear back from the OP as I want to be able to sample different traditional paprika peppers and compare them for flavor and such. I also grew some Habanero pepper and may try smoking some of those for some really hot smoky flavor.

Thanks for the welcome !!

Hi there and welcome!

I can't offer you muc help but I can say I do my grinding with a magic bullet using the grinder blade with the small cup. Works wonders on everything from dehydrated peppers to roasted coffee beans.

If you can score one cheap it could solve your problems with minimal footprint, plus the magic bullet is handy for anything smaller you need blended like smoothies or small 1-2 meal dishes.

 

[gmc2003]

Welcome aboard Doug. The OP hasn't logged on in 7 months and only has 5 posts. So don't be too disappointed if it takes a while to get an answer. I haven't smoked paprika but I would imagine that it could be cold smoked like other spices. If you cold smoke then you can use a cardboard box to smoke the paprika in, and you wouldn't need to fabricate anything.

Chris

 

[Colin1230]

Watching this thread, for sure. Thanks again Doug.