Storing Fresh Chillis

[grisell]

The really hot ones are ok frozen raw. As said, they get mushy, but the taste isn't affected.

I also recommend this if you have lots of them:

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopi ... highlight=

[Richierich]

Back to the original topic, do I need to do anything to them before smoking them?? Was hoping to get a couple of goes through the CSG this weekend with a few.

Was gonna throw them in whole and give them a few goes with smoke, do I need to try and raise the temp a little to promote dehydration, can I do this after smoking?? Thought about piercing the skin with a pin in a few places, will that affect anything?

[Sam Newman]

Give it a go Rich. Try some with holes, some cut open and some whole. We dryed about half a ton of Cayen chillies for a sauce but my mates walk in dehydrator was leaking so they came out slightly smoked. Tasted ok tho. Has anyone tryd storing them in honey? The larger ones are best cut up into chunks but the smaller varietys can be stored whole. I recomend heating the honey with the chillies in but be careful not to boil as it changes the molecular structure of the sugars in the honey. The mixture can then be bottled or jard at any temperature. I store lots of things in honey. Thankyou mr honey bee.

[drinky]

they will air dry nicely in a colinder left on the counter

[grisell]

Welcome to the forum, drinky!

[Massimo Maddaloni]

Experimenting is always good, however, by far and large the best way to store hot chiles is freezing them, better if under vacuum. There is no question about that. Not only freezing will maintain the "heat", but also the fragrant properties typical of each variety. Jalapeno, Habanero, Thai, granma's ... they all taste different. Organoleptic properties of each variety rely much on volatile compounds. Frozen under vacuum they'll keep for years.
Regards
Massimo

[mitchamus]

I just read this recipe for Soy Pickled jalapenos, over on a wood fired pizza blog.

I may have to try this!

http://www.fornobravo.com/pizzaquest/in ... penos.html

[sundodger]

I grow a lot of Chillies usually the long "Finger" type or Cayennes. Too many to use fresh, so either sun dry OR a very good alternative is to make a Harissa paste with them - Simply zip down in a processor the de stalked chillies & mix with olive oil, ground cumin & ground coriander - Mix to a stiff paste & make sure that there is a level of oil on top of the paste when settled, that way there are no issues with preservation. Store in a glass screw top jar & keep in fridge after opening - Keeps for months even after opening.

[ratman]

I freeze mine in a vacuum pack and they keep and re-use well. Like all frozen veg they do go a little limp but still perfectly edible

[slemps]

I freeze some, dry some, smoke some, pickle some and make sauce out of the rest. That covers most bases!

The problem I had this year was that half my (large) crop got eaten by a rat!!!

[yotmon]

Don't be surprised at rodents eating chillis, years ago I sowed a tray of 30 chilli seeds and placed it in the green house. The next day every seed had been dug out and eaten by a wood mouse. I thought that they would have been too hot for its anglo saxon palate, but maybe he was related to the cartoon mouse speedy Gonzales !

Re' storing them - all I used to do was pull the whole plant up when ready and hang it upside down in the poly tunnel to dry on the vine so to speak. Once completely dry I would take them off and store in paper bags in a cool dry dark place (cupboard).

[Snags]

I have birds eating my birds eye chillis from the bush
Dad would hang chillies to dry strung up under the eaves on the sunny side.
My ones dry out in the fruit bowl (small thin ones)
I usually grab a pizza tray full of the bishops caps and roast them
Then blend with vinegar and salt add tomato sauce and seal the jars and boil them
Its a great chilli sauce for sausages.
Wife and I have it for breakfast

[slemps]

Capsaicin (the oil in chillies that gives them heat) only affects mammals. So I can understand birds eating them, but rats and mice? They must love the heat! I lost 3kgs+ in two weeks!

Back to one of the older questions, for smoking chillies, I cut them in half. It is also best to use thick fleshed varieties like Jalapenos.

In my experience it takes a LOT of smoke to get the desired flavour (once dried and ground). Using a ProQ CSG, I'd be looking to give each batch at least 5 burns. You then dry them out in a dehydrator or very low oven.

The last step before grinding is removing the seeds and stalks. While this is a royal PITA, the resulting powder is significantly more coloured and flavoured.

S.