Where to buy chili powders?

One of my BBQ goals this year is to really start expeimenting with making rubs and sauces rather than using store-bought. For several days now I have been going through this forum collecting recipes.

My biggest question is about buying some of the ingredients...especially all the various chili powders. I don't know of anwhere locally that I can get them.

I have shopped at Sweet Freedom Farms online store once and was pretty happy with what I got. Are there other good online sources for good chili powders or dried chilis or other hard to find spices?

Penseys has been a good source for me...I usually buy whole spices.

Thanks for the info, Steve. It's been mostly your and K Kruger's posts that I have been looking over recently. Can't wait to try some of your sauces.

I saw in one of your posts where you said you thought your #6 and #8 sauces were your best. Maybe I'm overlooking it, but I can't seem to find the #6 recipe. I've got #'s 5, 8, and 9 as well as the Lexington sauces.

Thanks.

Lee the variations are simple additions to No.5:

saute onion/garlic

add dried fruit (cherries are my fav.)

meat drippings

You can remove the solids or use a blender to make a thicker consistency.

finally some like heat-one or two dried chilis


Remember Kevin is the one with training and
real experience...my stuff I learn on the fly.

Note that chili powders are blends of ground chile and other spices made for making chili, the stewed beef concoction. Chile powder is ground pure chile, i.e., chile pods that have been ground into a powder.

I buy from Sweet Freedom and, for NM chilies, from Da Gift Basket. Many standard Mexican dried chilies are available at most supermarkets (in the 'Hispanic' spice section) and definitely at market that cater mostly to Hispanics.

I almost always buy whole chilies then toast and grind as needed for powder.

Thanks for the clarification, K.

I meant chile powders. I went back and forth with which spelling to use in my original post...guess I chose poorly.

Lee, I rely on pensey's for most of my spices. They have a location in pittsburgh near where my sister lives, so we usually go there 2-3 times a year. When we get low on spices, we make up a reason to visit. The great part about it is down the street from penzey's is a hispanic grocer that has a dozen steel garbage cans in the back, each filled with a different kind of dried chile.

I've invested in mason jars. When you start buying larger quantities of spices from penzey's, they package them in bags. I transfer them to jars. It helps keep things organized when all your jars are the same size and easily stackable.

What I've found, when you are regularly buying quality spices, is that you have to get a feel for them and start modifying recipes accordingly. If I add spice like a recipe calls for, often times it'll be too much. It won't be a problem with rubs, but when you have the spice on hand and start using them for other cooking, you might notice a difference (I run across this all the time when making my own sausage).

good luck, I exclusively make my own rubs and sauces and love doing it. You learn so much about FLAVOR, which will make you a better all around cook.

Try World Spice Merchants. They have a huge selection.

World Spice Merchants