Dried Peppers

[Josh Z.]

I just bought some ancho, habenaro, and chipotles dried.... I must be a real newbie becuase I'm semi-clueless as to the best way to use these whole dried peppers. I'm guessing you grind them up, but more specific instuctions woudl be great..............also feel free to comment on my guava question in another thread

Thanks,
Josh

 

[Doug D]

You could grind them as they are, or steep them in boiling water for 20-30 minutes, de-stem and remove seeds, and use in recipes like chili or sauces. Some dried peppers aren't all that dry, and are more raisin-like, so grinding them is a bit iffy.

 

[K Kruger]

Before grinding, toasting the peppers in a dry pan over med-high heat, stirring/flipping frequently, will further dry the peppers, if needed, but more important, will bring out flavors. Let them cool for several minutes out of the pan before grinding.

 

[Josh Z.]

THanks,

seems as if my question wasn't htat stupid after all.... now for that grinding.. and way to do it with no specail tools

HOme economist (bulk food store) is great, but I've seemed to have bought stuff that I have no clue (or tools) to use

Josh

 

[K Kruger]

You'll need a coffee bean grinder. Some models of blenders can grind, most can't. A coffee grinder that you can dedicate to spices is a worthwhile tool. Many spices are better toasted and ground fresh so it wouldn't be just for peppers.

Btw, if you soak peppers to reconstitute them for sauce or whatever, the soaking liquid can often be used in the sauce as well. But taste it first--with some pepper varieties (especially Ancho) it can get very bitter.

 

[Brian L.]

You can get a decent coffee grinder for about 15 bucks. Well worth the investment to be able to grind your own spices.

 

[adam clyde]

Josh -

Good for you, man. Dried chiles are the only way to go. You'll be hooked really soon and will love experimenting with new chiles and different techniques.

Doug D and Kruger properly explained the two main ways to use chiles.

You really need to get a coffee grinder. Well, well worth the small investment. I use mine more than any other kitchen appliance. Once you get one, you can dry and toast them like Kruger said, then grind them up to make rubs with your chiles, as well as your own chile powders.

Dried chipotles, as opposed to chipotles in adobo, are amazing. You really get the flavor of smoked chiles when you use them.

Once you've gone through your anchos, chipotles and habs, you've got to check out guajillos. They are my workhorse chile. They have a milder, less bitter flavor than anchos, but still some kick, in my opinion. Because of that, I use tons and tons of them. They are usually the base of all my chile powders, sauces, etc.

good luck!

 

[Phil R.]

If you have anchos or new mexico chiles, one of my favorite things to do with them is rehydrate them for about 20 mins in hot water, then slice to put on pizza and bake. With pepperoni, nothin' better.

 

[Karl]

I'm also a fan of the guajillos. It was noted that before grinding you should toast dried chiles. I want to point out that I think you should also toast them prior to rehydrating if you choose to go that route. I make my own adobo rojo and typically use a mix of guajillos, cascabels, anchos, and whatever else suits my fancy that day. I heat a large cast iron skillet while I slit the dried peppers and dump the seed pods. I then take the "opened" peppers and briefly griddle them on the skillet on both sides, pressing down with a spatula. This is very quick - the intent is to just wake up the peppers, not fry them. A wisp of smoke is OK, burning is not good. Depending on who shares your kitchen/house with you you may want to either send them out on an errand or something as the aroma (or fumes, depending on your point of view) can be a little hard on the inhaler unless you have a topnotch hood over your range (I don't). I take the toasted peppers and put them in a Pyrex container and pour hot water over them and drop something on the peppers to hold them under the water for about 20 minutes. N.B.: Pyrex good, adding hot water to non-Pyrex-like glass containers bad! After they've sat the 20 minutes or so I place the peppers in the blender with whatever else I'm mixing in (roasted/toasted garlic, some cumin, salt, etc.) and puree.

Edit: forgot to mention, I've yet to find that the liquid from soaking the chiles has any value, it's always rather bitter and I wouldn't add it to anything I'd want to eat, but I'd feel free to paint it on a couple of heads of lettuce or other leafy vegetable that the rabbits might have been snarfing in your garden to make them think twice the next time (as if rabbits think).

 

[Kevin Taylor]

I use only dried peppers, but most of the varieties are nowhere near dry enough to grind....I think Kev mentioned this. So, I dry in my food dehydrator and then grind.

I have used most types of grinders and been very disappointed. I finally did lots of research and bought the unit you can see at this link............

http://www.nutritionlifestyles.com/family.htm

This is a real work of art...you can grind to any size...something most grinders cannot do.

I also have a cherry rub recipe that calls for dried cherries and I have used dried apples(Sam's Club) and ground up for an apple rub. Both of these fruits need to be dried much, much more after you buy them.