Ground Chiles


 
A

A.D.Letson

TVWBB Fan
I am about to make an order to Penzey's and I was wanting a good starter ground chile. I have never had an actual ground chile (all of my experience has been with the cheap supermarket "blends"). I don't mind a lot of heat and I am wanting to use it in a rub for pork butt. Any suggestions or places to start would be much appreciated.

Adam
 
are you looking for pure chile powder? like, say, ancho? or are you looking for a pre-made chili powder?

If the former, good for you. I love blending my own rubs and spices and chili powders. For the most part, I ground all my own chiles, but if I were to raid a penzeys for some pure chile powder, here's what I'd get:

Aleppo (folks here (kruger in particular) rave about it... I haven't tried it but plan to on my next penzeys visit.)
Ancho
Jalapeno
Chipotle (I love chipotle powders and use it all the time. However for a rub that will go on smoked meat, I don't use much chipotle since the smokey flavor of the pepper is lost with the rest of the smoke flavor...)
Guajillo
Arbol
Cascabel

I've been tempted by the tien tsin and piquin, but have never tried them.

Good luck and have a blast experimenting.
 
Adam if you have other uses for rub-the chipotle is a good adition. As you say if it is just used for the smoker there isn't much point.
 
I use chipotle in BBQ rubs quite often. While the smokey flavor of the chiles may be lost in the wood smoke, as others have said, to me chipotle adds a flavor that other dried chiles don't have. Of course, that's just my perception.

Jim
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I love all kinds of chilies but Adam is right--I am a huge Aleppo fan. In a recent rub I made it was the only chile included--a departure for me--but I loved the rub. It Turkish, pleasantly fruity/sour with some heat and I recommend it highly. I keep a jar next to the stove for mis en place and a bowl on the DR table.

Adam's list would be mine and Steve's point (and Adam's) on chipotle is good. I don't often use it in rubs for low/slow cooks but do use it in some sauces for heat and smoke and do use it in rubs for fast grilling sessions where smokewood has little time to adhere. And nothing quite matches chipotle mayo on grilled corn-on-the-cob. But others like it in rubs and, as Jim says, it's a great addition--pretty much a must--to your chile arsenal.

The one pepper I use often for rubs that Penzey's doesn't sell is New Mexico chilies of any kind (I like the hot/extra-hot). I get those in NM but I do get their other peppers for other stuff (sauces, condiments, moles, stews) and I do get other peppers elsewhere--Charlie's suggestion is a good one.

Do get a grinder if you don't have one--it's so worth being able to toast and grind chilies, imo. Penzey's ground offerings are limited. Charlie's source has more ground chilies available.
 
Thanks everybody.

Adam
I was talking about pure ground chiles. I like chiles and am interested in seeing what they taste like, not what they taste like mixed with cumin and other spices. The first time I bought "chili powder" and I found out that it had very little to do with any chile, I learned not to do that again.

I am going to trust you Kevin and Adam and order chipotle and aleppo. Thanks for the advice.

As far as a grinder goes, I have a coffee grinder I use for spices and a mortar and pestle. Is there something else that would work better?
 
A coffee grinder will work fine. You won't need it for ground chilies of course but if you choose to buy whole ones at some point it'll work. (Chilies usually need to be dried further for best grinding; toasting also brings out the flavor. 10 min in a hot oven or just a couple in a dry skillet is all that's needed.)

The Aleppo comes crushed rather than ground (not unlike 'crushed red pepper') but it is quite moist. I use it as is for rubs for fowl and sprinkling on eggs and tuna salad (or whatever) but often grind it for use in rubs where I want a uniform texture. In that case I mix it in with some of the other already-ground rub ingredients and then grind in the grinder. It can clump if ground alone due to its moisture.

If you get into whole dried chilies at all you can toast them then reconstitute them by covering in boiling water till soft. By using your mortar and pestle you can mash the chilies with roasted or charred tomato, oni and garlic to make a simple condimento or base for salsas.
 
I notice that the Sweet Freedom website has either dried chiles or they have them already ground. Which one would yield the best flavor?
 
I think whole chilies toasted then ground yields the best flavor for most chilies (and I enjoy the process) but, truth be told, for some chilies there's not lots of discernable difference if the ground is of good quality.

Note that it takes some time to grind in a coffee grinder. A half-cup or more of powder takes several chilies.
 
just getting back to this point...

the one thing I always keep in mind about ground v. whole chiles is if you don't have a faster turn around, ground chiles seem to lose a bit of their punch faster than whole chiles. whole chiles don't last forever either, but once they are ground, they seem to be more susceptible to losing their freshness.

If you have a spice grinder, then you are all set! Report back and tell us what you ended up getting and how you liked them.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by adam clyde:
just getting back to this point...

the one thing I always keep in mind about ground v. whole chiles is if you don't have a faster turn around, ground chiles seem to lose a bit of their punch faster than whole chiles. whole chiles don't last forever either, but once they are ground, they seem to be more susceptible to losing their freshness.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good points, Adam. One way to slow the loss of "punch" from ground chiles (or any spices) is to vacuum seal them. When I get new spices I transfer them to small mason jars and foodsaver them, same way I do home-made BBQ rubs. The beauty of the masons is that after each use you can easily re-FS them. Adds a lot to the shelf life.
 
Where does a newbie in the midwest buy these different chiles and spices , besides on line? I would kind of like to be able go someplace hands on . Thanks Steve
 
Next time you go to Indi for anything--or to Grand Rapids or greater Detroit--Penzey's has a retail location. Make the most of it and stop by Trader Joe's (near the Indi location on 82nd and there are several in the Detroit 'burbs) and grab a few tri-tips if they are not available near you. TJ's also has good prices and good quality on many staples (evoo, various other oils, vinegars) and several of their other products are favorites.
 
I'd also let it settle in the grinder once you get it to the consistency that you want. If you open the blender/coffee grinder right after you finish you might get some of the powder in your face and that ain't a good thing.
 
Found this place for chiles. Clicky.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Joseph Flannery:
I'd also let it settle in the grinder once you get it to the consistency that you want. If you open the blender/coffee grinder right after you finish you might get some of the powder in your face and that ain't a good thing. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thar's very true. I smoke/dry some habaneros every year and grind a few in a coffee grinder as I use them. Once, being in a hurry and not thinking, I pulled the top of the grinder off as soon as it stopped. That was a HIGHLY unpleasant experience.
icon_redface.gif
. Must be what getting pepper sprayed feels like. I won't be doing that again.

Jim
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