Habanero/Scotch Bonnet flavor substitute


 
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Rita Y

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I threw together a quick chicken thigh stew the other night which called for 1 whole habanero or Scotch bonnet, pierced a few times. I was the only one who was able to eat it at all - it's OK, though. I didn't mind the gasping-for-air fits and it will only take a few months to grow my hair back. I'm already able to see through my eyeballs.
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How can I get that fruity flavor with less heat? I had 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, some okra and sweet potatoes in the mix, along with some allspice.

Would I use only 1/4 teaspoon minced habanero or would a serrano + some citrus? Those habaneros have such a wonderful fruity flavor and really made the dish. Can that flavor be duplicated for a less insane heat level?

Rita
 
Yes, Rita, and you're on the right track. Rusty's suggestions would be worrth looking at too.

Cut the hab quantity and for the citrus use dried powdered zest. This will give you the necessary structural similarites, i.e., much of the flavor and all of the heat of chilies are fat soluble, and most of the flavor in zest is fat soluble (as opposed to citrus juice which has mostly water soluble flavors). It's hard to say what quantity should be used as this depends on the interaction with the other ingredients in the dish--you have to wing it and see.

I'd suggest a combo of lime and grapefruit--but mostly grapefruit. Use your Microplane and zest finely. Allow it to dry on the counter then gently pulverize. If needed, at the finish a few drops of juice can be added but use grapefruit alone for this. Grapefruit zest and its juice reads as citrus but is not as immediately identifiable as lemon, orange or lime are--perfect in this sort of circumstance. (I use lots of grapefruit zest (and juice) for precisely this reason so have the habit of zesting fruits I'm going to juice or eat out of hand first, letting the zest dry, then stashing it in a well-sealed spice jar in the fridge.)

Note, too, that Aleppo has good fruitiness, albeit in deeper tones than habs. (It also has some heat.) If its color would not mar the dish, a little Aleppo addition might not be unwelcome.
 
Rusty and Kevin - great replies! That is an interesting article. Growing some habs isn't a practical option for me, so I'll give the juice/zest combo a try first, then maybe order the no-so-hot sauce to have a comparison.

I've been keeping zest powder in my fridge since I first read about it here. Can't tell you how often it has come in handy! And I have Aleppo on hand to play with too. Love that one!

Grapefruitly!
Rita
 
Question about the dried grapefruit and lime zests: should they be added later in the cooking to preserve their fresh flavor? (This is a quick Caribbean chicken stew with allspice.)
 
No, but they should be added after any boiling stage; e.g., if liquids are added then brought to a boil, then the temp lowered for simmering, that would be the point of addition. Citrus juices, however, are usually best added at or near the end of cooking or, often, when the dish is completed and it is off the heat.
 
I'm doing some fast cooking lately. This is a (blush) pressure cooker recipe, and I suspected that I should add the zests after the pressure release. Pressure cooking does diminish the flavor of fresh herbs and I always add them after removing the lid, just before a final 5- to 10-minute gentle simmer to blend the flavors. It was a quite-tasty recipe except for the heat and deserved a little work.

Thanks for the help!
Rita
 
guess it's just me, but habaneros have zero flavor for me. Fruity?? More like stale water flavor. Other peppers are much more flavorful. The only thing habaneros are good for are heat.

Yndio
 
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