Fresh cayenne peppers....what to do?

Try these pages, pretty helpful. Since you are only doing a few, the fumes may not be bad...
but remember this stuff is also used for pepper sprays.. so if more are involved
have good ventilation

http://www.drycreekgarden.com/techniques/drying_peppers.cfm

http://www.scottrobertsweb.com/Ultimate-Guide-to-Drying-Hot-Peppers.php

I had a bunch last year. I dried some in a dehydrator and then crushed. I would think they'd do okay in a smoker, too - I do a lot of peppers that way. I usually put them in the Egg on a mesh disposable tray and set the Egg for around 200...and pull them when they break easily.

I also made a "paste" out of some - food processor with garlic, peppers, a little EVOO and salt, black pepper and some other things I threw in (don't remember). It was tasty.

this should provide everything you need.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/album.php?albumid=323

I can tell you one thing, completely off this topic. if you cut habanero peppers, do not touch anything until you dip your hands in gasoline and burn them. But if you do get it on your face or anywhere else, use Vodka. Maybe it was the raspberry vodka I had, but I tried everything (milk,ice, etc) and the R.V made it go away immediately! Then after that, go into your bedroom and cry for a little while, worked for me!

I always leave the plants in the garden until all the
peppers have turned red. Then i'll pull them out of the ground and wash the dirt off of the roots. Hang them up by the root in my tool shed until spring. they will become brittle dry. Remove them from the plant and put them in a shoe box. I use an electric coffee grinder to get the job done. Coarse,medium or fine.

Good thread. I decided to grow some peppers for the first time this year and I have A BUNCH of cayenne peppers. For only planting two cayenne plants I can't believe they yield I got.

I suppose it balances out for how terrible my serrano pepper plants did.

Wampus said:

You just have to be sure that you NEVER grind coffee beans with that grinder again, right?:shock:

I heard about someone who grinded peppers in their wife's grinder and she got LIT UP the next morn.:heh:

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You're giving me evil thoughts here...

I'd also cut some in half and smoke them til tender, not dried, and make a hot sauce with them. I blend the peppers with a sauted onion, minced garlic, kosher salt and vinegar. I keep adding vinegar until the consistancy is right.

I use a dehydrator to dry mine out then once good and dry use a proccessor to grind them to the fineness I want depending on what I use them for. I've had one batch of mixed peppers dried and in a ball jar for several years. It only takes a pinch to make you cry. :mad2:

Here's a good hot sauce recipe:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81442

He used 20 peppers, but I suppose you could scale it down.

For drying I usually just toss them in the dehydrator for a few hours, but then again, we're talking about 20-40 habaneros at a time. :shocked:

If I only had 3 I'd probably go the smoking route while doing some other meat.

jaymo said:

Here's a good hot sauce recipe:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81442

He used 20 peppers, but I suppose you could scale it down.

For drying I usually just toss them in the dehydrator for a few hours, but then again, we're talking about 20-40 habaneros at a time. :shocked:

If I only had 3 I'd probably go the smoking route while doing some other meat.

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That thread was exactly what I was looking for! Glad you found it. It was the inspiration for my own pepper sauce experiments.

Wampus said:

You just have to be sure that you NEVER grind coffee beans with that grinder again, right?:shock:

I heard about someone who grinded peppers in their wife's grinder and she got LIT UP the next morn.:heh:

Click to expand...

run a couple 'loads' of white rice in the grinder--cleans all the oils out

Chambers how many peppers you got left? lolololol Smoke then dehydrator overnight!

Make some pepper jelly. Yummy on a Ritz with some cream cheese. Then you don't have to worry about keeping them.

Wampus said:

You just have to be sure that you NEVER grind coffee beans with that grinder again, right?:shock:

I heard about someone who grinded peppers in their wife's grinder and she got LIT UP the next morn.:heh:

Click to expand...

Get two grinders one for spices and the other coffee only. I have a white one that I wrote on with a black Magic Marker "Spices Only!"

Then I have a black one that everyone in the house knows to use only for coffee.

BlueHowler said:

Get two grinders one for spices and the other coffee only. I have a white one that I wrote on with a black Magic Marker "Spices Only!"
Then I have a black one that everyone in the house knows to use only for coffee.

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That's too funny, I do the exact same thing. My white grinder is for coffee, the black grinder if for spices. Wifey doesn't use either, so I don't really need to label them.

BlueHowler said:

Get two grinders one for spices and the other coffee only. I have a white one that I wrote on with a black Magic Marker "Spices Only!"

Then I have a black one that everyone in the house knows to use only for coffee.

Click to expand...

Saiko said:

That's too funny, I do the exact same thing. My white grinder is for coffee, the black grinder if for spices. Wifey doesn't use either, so I don't really need to label them.

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Exactly. Here it's white for spices, black for coffee. My bride doesn't use them either.

This is what I have put away after 2 pickings. Should get 2 more pickings if we don't get an early frost.

I let the Cayenne peppers turn red on the vine, wash them and cut the stems off. Overnight in the dehydrator, let them cool for the day and grind them up in the evening, seeds and all.

I'm trying something different with the Jalapenos this year after reading some posts from others. Let them turn red on the vine, wash them up and smoke with Mesquite overnight at 200* in the Masterbuilt electric. I tried 180* and the wood did not burn. Jalapenos have a thicker flesh than the Cayenne so they get all day in the dehydrator after the overnight smoke, the big ones may take longer. They then get the same treatment as the Cayenne, cool down, grind up and store.

Habaneros ? Hab mash and pepper jelly is good. Hot sauce for sure, but I just love the flavor of these fresh so much that if I can't use them, they get frozen.

The jar on the left is approximately 90 Cayenne, the jar on the right is approximately 60 Jalapeno (Chipotle). These are pint jars. That, to me, is some seriously concentrated flavor for good cooks next winter.