Making my own Chipotles...

Not sure about #1, absolutely sure about #2. I do the chipotle thing after a fresh re-seasoning of the smoker.

There is a rather indepth "how to" somewhere on the forum. I'll see if I can find it.

One thing though. Chipotles are made from fully ripe Jalapeno's. That means all RED!

Your peppers are fine. You will never taste a difference between them and the supposed ripe reds. Just make sure to clean your smoker good and keep your fire burning clean.

Can't help you with the peppers..And I'm tryin to pay attention cause I'll want to try that myself one day...But man that pouch looks like he's fixin to eat em before you get them on the grill.

firecrackerjack

i don't claim to be an expert or have years of experience with chipotles. all i know is what has worked for me. the only way you can mess up your peppers is to burn them in the smoker. some of the chipotles i smoked two years ago were burnt because they were in the direct part of the smoker, but they still have great flavor.

if red jalapenos are not "ripe", then what are they? spoiled? rotten? it's really not an issue worth arguing about. every source i have read refers to red jalapenos as "ripe". if someone can produce a source that states green jalapenos are ripe, i'd be glad to read it. the 40 jalapenos i picked last weekend with a few still green and just turning red have all turned red now. i'll be tossing them in the smoker today.

here's a pretty good source of info on chipotles: CLICK

smoke em whole, smoke em cut in half with the seeds removed, smoke em red, smoke em green. it's all good.