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View Full Version : Favorite pepper(s) to grow/buy or use.


Smiter Q
10-19-2011, 11:01 PM
Hi all,

This past summer I had planned on growing pepper plants though our TEXAS drought and blistering heatwave kept me from doing so. MY seedlings all shriveled up and went up in dust. :mad2: :tsk: :mad2:

HOWEVER.. I am thinking positive and hoping to have a better program for next spring. Thought I would spend a little time ahead and ask the Brethren what are their favorite peppers to grow, buy, use, etc. Also thinking of trying to start some now, and bring them in when it gets too cold for em.

If you do grow them, and have some photos... would love to see them, as I a sure others would too. Please also explain the taste too.

To start, I am thinking of doing serrano, jalapeno, pequin, and something called an Aji. Anyone grow/use Aji?

Thanks for sharing!

Hoss
10-19-2011, 11:08 PM
Jalapenos and cayenne are easy to grow.I like bananna and habernaros too.The list is ENDLESS.

These are Jamacian Hot Chocolate,Red savina Habs and regular Habs that I picked 2 days ago.I got about 10 different kinda planted,

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss70/Hoss_o1/100_4671.jpg

JMSetzler
10-19-2011, 11:09 PM
There are two peppers I like to grow that each have widespread use and flexibility.

1. Cayennes

These peppers are easy to grow, resilient, tasty with a lot of recipes, flavorful, and flat out easy to use. You can get really hot with them or really mild depending on how you use them.

2. Thai Sun

These peppers are practically impossible to kill once you get them started. They grow well in about any climate including hot and dry. One plant will yield hundreds of these small hot peppers.

Both of these peppers are also quite easy to sun dry if you want to.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3402440/pics/blog/20110930_Peppers_0634.jpg

This is a photo of a few of my crop from this year... the cayennes, chocolate habaneros, and ghost peppers. (I did not grow the thai sun this year). The only reason I grew the chocolate habs and ghost peppers is because they were new to me and I just wanted to try them out. I got a large enough yield from these plants that I won't grow them again for quite a while.

I have never grown jalapenos but I might this coming spring simply because I have found some good uses for them as I have gotten into the BBQ thing here :)

Jason TQ
10-19-2011, 11:25 PM
I put this thread up back when I could first plant in spring. I had a lot of peppers but not too many varieties. I grow mostly bell peppers, cherry peppers, jalapeņos, and banana peppers. I stopped growing anything hotter than jalapeņos since I really never used them and I'd rather put in things I would eat.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=104283

Sammy_Shuford
10-20-2011, 12:08 AM
Here is today's picking of chocolate habanero and ghost peppers.
http://tapatalk.com/mu/aefcb063-ac7f-4e3e.jpg

Also a fair crop of jalapeno, which I smoked and ground to powder.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

Smiter Q
10-20-2011, 12:51 AM
Here is today's picking of chocolate habanero and ghost peppers.
http://tapatalk.com/mu/aefcb063-ac7f-4e3e.jpg

Also a fair crop of jalapeno, which I smoked and ground to powder.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


Sammy, what do you do with all the habs and ghosts? Aren't these extremely hot? Do you consume them all?

Sammy_Shuford
10-20-2011, 01:06 AM
Sammy, what do you do with all the habs and ghosts? Aren't these extremely hot? Do you consume them all?

First, don't believe in just Scoville numbers. I get more "pain" from my jalapeno peppers that either of these. These two have a very different heat, more in the back and sides of the mouth.

The ghost pepper pods, we like cutting them up and mixing in salsa.The chocolate habaneros will be dried and ground into powder for rubs.

And I do give quite a few away.

Smiter Q
10-20-2011, 01:11 AM
First, don't believe in just Scoville numbers. I get more "pain" from my jalapeno peppers that either of these. These two have a very different heat, more in the back and sides of the mouth.

The ghost pepper pods, we like cutting them up and mixing in salsa.The chocolate habaneros will be dried and ground into powder for rubs.

And I do give quite a few away.


Thanks for answering, helpful to know. Made me laugh when you mentioned you get more pain from the jalapenos. As prior I was just using scoville units as a measure. Do you save seeds from your own plants, or do they not die?

LoneStarMojo
10-20-2011, 01:16 AM
I didn't get a chance to plant any this year but we usually plant bell peppers for my wife and Serrano peppers for myself. I used to grow some Habs and mite do them again next year. I love the heat and flavor of the Serrano more than I like Jalapenos but I still eat plenty of those too.

Smiter Q
10-20-2011, 01:38 AM
@hoss and @Jm

Thanks for your info!

Smiter Q
10-20-2011, 01:40 AM
I didn't get a chance to plant any this year but we usually plant bell peppers for my wife and Serrano peppers for myself. I used to grow some Habs and mite do them again next year. I love the heat and flavor of the Serrano more than I like Jalapenos but I still eat plenty of those too.

I love serranos too. Started to make a serrano brine this year, and really love it.. especially with chicken.

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/vv129/BWaustinTX/CamerDec2010download007-1.jpg

Sammy_Shuford
10-20-2011, 01:54 AM
Thanks for answering, helpful to know. Made me laugh when you mentioned you get more pain from the jalapenos. As prior I was just using scoville units as a measure. Do you save seeds from your own plants, or do they not die?

Yes, I save seeds from some plants. I was gifted several orange habs, and i saved those seeds. I will also save seeds from the ghost pepper, I have NO seeds for that one!

Capsaicin (the it's hot element) has different carbon tails on the molecule depending on the pepper type. This causes different class peppers to effect different places.

Your genitelai are very sensitive to jalapeno capsaicin!

Smiter Q
10-20-2011, 02:04 AM
Your [/I]genitelai are very sensitive to jalapeno capsaicin!

Sadly.... this I know. :redface:

Phrasty
10-20-2011, 02:08 AM
Im surprised how popular the Jamaican Chocolate Hab is!! I had some growing for a while and it was an awesomely hot pepper but I wasn't impressed with the flavor profile of the pepper. I am of course comparing it to the Scotchie and in my garden Scotchies win the space every time! The Scotch Bonnet is SO much fruitier. Love it. Another pepper I was addicted to for a while when I had it growing was the Kung Pao and the de Arbol! Love those!!

Cheers

Smiter Q
10-20-2011, 02:19 AM
Im surprised how popular the Jamaican Chocolate Hab is!! I had some growing for a while and it was an awesomely hot pepper but I wasn't impressed with the flavor profile of the pepper. I am of course comparing it to the Scotchie and in my garden Scotchies win the space every time! The Scotch Bonnet is SO much fruitier. Love it. Another pepper I was addicted to for a while when I had it growing was the Kung Pao and the de Arbol! Love those!!

Cheers

When folks say "fruity" for a pepper.. what does that mean actually?
Been wondering for awhile

Phrasty
10-20-2011, 02:34 AM
Dunno how to really explain it... I just found the Chocolate to be a very straight forward heat... Where as the Scotch bonnets have a much rounder flavor, a little sweetness a little... dammit man it's fruitness... :crazy: :heh: Well it IS a fruit and I guess what i mean is that apart from the heat itself it has other flavors going on where the Choco Hab was JUST heat... JMO. :thumb:

Cheers

WvSmoke
10-20-2011, 04:43 AM
I grow Jalapeno, a variety of bells, poblano, and these Giant Marconi:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd456/Montyjw/marconis.jpg

IMHO, the Marconi is the best stuffing pepper in the world. It has a very sweet and smoky flavor that intensifies even more when roasted.

NRA4Life
10-20-2011, 05:46 AM
My wife is Thai...so you guessed it, we grow and use a lot of Thai peppers.

BigTony
10-20-2011, 06:09 AM
This year,I grew 3 Hungarian hot wax plants,and 1 Jalapeno.
Next year,I'm seeded up already,is for hot peppers.I only grow them about every three years,dry them and jar them,grind and use as needed.I plan on at least 10 Cayenne,and I have packets for the ghost pepper,orange and chocolate habaneros.
I will grow more in season this time,I am fairly new to the bbq,and want to make more rubs,I love Oak Ridge HDD!T

Smiter Q
10-20-2011, 08:56 AM
@HOSS

I saw photos of your growing spread before. Very impressive! :thumb:

Smiter Q
10-20-2011, 12:57 PM
I grow Jalapeno, a variety of bells, poblano, and these Giant Marconi:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd456/Montyjw/marconis.jpg

IMHO, the Marconi is the best stuffing pepper in the world. It has a very sweet and smoky flavor that intensifies even more when roasted.


Do you make poppers out of these?

deguerre
10-20-2011, 02:10 PM
Great thread! Question. What kinds of critters will be attracted to hot peppers? How do you guard against them?

JMSetzler
10-20-2011, 03:06 PM
Great thread! Question. What kinds of critters will be attracted to hot peppers? How do you guard against them?

Insects are more of a problem than regular critters and you can choose to protect against that however you wish... with or without insecticides...

Cook
10-20-2011, 04:38 PM
Most peppers actually have flavor if you take the time (or are able) to get past the heat. Many hot peppers like some habaneros and bonnets have excellent flavor, but most folks freak out over the heat. We eat raw habs in our household all the time along with cooking with them and making pepper sauce out of them.

Cook
10-20-2011, 04:43 PM
Here is today's picking of chocolate habanero and ghost peppers.
http://tapatalk.com/mu/aefcb063-ac7f-4e3e.jpg

Also a fair crop of jalapeno, which I smoked and ground to powder.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


Sammy, those are the strangest bhut jolokia peppers I've ever seen. Are you sure that's what you have? Where did you get the seeds/plants? I'll be honest. They look nothing like the ghost peppers I grow or have seen anywhere else. Check out JM's pics of his ghost peppers. That's how I've always seen them. Yours look more like a type of habanero.

I bet they are tasty no matter what they are!

Smiter Q
10-20-2011, 06:00 PM
In my first post I asked about "AJI peppers"... I know there are multiple types, but heard they are very flavorful.
If anyone has had them, can they describe it? I am thinking of buying some seeds. Thanks

Terry The Toad
10-20-2011, 07:44 PM
I usually grow some bell peppers for the kitchen. We use them in lots of recipes. (Plus, I like to eat them raw with a little ranch dressing.) I also grow a few jalapenos. However, now that I've found this forum (and discovered ABTs), I will be taking much better care of my jalapeno plants!

WvSmoke
10-20-2011, 07:58 PM
Do you make poppers out of these?

These are late season, so they are smaller than normal. I guess you could make poppers out of them, but they are sweet, not hot. I usually stuff them with sweet sausage and grill them. These particular peppers were used in reverse though. I stuffed a fatty with them:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd456/Montyjw/slicedpepperfatty.jpg

buccaneer
10-20-2011, 08:20 PM
I grew Jalapenos, Thai Birds Eye,Thai mouse poo, Thai Scuds, cayenne, serrano's last season.
This year I will add Bhut Jalokia and a good mate gave me some Trinidad Scorpion Butch T seeds so I'll make some space for those biggest baddest boys too.

I can't source poblanos but I really want to grow those.
Do a LOT of Asian cooking, and love Mexican flavors too.

bbqchicken
10-20-2011, 08:26 PM
jalapeno is my favorite. Great universal flavor for lots of recipes.

Sammy_Shuford
10-20-2011, 11:04 PM
Sammy, those are the strangest bhut jolokia peppers I've ever seen. Are you sure that's what you have? Where did you get the seeds/plants? I'll be honest. They look nothing like the ghost peppers I grow or have seen anywhere else. Check out JM's pics of his ghost peppers. That's how I've always seen them. Yours look more like a type of habanero.

I bet they are tasty no matter what they are!

The pepper plant was a gift, included with a chocolate hab and chocolate hab seeds.

Other than that, I do not know! I do like the taste and heat level.

DIRTYBIRDZ
10-20-2011, 11:11 PM
+1 Serranos.

davet54
10-21-2011, 08:27 AM
What kind of rub are you making with your chilies? Got any simple recipes care to part with?

Cook
10-21-2011, 10:41 AM
The pepper plant was a gift, included with a chocolate hab and chocolate hab seeds.

Other than that, I do not know! I do like the taste and heat level.

It's all good. I bet they are tasty. Get a real ghost pepper and let your friend take a bite. LOL

GARNAAL
10-21-2011, 11:28 AM
Hi,

I planted 2 Gypsy peppers in the backyard here in Houston in between some tomatoes in April - they continue to flower over the summer and produce ....
3-5 inch great sweet fruits - it's mid October and I'm still picking - yellow - and if you let them ripen a bit longer they turn a nice orange color..

https://by2.storage.live.com/items/795F85CDF7D72822%211195:Scaled1024/HPIM3679r.JPG?psid=1&ck=0&ex=720

great on the grill or to stuff with some cheese and spiced ground pork..

I also pickle them in jars when I can't keep up with the amount of fruit they give me..