Chipoltles

[JOHN]

does anyone know how to make chipoltles that would care to share lol

[Meat Hunter]

Search the forum for posts by member ALX. He is one of the resident pepperheads here.

[MichChef]

Run them threw Parkey

Huh??????

[curious aardvark]

chipotles are just hot smoked chillis.

The trick is to smoke them at a fairly low temp - say around 180.
You want them dried and still a little flexible - not totally crispy like my first batch :-)

[JOHN]

Ditto

[Scarbelly]

Here is what I found thru a Google search when I was looking for some instructions a while back

How To Make Chipotle Chiles At Home
Americans who love the smoky taste and fiery bite of chipotles have recently been hit with high prices and a scarcity of item. With prices for these smoked jalapenos reaching $15 a pound wholesale, home growers yearn to smoke their own. But the Mexicans have been fairly secretive about their techniques, and none of the books on chiles describe home smoking. However the process takes some dedication. First, lets look at how the Mexicans do it.

They use a large pit with a rack to smoke-dry the jalepenos. The pit containing the source of heat is underground, with a tunnel leading to the rack. The pods are placed on top of the rack where drafts of air pull the smoke up and over the pods. The jalapenos can be whole pods or pods without seeds. The latter are more expensive and are called "capones", or castrated ones.

It is possible to make chipotle in the back yard with a meat smoker or Weber-type barbecue with a lid. The grill should be washed to remove any meat particles because any odor in the barbecue will give the chile an undesirable flavor. Ideally, the smoker or barbecue should be new and dedicated only to smoking chiles.

The quality of homemade chipotle will depend on the maturity and quality of the pods, the moisture in the pods, the temperature of the smoke drying the pods, and the amount of instant the peppers are exposed to the smoke and heat. The aroma of wood smoke will flavor the jalapenos, so carefully choose what is burned. Branches from fruit trees, or other hardwoods such as hickory, oak, and pecan, work superbly. Pecan is used extensively in parts of Mexico and in southern New Mexico to flavor chipotle. Do not be afraid to experiment with different woods.

The difference between the fresh weight of the fruits and the finished product is about ten to one, so it takes ten pounds of fresh jalapenos to produce approximately one pound of chipotles. A pound of chipotles goes a long way, as a single pod is usually enough to flavor a dish.

First, wash all the pods and discard any that have insect damage, bruises, or are soft. Remove the stems from the pods before affixing the peppers in a single layer on the grill rack. Start two small fires on each side of the grill with charcoal briquets. Keep the fires small and never directly expose the pods to the fire so they wont dry unevenly or burn. The intention is to dry the pods slowly while flavoring them with smoke. Soak the wood in water before posting it on the coals so the wood will burn slower and create more smoke. The barbecue vents should be opened only partially to allow a small amount of air to enter the barbecue, thus preventing the fires from burning too fast and making too much heat.

Check the pods and the fires hourly and move the pods around, always keeping them away from the fires. It can take up to forty-eight hours to dry the pods completely. The pods will be hard, light in weight, and brown in color when dried. If necessary, let the fires burn through the night. After the pods have dried, remove them from the grill and let them cool. To preserve their flavor, place them in a zip-lock bag. It is best to store them in a cool and dry location. If humidity is kept out of the bags, the chipotles will last for twelve to twenty-four months.

[lcruzen]

My understanding of chipoltle's is they are jalapeno pepper ripened until red and then smoked/roasted. Don't really know much about the adobo sauce they come in canned but sure do like it and use them a lot.

[chefrob]

here is a chipotle sauce i did a while back......
http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/sho...light=chipotle

if you just want the chilis, then smoke/dry them and vac seal them....i just grind them into powder when i want to use them.

[curious aardvark]

I like to lick toads

Think you might have licked one too many today

[BBQ Engineer]

I like to lick toads

D,

I don't think you are helping your cause...just an observation.

[chefrob]

I simply cold smoke few hours(5 maybe) and then dehydrate....Very easy too over-smoke....I found the actual pepper to be most important.....

i pretty much cold smoke them and just leave them in the smoker overnight. here in the summer my smoker can easily get to 150 with no fuel and the air is petty dry here too. and i agree with alx on the pepper flavor being the most important feature............

[SMOKE FREAK]

I use the ripest jalepenos I can grow and smoke @ 150 or less for 3-5 hours then dry in the dehydrator...I use pecan wood to be as authentic as I can be...If youre going to grind them for powder then you want them very dry/crispy...I have pics and If I can find them Ill show ya...I also got a recipie for chipotle with adobo that is very good...somewhere...

[Fire it up]

My understanding of chipoltle's is they are jalapeno pepper ripened until red and then smoked/roasted. Don't really know much about the adobo sauce they come in canned but sure do like it and use them a lot.

Correct though home smoked chipotles are very hard to make like the ones done in stores.
I guess this is because they very, very slowly smoke theirs for several days.

[SMOKE FREAK]

Here is a view or two...





I like to cut them in half...They take the smoke better and dry faster...Also easier to seed when dry if you want to...Much hotter pepper powder if ya seed them after drying rather than before...

Hope this helps...

[homesmoke]

Has anyone reversed this process and smoked them after dehydration? At the end of garden's production from last year, dehydrated a bunch in various stages of ripeness. Sort of like smoking paprika?

I'm going to have fresh ready before these will get used up. Might have to try it in reverse.