I will try this with some.Mostly I will be just using them as a salsa or
chilli ingred

--
Lynn ---DOF Leaper
Smokers are a dying breed

"George Shirley" wrote in message
. ..

AFAIK Barb doesn't can peppers. Canning them will not make them like fresh
peppers. Mostly you end up making a pickle of them as follows:

Cap the peppers so the pickle can get inside and out. Sterilize a jar,
fill full of peppers. Bring a pickle of 50:50 5% vinegar and water with
whatever pickling spices you might like to a boil. Pour over the peppers
in the jar and put on the lid and ring, hand tighten. Boiling water bath
for at least 5 minutes, take out and allow to sit on a folded towel for 24
hours. Should last up to two years with no problems.

George

I can't speak to the dehydrating side of things but I have been happy
with both the habs I have frozen and also alcohol soaked.

For the freezing I just put them in a glass jar and pick out a whole
pepper when I need it. I've kept them this way for over a year. Yes,
they do get mushy when I drop them in a soup or stew but the heat is
still there and that is all I care about. No muss no fuss.

I also have diced up some habs, put them in an old, empty large
Tabasco sauce bottle, about 1/3 full and then filled the jar with
vodka. Mmmmmm. (I've also done the same with whole peppercorns)

I guess it would be a bad thing if you put too much pepper and not
enough hooch, then the proof is too low and cooties will grow.
Everclear is your friend! :-)

I know firsthand that if you put wet peppers in a jar and top with
oil, nasty stuff will soon bloom and if you are dumb and use it on
food, I assume you will get very sick or even dead.

JJ

Thomas (dot) wrote:
....
I used a small backyard
smoker and I used charcoal for heat and mesquite wood for the smoke, but
hickory, pecan or apple wood would work.
Smoke them on a VERY low temp for a long time and check them often. You
will be able to tell when they are dry. I still use some that I have in a
spice jar which I smoked over 5 years ago.
good luck!


I tried to smoke some in a regular covered charcoal grill with wood
chips this weekend. I'm not sure but they may have gotten burned.
They're pretty brown and shriveled. I guess I'll have to try some
tonight to see if they taste ok.

frank megaweege wrote:
Thomas (dot) wrote:
...
I used a small backyard
smoker and I used charcoal for heat and mesquite wood for the smoke, but
hickory, pecan or apple wood would work.
Smoke them on a VERY low temp for a long time and check them often. You
will be able to tell when they are dry. I still use some that I have in a
spice jar which I smoked over 5 years ago.
good luck!


I tried to smoke some in a regular covered charcoal grill with wood
chips this weekend. I'm not sure but they may have gotten burned.
They're pretty brown and shriveled. I guess I'll have to try some
tonight to see if they taste ok.

I actually think they came out great. I used a weber-style grill.
Built a small charcoal pile near the front of the grill and threw a
handful of mesquite chips on top. The habs were on the little warming
grill, a few inches higher than the main grill and towards the back, so
as not to get direct heat. I got it going, closed the lid and didn't
check back until the charcoal was spent. The habs were shrunken and
shriveled but still fleshy and somewhat moist. I repeated the process
again. The next morning they appeared too brown at first glance and I
was afraid I'd ruined them. They were lightweight husks now, and upon
further inspection not really burnt but darkened. I crushed them up,
some parts brittle, others a bit more tough and put them in a jar. I
chewed up a piece about the size of a quarter, and it had a great smoky
flavor, although it was way too hot to be eaten like that. I'll crush
them up some more and use to make a jerk rub and add the bigger pieces
to stir fry or pop into the blender with other salsa ingredients.