Any tips on smoking chili peppers for powder or spiced salt?

[jdefran]

A coworker gave me a couple pounds of cayenne peppers and I would like to make something with them. I was thinking a chili powder, ground pepper and/or a smoked spicy salt.

If I smoke them on the kettle, how long should I shoot for? I also have a dehydrator (borrowed from a different coworker) so I can finish them off that way once enough smoke has been absorbed by the peppers.

Look forward to any advice you kettle heads have 

[Hell Fire Grill]

There's no hard & fast rule on how or how long to dehydrate them, basically they have to be dryed til they are bone dry, they may still be pliable depending on the oil content though. The fastest and most effective way to dehydrate them is to cut them in half lengthwise and spreadem evenly on the screen, one layer thick. After that you just have to decide how to process them. Id recommend you leave them halved so youll be able to use them for anything, and grind to suit your recipe when you need them. Leave the seeds intact but if they fall off dont sweat it, they're easy to remove after dehydration if you dont want them in the food for whatever reason. By leaving the seeds in you keep ALL the flavor of the pepper in the pepper.

I store mine in mason jars in a cabinet above the fridge with my rubs and some other homegrown herbs and spices I make and keep handy. An air tite container works best for storage especially if you have humidity fluctuations, that humidity will cause the color of the peppers to get kindof blotchy and eventually affect the quality of the peppers. Proper storage will keep well dehydrated foods good for years.

They can be dehydrated on the kettle, and youll need a screen to lay them on to keep them out of the ashes. I dont use briquettes to smoke or cook anything but the addition of smoke to your peppers will add complexity to the flavor that you cant buy in a store, generally. Use lump charcoal whenever possible for the superior flavor.

You might be able to go to your local library and check out Mary Bell's complete dehydrator cookbook and learn all the particulars of preserving food with a dehydrator. Excalibur has printed at least a couple books/guides that are full of good information too.

http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Bells-Complete-Dehydrator-Cookbook/dp/0688130240

[MacEggs]

All excellent advice from HFG.  Can't go wrong with the above info.


Here are some pics from my very first attempt ... and only attempt, so far, at smoking peppers.

These pics are from September 2013.  Smoked Scotch Bonnets, Chocolate habs, and maybe some Trinidad Scorpions.
I didn't grow any in 2014.  Started out ... then got nothing.  Anyway, crappy weather last summer - not very hot.

My intention was to grind into dust after smoking.
So, I butterflied the peppers just to give it more grill retention .. not falling thru. Some shrinkage ..
They turned out nice and crispy, so grinding was no problem.
I thought I would have to finish them in the dehydrator, but didn't have to.

These were done on my mini UDS, so those are SJ grates. Three levels.
I think the temperature ranged in the 180-220° range.  Maybe 2-3 hours or so.

Excellent flavour!  Very happy with the results.  I used lump charcoal, but can't remember the wood I used.