a gas mask and eye protection is advisable as well, the first time I made powder I paid for not having one

As an alternative to all the protective gear you can try what I do...

If you have a blender and the carafe has a screw on base you can see if it fits a mason jar (regular mouth, not wide mouth).

I packed a bunch of dried Bhut peppers into a jar, screwed on the "lid/base" with the blades and pulverized them.

Once you're done you can let the jar rest with the lid on until the dust settles. Unscrew the blender base and put on a standard mason jar lid/ring to close the jar back up for storage.

Works great, and no need for respiratory gear.

Ok, sounds good. I guess I'll give it a go. Thanks guys.

Tim

I'll add they're not ready to powder/grind until they snap when bent. If they're at all pliable they're not ready.

Protection is good if you're doing volumes and want to empty the grinder/blender ASAP for the net load. Like mbellot suggested, just let the powder settle for a while before opening.

Now if you're doing a lot of batches, I agree with homefry319... you want protection!

Here's mine

Wow! You guys are serious. I had planned on doing the grinding on my back deck. I have a small table and an electrical outlet. I assume that will help. I do know that with the temp at 87, my pores will be open so I still need to remain vigilant. Oh well, I guess the best way to learn is to make a few mistakes. I have the hickory chips soaking as we speak. Thanks again Bill for all the seeds.

Tim

the safest way it to con the wife into grinding them.lol u will be ok with a blender it works well, just let it settle, if u want to put it in a different jar avoid creating dust. Use a spoon instead of pouring it. If anyone needs a respirator, i can get them free at work. Will trade

I see that you got the jump on the powder! I use my food processor and like a dummy, I take the pain of not letting it settle. Keeps me honest I guess. Kinda like the old gas chamber... Same for horseradish root.

Powder on!

I smoked the peppers on a charcoal grill with a smoker box. They went for 2 hours at a temp of 200 to 250 degrees. I pulled them off and I now have them in the dehydrator at 100 degrees. The smell is amazing. It's mostly orange habaneros with a few red savinas mixed in. I'm also boiling some corn on the cob. The mixture of the two smells is awesome. I just hope the end result resembles the smell while dehydrating. Scorpion_john....I may have to take you up on that offer.I bought a coffee grinder at Walmart for $15. I'll see how it goes on this first run. Thanks guys.

Tim

i never tried a coffee grinder. I tried the food processer before, i think the blender with quart mason jar works best. It keeps everything contained. I dont use a respirator myself, if it starts to burn i just walk for a few minutes till it clears. But if u want a respirator just email me

Sounds like you got it covered! I think I dry mine at about 120. It takes a long time, but, the color keeps better than if I use a higher setting. As Ottawa said, they should not be leathery or pliable.

Did you make any smoked habanero/savina butter to go with that corn? ;-)

I put in processor first and then go to the coffee grinder in batches for a finer dust.

You guys must be overly sensitive to capsaicin because I don't use any protection at all. I sneeze a tad but that's about it. I do wash my hands with baking soda afterwards though.

I know some people are more sensitive that others though. Whenever I toast chiles in a pan, anybody in the house starts coughing. Doesn't bother me one bit. Maybe when I get some ripe ghosts pods, I'll feel differently. LOL

i use coffee grinders they work perfect :)

Ugh, yeah, I used a coffee/spice grinder on some bhuts I had dehydrated (hung them up in the hot attic for a week, then finished them off with the dehydrator).

"They're dried, they won't areosolize", I said.

"The grinder has a close fitting deep lid, nothing will get out", I said.

Yeah, you can probably guess what happened. I am officially not going to dust the kitchen for a few years now, just to be on the safe side.

On the up side though, I know for a fact my bhut powder is lethal. =)

We have one of those kitchen aid coffee grinders we use for grinding spices only, its nice because it splits from the motor and is all stainless so it can be machine washed

you gotta try some powder on chips. I use salt and vinegar chips, fill an old butter bowl with chips add about 1/2 teaspoon of powder and shake up. I eat them everyday in my lunch. You gotta share with your coworkers, the expressions on their faces are priceless lol

So how about a picture of that powder Timbo!

The peppers are still in the dehydrator. I put it on 90 degrees when I went to bed last night. It's all done except for a few big pieces. I hope to have it in the grinder in the next hour or so. I just hope it turns out right. I don't hope to aspire to your level of professionalism Jamie! :) I believe you could sell your powder in a big box store.

Tim

Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I'm going on vacation tomorrow, so everything is hectic. Just got everything finished and bagged. I ended up with a lot more than I anticipated. I was only expecting maybe 1 bag. I ended up with 3 small bags. I haven't had a chance to sample it yet. I hope it doesn't taste like dog turds. Here are a few pics.

Tim

Pic #3

Okay, I just tried it. I made a turkey and swiss sandwich. After I applied the mayonnaise, I sprinkled some powder on it. It was very good. I'm impressed it turned out so well. Of course, when you have teachers as good as you guys....that makes it a lot easier. I can see how this turns into an addiction. I'm already trying to figure which peppers I want to use next!

Tim

Very nice powder indeed. You must now change your name to not so peppernovice:)LOL

Enjoy your vacay:)

Looks good! Yeah, when you have a variety of dried peppers / powders to mix together, you'll develop a vicious creative streak! ;-)

Yah, if you are sprinkling powder from those kinds of peppers on your sandwiches....you ain't a "novice" anymore.
Bruce

That poweder looks great.
I use a coffee grinder also. Only were gloves, so far no need for a reperator.

Looks good and sounds tasty. A nice zingy change from mustard.

Those pepper powders look great!! This was a great post to read since I just dried my first cayennes yesterday and they came out really good. Only problem I had though... I spent hours over the weekend going from store to store looking for a dehydrator and only found 1 in Walmart and a few in Sears. Not sure if they make small ones but the ones I saw were too big (4 trays) for me to store. I couldn't believe it though... I must have gone to 6 different stores and no luck.

I ended up using the oven.. at the lowest temperature for about 8 hours with the door ajar. The smell was amazing!! They came out nice, good color, crispy & HOT... I crushed them inside of a ziplock bag so they are not fine ground, but I don't have a coffee grinder either. Only had about 7 or 8 cayennes to do.. not worth all the machinery this time but NEXT YEAR.. lol.. that might be a different story!

Cheezdoodle........It's already too late for you. I see the addiction already building. By this time next year, you'll have 3 smokers, 2 dehydrators and an industrial strength coffee grinder. The worst part is, you'll be talking about how it's not enough! Welcome to the club! :)

Tim

You're right Tim, it becomes an addiction!

I started off smoking a few Jalapenos on my BGE (smoker/roaster/grill) and soon ran into a space problem.

I ended up getting a Bradley smoker and an extra dehydrator.

Here's a shot of the smoker being loaded and my powders this year (not smoked in the bottom box and smoked ones in the top.)

I guess my GF is right, I'm crazy. Tim, I give you two, maybe three, years before you're crazy like me ;-))

Bill

Bill......I think my wife would give me the boot if I tried to take it that far.......too quickly. I'm using a 5 year plan. :)

Tim