Most peppers make for great flakes. I've had many different types (imported) and they vary in taste widely, most of them delicious. I gave up on the imported stuff a long time ago because they contain too much mold etc etc.

Otherwise i'd get those Fatali's right into a dehydrator after you pick them and before they rot. I would save a certain amount for pepper mashes too though.

Other ideas? Home made mustard perhaps? This guy claims that his Fatali mustard came out excellent: http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/10898-homemade-habanero-mustard/

The rest of that website should give you even more ideas: http://www.thehotpepper.com/

Smoke dry them in a smoker or offset the fire in a BBQ and freeze them or make powder and rubs.
You can heavy smoke them for an hour or so then dry them if you have a dehydrator.
I cut bigger pods in half the long way for faster drying.

In New Mexico they have them tide up on a string and hanging under every covered outdoor place you can think of. :) Looks really fantastic. :) But I'm not familiar with the intricacies of the process.

Rudy

Yeah, the ristras of drying chiles are cool decorations, and you can use the pods as you need them, but here in NE KS, the humidity is too high and the pods rot. I've even tried varnish and shellac (for decorative ristras only) to no avail. It is just too humid here. But if you live in a dry climate, ristras are the way to go. If not, thin-skinned varieties will air dry ok, including Fataliis if you cut them in half lengthwise. Otherwise, like smoke said, smoke them and dehydrate them.

A shortcut to getting a smoked flavor to your pods is to dry them 1/2 way then spray them with a mix of liquid smoke and water(on bottle label) then dry them the rest of the way until they are dry in a dehydrator or oven.

I know there are many variables involved, but how long does it roughly take to dehydrate to the point of making flakes? I recently picked up a Nesco dehydrator and am looking forward to giving it a try.

John

Yes, lots of factors....thickness of peppers, cut or uncut, temp you run the dehydrator at, humidity, etc...

I usually end up running 8+ hours minimum. You want to get past the 'leathery' stage. Depending on all the factors, sometimes I'll go 16 - 24 hours.

jcav8ter:
Yes, it is a "play it by ear" type method to dry them in a dehydrator. Couple things to keep in mind when drying them. First of all, if you are married and want to stay that way, dry them, especially the super hots in the garage or other isolated room with ventilation. You throw a couple trays of Bhuts in dehydrator in the kitchen and you are likely to feel like the SWAT team has just raided your house.
Second, they will probably dry slower out in the garage since the humidity is usually higher out there. But it is worth it. Just make sure you cut them in at least half before trying to dry them. Most thicker walled peppers will take forever to dry otherwise.
I suggest you simply start them drying and then after about 5 or 6 hours, just check them every couple hours or so. Pretty tough to over dry them. You want very dry ones to grind up into powder or flakes and the dryer they are, the longer they will keep. I grind most of my peppers. It is then really easy to sprinkle a little on food or into meals whenever I want just like you would with garlic powder.
Good luck
Bruce

This looks like a good topic for my question. esox07 you state it's hard to over dry them. I have a question as this is the first year I am going to make my own chili powder. One place I read says do not dry them to the point that they will shatter, that you want some moisture in them to make the powder. Apparently those dried completely (and they said those in ristas are not good for making chili powder because they are too dry) are not as flavorful for powder. Anyone have any experience in this?

Thanks for all the advice. Never thought about that and I am growing bhuts and scorpions and will dry some of them. Would have been quite a learning experience. Thanks again guys, my wife thanks you too.

John

kuvaszlvr, drying them to the shattering point or leaving some moisture in them depends, in my mind, on how quickly you will use them and how long they will be stored.

If you will use them right away, I agree with the advice of don't dry them completely. If, however, you will store them and grind them later, dry them out completely.

They contain oils, which usually survives total drying. But if you leave any moisture in them and try to store them, you will get moldy pods. I agree the flavor decreases the more they are exposed to the air (ristras), but it all depends on your climate and how quickly you will use them.