RyanC95 - I'm not familiar with that method, but I recommend you get a Nesco dehydrator for like $60. Cut them in half, and leave them in there for about 15 hours at 135F and you'll be good to go....

I agree with Salvene

You need to dry them fast to prevent mold and rotting. dehydrator is the way to go. Some peppers with thin wall can be air dried like Cayenne, Thai Hot, Japonse but the juicy and meaty ones (like habanero) would rot.

I have a nesco dehydrator that I use to dry habaneros. It works like a charm. Other methods would include the oven method you mentioned. But I'd be surprised if 6 hours at 120 degrees was enough.

The most "traditional" method in my family would probably be stringing them up and hanging them to dry in a sunny spot with lots of ventilation. That may work well for my cousin and my grandparents, who is/were chili farmers in New Mexico, but it doesn't work well for someone like me in a humid mid-Atlantic climate. I think it requires pretty dry air to work well. Otherwise you end up with mold!

I don't know if I have ever seen anyone do a string of peppers inside. Usually the hanging strand of peppers is outside in a sunny, dry location that gets a breeze.

Angie

I used a cheapie bamboo cart, wrapped it in 40 gauge plastic, added "shelves" made out of window screen material, put small solar panels on the top to operate a server fan inside near the top. I screened in the bottom so that bugs can't get in but air can, then have the top only loosely fitted so that the fan draws air up and out. Voila, a solar dehydrator. Have tested it on herbs, catnip and now am drying peppers in there. Yes, it only runs the fan when the sun hits but so far, I have been lucky so far that this run time is sufficient.

I have not purchased a dehydrator as of yet, I cut the peppers in 1/2 place them on a plate and cover with a paper towel and let them dry, it takes a long while but I was in no big hurry since I made sauces. Once dry I made powder.

Take it to the next level - Smoke dried... preferably with hickory.

I tie mine on a string so they just barely don't touch and hang horizontal in the top of my room.....yes, it takes a few months, but are dry by X-mas. They also make for nice decoration for the yule season. I heat with wood stove and so there is a good amount of heat up high. Good luck whatever you do and hope it all works out for you.--Bob

Dehydrator s are cheap and cant be beat
Even the cheap walmart offering will dry many many years worth of pepper pods and jerky batchs

Mecdave, how long do you smoke them for, and at what temp? Sliced in half, I'm guessing? I don't have a smoker, just a huge 6 burner gas grill, but I smoke using indirect heat all the time. Works great for ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, chicken, etc. I wonder how hard it would be to keep the temp under 200*, though. I'd imagine the temp would have to be pretty low.
I'm asking mainly about Habs and Bhuts, if it matters.

I cold smoke at about 140 degrees. Build a very small charcoal fire in a single hibachi or fire pan, then once ashen place it in the smoker and add large chunks of hickory that has soaked in water overnight.

After 4 hours of smoke the peppers usually aren't dried completely so I'll take whats left of the charcoal fire out and place an electric hotplate inside to finish drying... usually overnight.

PS My smoker is a 75 year old refrigerator that has been gutted and vent registers cut into the top and bottom side to regulate airflow and temps. Cheap and can't be beat. ;)

Haha! Thanks. Did you post a pic of your smoker on another thread not too long ago? I'm pretty sure I remember it. Lots of room in there! This was supposed to be my side project this past spring, but never got around to it.

I guess you have to submerge it in water for a few days before use, because the wooden lats shrink a little when dry (plus, the barrel will go up in flames!). Soaking it will cause the wood to expand and get a better seal for the smoke. Seems like a lot of work, but definitely a cool conversation piece!

Wow that barrel looks really cool. If it was used for bourbon production I bet it would impart a fantastic flavor in anything smoked.

Yep, that was my Frigidaire by General Motors smoker. I built it about 26 years ago. Some friends were on the way to the dump with it when they decided I needed a house warming gift. They were right!

One of the photos showed peppers stacked three shelves high, but I can go as many as eight. I have other smokers for meat, but this one still produces the best venison jerky, and lots of it when needed.

BTW The latch on the fridge is deemed a child endangerment hazard and was supposed to be removed upon disposal, if not sooner. Kids were getting trapped inside these fridges and suffocating and thus were probably one of the first products listed as a child hazard... at least as far back as I can remember anyway.

This post was edited by mecdave on Tue, Aug 26, 14 at 20:59

mecdave,
LOL. Love the color. I've make smokers outta fridges and old water heaters.
Tip: put an old cake pan with 1/2" of kosher salt in it when smoking your peppers. You'll have good smoked salt. I usually use post oak and mesquite, sometimes pecan...

Thanks Tom. That is a recent repaint with Krylon "Pistachio".

Great tip on the salt! I hadn't ever heard of that one and will definitely be trying it... this weekend.

Yeah I cut my bbq teeth working my teenage years in Austin's Pit BBQs where oak is/was king. I still use it, particularly for longer smokes, like briskets. The flavor is so mild it doesn't build up and overpower.

Mesquite? Not allowed in my smokers. I know a lot of people really like it, but I'm not one of them. I cringe every time I see an ad for the Green Mesquite restaurant. Using green mesquite is the fastest way to ruin the flavor of a pit forever. Like burning pine. Yuk. /soapbox

Mesquite is okay for quick smoking, but *always* seasoned wood.

GREEN? Pull the other one.

No, not that one!

This post was edited by DMForcier on Fri, Aug 29, 14 at 19:54

Thanks for the tips, but Im a broke college student so anything more than 10 dollar is a expensive for me and I dont really have room to put a dehydrator anywhere except my bathroom

If you're a broke college student -- try Alton Brown's BlowHard 3000. Just some furnace filters and a box fan.