Hi t-bob,

Looking good. I've been doing Chipotle for the past few years.

It looks like you're smoking whole pods. If I may, I find that slicing in half speeds up smoking saturation and time.

FWIW,

Bill

what type of wood are you using, and about how long do the peppers take at 100. I bought a smoker about two months ago, can't wait to try peppers!

thanks
sam

I second ottawapepper on slicing them. It help alot with the time it took and also seemed to allow the smoke flavor into the peppers more.

Derek

well, i did stick a knife thru both sides once i had them on the rack hoping that would help....if i can get enough red jals in the next few weeks for another smoking, maybe then i'll slice in two. thanks for the input folks. its been a fun day, but i have to go to work tomorrow and so can't continue the smoking, however on tuesday i watch my grand daughter and so maybe i can do another day in the pit of smoking/drying and then into the dehydrator to finish up

I usually just cut slits in mine, as I havent tried cutting them in half yet. I typically smoke mine for 4-6 hrs then they go into the dehydrator to finish getting moisture out.

Looks good! I usually also slice in half carefully (so I don't loose many or any seeds), then put on tin foil which goes on grill platter thing.

Sam,

Personally, I use Hickory for smoke. IÂve read that Pecan was the traditional wood used by the Aztecs who smoke dried thick skinned Jalapenos to preserve them (otherwise they rot).

Technically, Chipotle is smoke dried Jalapeno peppers. Here are a few shots of some Orange and Paper Lantern Habaneros I smoked last year. For smaller quantities I like to use my Big Green Egg but for large volumes I use a Bradley electric smoker. I can get 12 trays of peppers in the Bradley.

I also do what RDS suggested smoke for 5  6 hours and finish off in dehydrators.

Bill

Chipotle takes at least a week to make the way the Mexicans do it.

Bill & Veggie: Is there a particular reason for leaving the seeds in other than avoiding the nuisance of removing them? I usually stem and remove the seeds, and use apple for the wood.
John A

John A,

I guess it boils down to personal taste and end product.

I grind my smoked dried peppers into powders. I prefer a hotter end result so leaving the membrane in means more heat. Leaving the seeds in does mean a slightly more bitter taste but itÂs not offensive. I usually smoke quite a few peppers each year so, yes, laziness is also a factor for me ;-))

If you are looking for a milder powder or more ethically pleasing dried pods, then definitely take the time to seed.

Either way, itÂs all good!

Bill

Yea, taste/heat factor is why some leave the seeds in or take them out. I myself use the tin foil bag full of hickory chips with holes poked in it for my smoking. I'll smoke them on the grill for anywhere from 6-10 hours, then dehydrate for 12-18 more. Then, I simply grind them up in a food processor. =)

i am new to smoking, I did some chicken the first time and it tasted like a camp fire. It was way to strong smoke flavor. When you smoke do you use any charcoal or pure wood? I have a smoker with the side compartment for the fire. When i cooked the chicken i used pure wood in the fire pit, and like i said it was way to strong. Any advice would be great.

Thanks for all the advice
sam

I'm curious about this too. I assumed one would just light the chips with a match and some kind of kindling (newspaper?) to get them going then what? Do you put the peppers in right away or do you wait till the chips die down?

Sam & thepaan,

The intensity of smoke flavour is a personal taste. Some like it crazy strong and others mild. Most like to find the right balance between original flavour of the food theyÂre cooking/smoking and smoke intensity and flavour (cherry, maple, hickory etc.).

To keep this forum relevant to the folks who come here for pepper topics, IÂll attempt to answer your question in relation to peppers ;-)

Strictly from a personal taste perspective, I smoke sweet and mildly spicy peppers like I would chicken and pork. IÂll use lump charcoal and add milder wood chips/chunks once the charcoal has burned down to form a white ash. Then IÂll throw those milder peppers on to smoke. For stronger peppers (hot to really hot) IÂll use a stronger smoke (ie. more volume of hickory or mesquite chips or chunks) similar to what I would use for beef or gamier meets. Of course, when I use my electric smoker, I just set my temperature and pop in x number of whatever flavour of wood chip pucks I want.

If you want to get into more detailed discussions on BBQ and smoking in general I respectfully suggest you visit the GardenWeb Cooking Outdoors forum, link below.

Hope this helps,

Bill

Here is a link that might be useful: Cooking Outdoors

sambo & thepan: I first intensely clean out my grill, as I use it for grilling too, of course. Then, I pile up a little bit of charcoal only on one side of the grill. Once it's good & red hot, I take a half a bag or so of hickory chips, wrap them up in tin foil, poke holes in the top of the tin foil & stick it on top of the coals. I then put the grill grate thing on. The wood chips will start smoking out through the holes in the tin foil pretty good after 10 minutes or so. I then place my grill tray on the opposite (no coals/chips) side, place some tin foil on top of it and then the peppers, sliced in half, on top of that. I close the lid, leaving coal vent open (so coals don't go out) & vent on side of Jal's barely cracked. They smoke for about 5 hours or so until the coals & chips are all burnt out. Then, into the dehydrator overnight and in the morning they're done. =)

wow, lots of different ways people use to make chipotle.. if i had my way i would do it as willard said and slow smoke for a week or so, but i don't have the time due to work and etc...( have you ever witnessed willard?). i did smoke this round for 3 days, 1 1/2 days with a pecan log i'd brought from texas and the rest with a fresh cut down alder. i was able to keep the temps nice and low between 95 and 110 as the mexican peoples do...and now they are dehydrating. i wish i had a good dehydrator and they would dry in a day, but i have a POC and i expect them to take at least 3 days in the dehydrator...maybe more seeing as these are goliath jals---big and meaty. they will not be mild on the smoke flavor i'm betting---

thanks for all the peoples input, ways you smoke, and etc....

Thanks for all the help! I have a big harvest of habs, and japs, can't wait to try and smoke umm. I have so many pickled, frozen, and regular dried peppers I am ready to try something else. This is my first year ever growing anything, and I have about 30 jars of pickled peppers, 20 jars of dried peppers, and my freezer is full of frozen peppers ( wife hates it, but she loves to eat them too). Could not of done any of it without you alls help, thanks so much. yes i am from the south and you'll is a word.

Sam

Wow, that's a lot of peppers, Sam! =) And, btw, it's "y'all" lol

Willard, I'll grow the peppers and let you sit by the smoker for a week. lol.

Chris

I watched in a pueblo in central Mexico. The smoker was a fire box connected to a long flue buried in the ground with the drying device on the end of the flue. The temp of the smoke was controlled by pouring water on the dirt covering the pipe. You could hold your hand comfortably over the end of the flue......maybe 95-105F.

I spoke to the grower at length and, as the pueblo was not far from where we stayed, I returned for a while several days in a row.

under ground pipe cooling with water what a great idea

We smoked serranos and anaheims with mesquite beans (seed pods from the trees) as the smoke source.

Low heat, smoke until they are dry enough to "rattle"in the pan ... these were milder than commercial chipotle powder, which is pecan-smoked Jalapenos. It's warm and smoky, not tongue-burning hot.

Do you have a problem with the dehydrator retaining the smoked flavor?

Another reason to slice them in half - I had some peppers that didn't dry on the inside because there was a plug of cooked material at the stem end.

The touch cuticle prevented them from drying as fast as the rest.

I also microwave mine for a few minutes to get them softer, better (maybe) smoke penetration.