Cool stuff! Let us know how much powder this will turn into.

I gotta grow me some HHW next year!

Will do! The peppers are deepening in color and developing that delicious meaty aroma! Just added a few more briquettes, and some pieces of soaked oak.

Isgen, you've got to. They're great peppers, and the plants perform well. I can always count on the Hungarians to come through, even if I plant them in the ground.

Josh

Some additional pics...

The peppers have dried overnight, and I'll be grinding them into powder in a few minutes.

Cool! So you just left them out on the grill to finish drying or you used a dehydrator?

I finished them in an actual dehydrator. And here they are as of this morning.
Such a rich burgundy color.

And after grinding them up, the interior flesh and the remaining seeds yield a classic paprika color. I removed quite a few seeds when preparing the pods for smoking, but next year I'll try to remove even more to improve the final powder.

Isgen, I looked for a scale, but couldn't find one; so I'm not sure exactly how much volume I have here. Definitely a lot more than last year! I doubled the number of plants grown, and roughly quadrupled the amount of paprika produced.

Josh

That gave a good amount. Did the Ghost peppers spice it up some as you intended? I bet you won't have to use too much to impart a light smokey flavour to whatever it'll go into.

I haven't even tried it yet! How shameful is that?!

I'll report back.

Josh

Nice Josh. I wont have that many and it is looking like I wont have a lot of "red" ones before they get frosted out. But I still plan on doing up some into smoked paprika. You suggest I ditch most of the seeds???

I don't think I will be adding any super hots to my mix however.

Harvest your peppers, then give them a week or so to color up. I bet a lot of them will. Definitely ditch the seeds, before or after the smoking/drying process.

So I tasted the raw paprika, and it is quite hot! Really attacks the tongue, but with great flavor. I guess those three Bhut Jolokias really did the trick! Hahaha!

Josh

tonight down to 40, maybe high 30's, but after that, it looks like a decent week or so. I think I can stretch them out a while yet....

I just brought my two containers of HHW's and my Thai Dragon plants inside for the night. I was surprised to see that a few of the HHW's are suddently sporting some orange coloring now.....They are on their way. I may get several red ones yet before I have to give up on the growing season.

Well, I put the smoked paprika to good use yesterday on some Deviled Eggs. The flavor was perfect, and the heat level was very balanced in combination with the egg and the acidity from the lemon juice, olive brine, and mustard. Notice the intensity of the color of my paprika on the left, as compared to the lifeless looking store-bought paprika on the right. I wasn't sure if the rest of my family would appreciate the heat, so I compromised and did half and half. They all loved 'em, though.

Josh, how long did you smoke them? I smoked some last year and maybe overdid it. My first taste was like licking the inside of a chimney! It mellowed out ok.

And which varieties did you grow? I grew a new one this year, Leutschauer. It is hotter than the mild sweet ones I've grown in the past.

There's a lady in Wyoming that is trying to get seeds for some Spanish paprikas. Hope they show up.

Tom

I would think a couple hours of smoking would be good. But it might have been the kind of wood that you used or maybe you allowed it to burn too fast.

Tom, I smoked them for about 2 - 3 hours, until the pods turned leathery.

These peppers are Hungarian Hot Wax peppers.

Josh