It's looking like I am going to have quite a few Caribbean red and paper lantern habs ready in the near future. I'm torn between making sauce, purées or powder... Any suggestions? I've only grown the paper lantern before and didn't have much luck last year....
Suggestions for Caribbean Red and Paper Lantern Habs
- Thread starter schrade82
- Start date
Brain Strain Pepper Head
Banned
I am growing 30 Caribbean red as these are one of my everyday favorites. I make sauce and powder and freeze plenty.
Ingredients
________________________________________
1/2 to 1 pound red habanero chiles, seeds and stems removed
1 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup lime juice (or lemon juice)
2 tablespoons water
1 medium papaya, boiled until tender, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Mix/blend, boil, check PH and jar
Ingredients
________________________________________
1/2 to 1 pound red habanero chiles, seeds and stems removed
1 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup lime juice (or lemon juice)
2 tablespoons water
1 medium papaya, boiled until tender, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Mix/blend, boil, check PH and jar
I dry a bunch of my Caribbean reds every year, but I fire roast and freeze the majority of them. I use one of those roasting trays with the small holes in the bottom, otherwise they'd fall through the grill grate.
I put the dried ones on just about everything. One dried pod is just enough to give a slice of pizza a little fruity, hot Caribbean kick. And one of my favorite uses for the roasted ones is Puerto Rican beans. It's a pinto bean dish with tomatoes, ham, green olives and TONS of habaneros. If you need the recipe, I'll see if I can dig it up for you.
edit: One more "recipe"… Habanachos!
1.) Once you have roasted your Caribbean red habs, cut a dozen or so into halves or thirds.
2.) Toss a bunch of tortuga chips on a plate... like you're making nachos… because you are.
3.) Place a habanero piece on each of the chips.
4.) Cover the chips/habs in shredded Mes'kin cheaz. Do not add anything else, that would be illegal.
5.) Microwave until everything gets melty and drink a beer because I said so.
6.) Eat.
7.) Smile smugly while you reflect on your decision to grow the best-tasting hot pepper.
8.) Drink several more beers.
9.) Smile some more… because you're buzzed.
I put the dried ones on just about everything. One dried pod is just enough to give a slice of pizza a little fruity, hot Caribbean kick. And one of my favorite uses for the roasted ones is Puerto Rican beans. It's a pinto bean dish with tomatoes, ham, green olives and TONS of habaneros. If you need the recipe, I'll see if I can dig it up for you.
edit: One more "recipe"… Habanachos!
1.) Once you have roasted your Caribbean red habs, cut a dozen or so into halves or thirds.
2.) Toss a bunch of tortuga chips on a plate... like you're making nachos… because you are.
3.) Place a habanero piece on each of the chips.
4.) Cover the chips/habs in shredded Mes'kin cheaz. Do not add anything else, that would be illegal.
5.) Microwave until everything gets melty and drink a beer because I said so.
6.) Eat.
7.) Smile smugly while you reflect on your decision to grow the best-tasting hot pepper.
8.) Drink several more beers.
9.) Smile some more… because you're buzzed.
Most of my paper lanterns get dried and chopped into flakes to shake on pizza and pasta and everything else instead of red pepper flakes. Perfect pepper for the job, IMHO.
If you don't know what to do with the harvest, freeze them. Once frozen, they are good for anything but eating raw since they will be a bit soggy from freezing. Still good for sauces, drying, any cooked recipe, etc.
If you don't know what to do with the harvest, freeze them. Once frozen, they are good for anything but eating raw since they will be a bit soggy from freezing. Still good for sauces, drying, any cooked recipe, etc.
Brain Strain Pepper Head said:
That sounds pretty good, how much sauce does this make?
dash 2 said:
So this sounded good, then you added the habanacho recipe and this became the best thing I have read in a while. Would it be okay to move step 5 up a few, of course I'll get another beer with step 5 as well! Gonna have to try these. Move not roasted any peppers yet, just roast them on low heat until they start to blister?
Never thought of drying these vice cayennes. Will give this a try too!Jeff H said:
schrade82 said:
High heat is better. You want to burn 'em a little bit beyond the blister point. I like to roast mine until they have big splotches (maybe 10 to 25% of the total pod surface) of black. The "black" is just the outer membrane of the pod burning away, the flesh underneath, although thin, is still intact, but carmelized. (WOW, that's a lotta commas!)
I use a weber grill with a big heap of lump charwood. That stuff gets absurdly hot. I use one of these http://www.amazon.com/Weber-6434-Professional-Grade-Vegetable-Basket/dp/B000WEIJUW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1406256707&sr=8-2&keywords=grilling+vegetable+tray to hold the pods on the fire. It has tall sides which makes it easy to toss the pods around so they char evenly.
I find that this setup is just about perfect for roasting small, thin-skinned pods. Big pods like an Anaheim need more time over a cooler fire, so they have a chance to cook before they burn. But small pods like habs will turn to mush or dry up if they're on a fire too long. A really hot fire lets you get good carmelization while the pod retains some of its texture and shape.
edit:
These are about halfway done.
Bingo! Roasted red bhuts and Caribbean red, orange and chocolate habs.
edit #20:
One more thing. (Damn. I think I clicked the "edit" button 20 times by now!) The way I have them laid out on this pan is not just for show. (But it is pretty isn't it?) I freeze them like this so they stay separate - so they don't all just freeze into one solid gob. It makes them super easy to count and slice when you need them later.
^Kinda looks like the "after" version of my avatar!
paper lantern is a pretty boring pepper, flavour is okay and heat is less than okay, so eating a pod right off the plant can happen without any major discomfort. so perhaps drying and grinding it up as an additive is best for it. i have one overwintered plant and most likely won't grow it again.
caribbean red on the other hand has lots of flavour and lots of heat. there are endless possibilities for it. i killed off my 5 year old plants and started new ones for 2014, as the old ones weren't producing to the volume they should. a ferment would be nice, powder is good or just keep freeze the pods for future use.
good luck.
caribbean red on the other hand has lots of flavour and lots of heat. there are endless possibilities for it. i killed off my 5 year old plants and started new ones for 2014, as the old ones weren't producing to the volume they should. a ferment would be nice, powder is good or just keep freeze the pods for future use.
good luck.
Burning Colon said:
Too bad to hear about the paper lantern. I was hoping it was comparable to the Caribbean red. I love CRs but they're such a pain in the butt to pick. Lanterns would be way easier.
schrade82 said:
Absolutely! Every other step should actually be step 5. (I forgot to mention this before. I have been on step 5 for a little while now…)
Lanterns dried and flaked or smoked then dried and powdered, or roasted and made into sauce, or fermented then made into sauce, Caribbean reds, fresh, roasted, smoked,
Powdered, flaked, fermented, sauce, cooked in food, are you catching my drift, they are good for EVERYTHING!
Powdered, flaked, fermented, sauce, cooked in food, are you catching my drift, they are good for EVERYTHING!