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smoking How to smoke peppers?

Pfeffer

Pfeffer

Hi all,
 
I'm wondering if you guys could give me some advise. I already got a little plan;
 
1) Have peppers
2) Smoke them
 
So far, so good. However, I am used to smoking.. but never  actually smoked peppers except for some rare chipotles (over beech and oak.. both not really a hit). Therefore I'm wondering if you guys know a one or two about pepper smoking. I'm trying to smoke the following peppers;
 
Carolina Reaper
Georgia Black
Scotch Brain
Nagabrain Chocolate
Vezena Piperka
Jalapeño Early
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
Lombok (cayenne)
Bird's eye demon
 
Should I smoke them cold or should I heat it up? Do I smoke them a little and then remove them from my UDS (or Weber for smaller batches) and let them dry in the oven to prevent oversmoking them?
 
I have the following smoke Woods;
 
Oak (European variant)
Cherry (Schneiders späte Knorpelkirsche - sweet cherry)
Cherry (Rote Maikirsche - sour cherry)
Cherry (unknown, Weber smoke chips)
Hickory (unknown, Weber smoke chips)
Beech
Birch
Apple (Elstar - Sweet apple)
Apple (Granny smith - Sour apple)
Apple (Jonagold - Sweet apple)
Fir
Spruce
Walnut
Sekelbos (sicklebush)
 
The chipotles were very over-smoked last year.. So I'd be happy to learn from you guys. The end goal is to make flakes from them.
 
 
I have a propane smoker so I just smoke for around 1/2 hour to an hour or so using guava wood (local fruit tree) and then just continue w/dry heat until they dry. 
I wish I had access to all the different woods you can get. The only other one I can get is mesquite and that can be a little overpowering for what I like to do.
 
Well those Woods come with 10 inches of snow, Rain all year round and pthyptora so be careful what you wish for : -) I'd be happy to swap for a year round growing season, guava and pearly beaches...

We also have a sea.. But it's gray and cold..
 
Pfeffer said:
Well those Woods come with 10 inches of snow, Rain all year round and pthyptora so be careful what you wish for : -) I'd be happy to swap for a year round growing season, guava and pearly beaches...

We also have a sea.. But it's gray and cold..
Click to expand...
Damn, I don't even know what pthyptora is and I'm afraid of it. I guess I'm just another fool who is stuck in the "grass is always greener on the other side of" state of mind. But sorry, can't make that swap. I'll stay here until the volcano reclaims the land.  :onfire:
 
Haha phytophthora (Correct spelling) is the parasitic fungus like micro organism that caused the Irish famines. It basically eats plants of the solecanae (potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums) for breakfast. It can literally devastate entire crops in a matter of days.

See.. guava wood isn't thát bad : -)
 
I have both a small hibachi for smoking, then an electric hot plate for drying inside my home built smoker. I've found even with the door open and the thermostat set as low as it will go (150) on the oven, it's a bit too hot for drying. I prefer 125 to 140 in my smoker.
 
Hickory is my wood of choice, but I will get around to trying apple one of these days soon.
 
pecan
pecan
pecan!
 
besides being awesome it is also traditional
 
"Pecan is used extensively in parts of Mexico and in southern New Mexico to flavor chipotle."
 
I like the nutty toasty flavor it adds, kinda hazelnutty in a weird way. I don't like to overpower with smoke. It's a light smoke but full on toasty.
 
As mentioned, fruit woods too.
 
Decide where you want sweet smoke, toasty smoke, etc.
 
If you can fedex me a pecan tree that'd be great.. :(  I can get my hands on chestnut and hazelnut. I don't think hazelnut would work out tastewise though.
 
Low and slow for me. 120-130F roughly and I personally favor apple-wood for about 2+ hours but I mainly use this for my Caribbean and Jamaican Hot Chocolate peppers.
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:1892]
 
Experimenting is a beautiful thing. Have fun with it !
 
OhioHeat, Ed
 
Mission accomplished!

It worked out great, unfortunately I skid with the knife when de-seeding a carolina reaper and got a good cut. It resulted in what a doctor would define as "A slight burning sensation".

i.e. My finger feels like it's stuck in a toaster.. (and has been for the past few hours).
 
Here are some pics, reapers didnt make it due to hygiëne reasons (had to toss them due to blood).
 

De-seeding the peppers (some Georgia blacks, not 7pod red, pimenta lisa, scotch brain, trinidad scorpion CARDI and some other chocolates/yellows), got the majority of them from Meatfreak
 

Cut
 

Used my Weber for ease of use (batch was to small for the UDS)
 

Went for low and slow, little smoke (granny smith, sour apple)
 

A while later, not as much coloration as expected, but what the hell.. let's keep going.
 

Later.. they are starting to color up
 

Ready with smoking
 

After drying (in the oven), the pimenta lisa's are to thick walled and need some more time.
 
as long as you get that nasty bark off the core wood first its a nice pod smoking wood for sure
Keeping the flu free of actual smoke applies to both meats and pods,if it gets to 150*F cool it down!
The Hot Pepper said:
pecan
pecan
pecan!
 
besides being awesome it is also traditional
 
"Pecan is used extensively in parts of Mexico and in southern New Mexico to flavor chipotle."
 
I like the nutty toasty flavor it adds, kinda hazelnutty in a weird way. I don't like to overpower with smoke. It's a light smoke but full on toasty.
 
As mentioned, fruit woods too.
 
Decide where you want sweet smoke, toasty smoke, etc.
Click to expand...
 
Pecan is by far the best that I've used but isn't exactly easy to get a hold of even for me and I'm in the US. Apple wood is also awesome for a bacony goodness type flavor.  I smoke between 125 and 150 F for around 2 hours or little bit more.  Then to the dehydrator until they are completely dry. 
 
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