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dried Dried vs Reconstituted in recipes

I have a bunch of dried Ghost Peppers, Carolina Reapers, and Chile de Arbol peppers that I use in recipes.  Before I use them in a sauce, I usually reconstitute them in a hot water and white vinegar cycle.  I'm starting to wonder if it's really a necessary process.  Would it change the flavor in any way if I just ground them up from a dried state before adding it instead of going through the hydrating process?
 
SibbysSauces said:
I have a bunch of dried Ghost Peppers, Carolina Reapers, and Chile de Arbol peppers that I use in recipes.  Before I use them in a sauce, I usually reconstitute them in a hot water and white vinegar cycle.  I'm starting to wonder if it's really a necessary process.  Would it change the flavor in any way if I just ground them up from a dried state before adding it instead of going through the hydrating process?
 
I would say from experience that I don't like using powders in sauces because they tend to be gritty unless you use a very fine plate on the food mill or a tight mesh strainer.  I nearly almost always use dried pods in my sauces, but I cook them with everything else during processing and then food mill to desired consistency.  If you 'just ground them up' I believe you'd encounter what I did; namely that my sauces were gritty-er than I wanted.
 
 
wot he said
 
No need to rehydrate pods first, many a Mexican salsa are made with dried pods. But don't turn them to powder, this can cause graininess. Usually this occurs when using too much however, a small amount can work well. But the final consistency is much better when using dried pods (or cut into strips, or rough crushed, but not powder). Not sure of the science, but the smaller molecule stays small and grainy, where, the flesh from a pod breaks down and dissolves into sauce better. No scientist here but have experienced it.
 
So basically, if I turn it into sand, it'll stay sandy.  If I keep it coarsely chopped, it'll release more flavor and offer a smoothness to it?  Hmm.  That actually makes more sense than I thought it would.  Thanks!
 
well, kinda sorta...but not exactly....
 
 
If you use dehydrated minced garlic in a sauce, there will still be some pulpy-ness/grainy-ness after the garlic has rehydrated.  Even if the sauce is further blenderized the snot out of it using a home blender, there will probably be some graininess from the dried MINCED garlic, and likewise from minced peppers if used the same way.
 
If garlic POWDER is used...as in the commercially available garlic powder that has the consistency of talcum powder...the consistency of the sauce would be smooth from the start.  No grainy-ness or gritty-ness, since the original garlic(or chile) powder is much finer than the minced garlic/pepper.  
 
 
IMHO, if the dried chiles are completely dried and pulverized into a soft, talcum-like powder, the sauce will have a smooth texture.  If the dried chiles are blitzed a few times in a coffee grinder or such, and the pepper powder has some chunks in it, then the sauce will have some texture to it that may or may not be desirable.  
 
Achieving a totally smooth pepper powder is not the norm when using the cost effective coffee grinders and such.  Most powders prepared with said coffee grinders have some chunks.  They may make a powder that is more ground up than the red pepper flakes at the pizza joint, but it won't be as finely ground as the consistency of commercial garlic powder or commercially prepared pepper powders right out of the gate.
 
Which is why I think it is kind of comparing apples to oranges.   
 
A really fine powder can be achieved by sifting the pepper grinds and re-grinding the big bits until the finest powder is sifted off.  This may help to achieve a smooth sauce with homemade pepper powders.  And there are some really good quality spice mills/grinders available for $60-100 that will make a really fine powder product.   
 
 
 
 
Going back to the OP- the flavor wouldn't change from how you are processing them, the texture/mouth feel/viscosity of the sauce may change.  
 
Maybe try rough chopping the dry chiles, cooking them in your sauce as you already are, and then using a food mill to remove the unwanted pulp and seeds.  That brings the sauce to a smooth texture, doesn't effect the flavor of the sauce.  
 
Have Fun!
SL
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I would think the grittiness comes from the seeds and if you just use dried peppers with whole seeds it is easier to get the seeds out in the food mill.
 
 
I've had granular sauces that are from too much powder, but like I said it can also work well. If it will be the base of your sauce, no. Use the dried pods (rough chopped or broken and deseeded works well). If it's for secondary heat/flavor, yes. Ketchup is silky smooth, BBQ sauce, etc. which use powders in this way. But the base is tomato. If that was tomato powder (which exists) you'd have a much different consistency, which could be described as cakey or granular. But in the smaller amounts, with it not being the base, works wonders. Lots of companies do it. Fresh habs, chipotle powder, etc. I figured in making a hot sauce you were talking base here, and I would not use THAT much powder. :)
 
Powder works amazing and it is all a matter of balance as stated a few times. I have made very smooth sauce using powder but I do prefer fresh when possible. 
 
I do not make a lot of sauces but I use powder over dried pods. 
 
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