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preservation Drying peppers

POTAWIE

POTAWIE

What's the best way to dry peppers in very humid conditions. I want to dry some larger Anchos from a wind damaged plant, and some ripe chinese 5-color peppers for seed only. The anchos are too big for my dehydrator unlessl I cut them up, and I'd rather not. I'm thinking of smoking them instead. The 5-colors will easily fit in the dehydrator, but I don't want to overdue it. I also have hundreds of ripe "super chili hybrid" peppers that I want to try making into a ristra. I've got a small shed with a dehumidifier running but don't know if that's enough? Shed is getting quite hot.

Anyone good at making ristras? It looks like a lot of work, but man do they ever look awesome. Storing them in humid weather also presents a problem. Would you freeze them or store in a bag with silica gel, or what?
 
I dry my cayennes in ristra style in the air conditioned house. I typically lose maybe less than 1% to a form of mold. But the Aji Lemon drops didn't do as well. I ended up placing them in the oven at 150 to 200 degrees. One batch worked quite nicely, the other I over did it just a little. Just take your time (150 degrees maybe a bit higher) and it should work out fine. At the very least you can get them started, then go natural the rest of the way. I should add that this works best during the fall when it is cooler outside. I do remember leaving the oven door open for some circulation of air (and makes the house smell nice, to a chilehead anyway). A convection oven would probably work extremely well.
 
imaguitargod said:
I just stick them in my friends truck that sits out in the sun all day. They usually are dried in two day to a week.
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lol....Well there you go Potawie. You just need to get yourself a fine old chevy, park it in the backyard (on blocks of course) and wala!! You've got yourself one fine pepper drying machine. And it also works as playground equipment for the kids!
 
Its been raining and humid for weeks. Last summer was dry and humid for 2 1/2 months. Too bad I sold my S-10, I knew I'd find an alternate use for it.
 
POTAWIE said:
What's the best way to dry peppers in very humid conditions. I want to dry some larger Anchos from a wind damaged plant, and some ripe chinese 5-color peppers for seed only. The anchos are too big for my dehydrator unlessl I cut them up, and I'd rather not. I'm thinking of smoking them instead. The 5-colors will easily fit in the dehydrator, but I don't want to overdue it. I also have hundreds of ripe "super chili hybrid" peppers that I want to try making into a ristra. I've got a small shed with a dehumidifier running but don't know if that's enough? Shed is getting quite hot.

Anyone good at making ristras? It looks like a lot of work, but man do they ever look awesome. Storing them in humid weather also presents a problem. Would you freeze them or store in a bag with silica gel, or what?
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I know what you mean. I lost alot of habaneros my first year, trying to dry them ristra-style. Most of them molded. I finally broke down and bought a Ronco Food Dehydrator off of e-bay for about 10 bucks. Money well spent. Another nice way is to smoke them (on a smoker, you jokers). Habaneros turn out great. So do jalapenos, but they just don't dry as well.

Good Luck.

Josh
 
You can always use a smoker if you want chipotle or a dehydrator. While I don't always use both, I always use the dehydrator. It's perfect for humid conditions. You can pick up a cheapo at Target or similiar.
 
I have a dehydrator, just not big enough for anchos and other large peppers. I plan on trying smoking soon. See bbq smoker thread "smoker for chipotles"
 
I put a small slit lengthwise to let out moisture faster, whether I use the dehydrater or just leaving them on a plate in the a.c. Then I store them in mason jars in the dark. brookthecook
 
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