smoking An attempt at smoking chile peppers...

chuk hell

chuk hell

I gave up on the trashcan smoker idea and instead bought one of these little mini-weber knock-offs. It was only $2.50.

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Here it is loaded up with my first test batch.

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I think it might work better if I could retro-fit a hotplate in it but for now I just built a fire in there.

I hope this works. I want to make some smoked habanero sauce. :mouthonfire:
 
I tried smoking too the other day. I got the cheap vertical smoker with offset firebox. It worked good but need to experiment further. Some jalapenos, Crimson Hot(Ancho like), Whippet's tails, and a couple vulture habs. Most are going in the chili pot tomorrow so not too dry. Next try will be mostly habs for sauce.
 
Well here they are about 3 hours into it...

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...and here is the finished result today...smoked and ready to make sauce with.

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The little grill I found at Garden Ridge. They had a bunch of BBQ stuff 75% off. It's not worth much more than $2.50; it's a flimsy piece of junk I'd hate to try to do any real grilling on.
 
I'm happy to report that the smoking experriment was a complete success. I just finished making a smoked habanero sauce and I think it turned out rather well....it's one of the better sauces I've made in a while.

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As you can see it came out a nice reddish-brown color. At first the smoke flavor was way up front and it was hellavu hot so I added a splash of tequila and a dash of honey and that mellowed it out quite well. It's still one of the hotter sauces I've made in a while though. There are 42 habs in a batch that made less than a quart.

I only canned 3 half pints and ended up with a woozie and a half that I will enjoy myself...but tease my friends with. :P
 
Looks great there. Looks a fine way to smoke/cook chiles fopr sauce making. Personally I smoke mine for drying and subsequent powder making. This requires a different approach, temps must be kept relatively low, you do not want them charring and getting cooked for that.

I am very lucky here to have a great smoker...well its an old bread oven actually...about ten foot dep and wide, the fir goes at the back and the chiles on a grill at the front..works a dream, if a little long..;but heck cold beer and a night of smoking under the stars is just fine by me.

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This year I have access to the oven even though I moved house (well only about 100 yds), a friend took over my last place and he too loves drinking and getting dirty in the oven. Great for bbq and pizza too.

I am planning on digging a double chambered smoker this fall in the new garden....a fire pit with a tunnel going to the smoke chamber...should be another fun expt..I read somewhere that the mexicans use this method for chipotles.

All the best

Guy
 
Heres the entrance with smoke billowing out. I cover the entrance more when smoking to get a better depth of smoke over the chiles....low n slow is the tempo.

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Here you can see the pods on the grill up in the smoke layer

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You can just make out the fire bow at the back of the oven....filled with soaked oak, maple and vine...makes a great smoke and adds a great flavor to the chiles...vastly superior to charcoal..

All the best

Guy
 
I'm thinking of building a brick(or cider block) smoker this year. I was inspired by the oven/smoker on Fatalii's website www.fatalii.net but would like to investigate the "Fire pit and tunnel" sort of approach since I have plenty of large maple and fruit trees to burn and little woodchips. Maybe even a hybrid of the two where smoke can be let in directly when wanted. Its gunna be a big project so I want to do it right so any advice would be appreciated.:)
 
That's really cool Guy. I'd love to have an old outdoor oven like that. Maybe I'll build one one day but it wouldn't be as cool as the "vintage" one you have there.

I agree with the "slow and low" tempo. The second batch I tried in this little thing didn't come out so well. The fire was too hot and I had to throw about half of them away. This is just an expedient way to smoke habaneros. It's no way to make real chipotles.
 
I tried smoking some Chocolate Habs, and a few Anchos yesterday. Not chipotles, but extra smokey for sauce. About 8+ hours of smoking in total. Heres a pic at about 4 hours.



and the next morning.

 
Well I just fired up the smoker on a beautiful Sunday morning. Contents of said smoker contain an assortment of chiles for this years chipotle. I have some Sante Fe Grande, Jalora, Cherry Red, Hawaiian Sweet Hot, and a couple Thai's for good measure. I also have a 8.5lb pork tenderloin smoking in there as well. I'm using apple as the wood and the tenderloin has been marinading over night in teriyaki sauce so it should make for an excellent meal later tonight. I will be basting the loin with a mixture of teriyaki, pineapple, and jack daniels.

On the other front I have a dehydrator going with Thai Dragon, Hanoi Red, Riff 9441, and Bolivian Rainbow.

Oh yes, it's the start of harvest season people! WOOT! :oops:

I will post some pics later today.
Have a good weekend everyone!
 
I smoked some scotch bonnets and yellow habs yesterday. They are still sitting in the smoker in the pooring rain so I don't know how they turned out. My smoked chocolate habs made an awesome tomato-based sauce, which tastes similar but far hotter than Adobo sauce and super smokey. I'm really starting to love smoked peppers.

PSchneider, have a great smoke and a great weekend, waiting for pics.
 
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