• Do you need help identifying a 🌶?
    Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
    Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.

powder-flake Guatemalan Insanity Pepper (GIP) Smoked Serrano

stettoman

stettoman

I've been interested in doing a memorial grow of the Serrano that our lost friend GIP made his famous smoked Serrano powder with.

Parusing through GIP's past glogs today, I think I discovered the variety:

https://www.sandiaseed.com/products/serrano-tampiqueno

I don't know if Sandia was his seed source, It may have been

http://pepperlover.com/Drying-Serrano?search=serrano

Because he mentioned both names in separate glogs. The Pepperlover's site is always out of what I seek, and Sandia seems rarely out of stock, and the Serrano Tampiqueño seems like something GIP would gravitate to...

Now, if I can find what wood he smoked these with...

Any help?
 
Boss, if you would, move this thread to a more appropriate forum...This isn't a "grow" topic.

OK, this will be my first attempt at a smoked powder deserving of the GIP's legacy.

The Serranos grew spectacularly and will, if the weather holds, give me 5 to 10 times this amount. I'm hoping to pick some green ones to make my wife some lime-based hotsauce, but that's another topic.

First pickin'
First batch 9-10-21.jpg


I know it doesn't look like that much, but, once they're in the tub,

Scrubemup 9-10-21.jpg


They get all shiny and fat.

Then we slice and tray:

Slice 9-10-21.jpg


The placenta/pith is strong with these pods, will promote a spicy powder (yes, I ate one, dammit, I bet Andy did too).

Smokin' smokin'...The wood. I just learned recently that smokewoods are rarely 100% the variety labelled. Some are as low as 40%. That's cheating. I hope these are a higher percentage, they smell very different in the bags.

Smokewood 9-10-21.jpg


And the "facilities", as it were. My bag of B&B was down to crumbs, so I laid a bed of Fogo and poured the B&B atop o' it.

The Smokin' Kit 9-10-21.jpg


OK, let's squirt some lighter fluid on and---

HA! Not really...

No. Lighter. Fluid. 9-10-21.jpg


Oh yeah

Yeah. Oh yeah. 9-10-21.jpg


I tried to keep the heat at 200F, but there was some 150 and 230 in there at times. It was all good, smoked for 25 minutes each tray, most pods didn't even wrinkle much, yet the result should be good. GIP good? I'll be happy with close.

Trayed up 2 9-10-21.jpg


3 dehydrator trays, no idea how much powder this might make, but this is only batch one. I grind with a Cuisinart coffee grinder, am thinking of spending the coin for more volume. Any suggestions will be welcome.

Oh, and yeah! This is to be shared!! I'm going to get a box of shaker bottles and then will pass some around to those willing to be honest about my result.

God bless you, Andrew Rider, you are so missed...
 
First batch out of the dehydrator.
About half a quart dried. Powdered?
20210913_104639.jpg


And guests for breakfast. Little late for a spotted fawn. They do like the apples!
20210913_104716.jpg


I'd like to have all the peppers done before grinding for more consistency. I have no clue to Andrew's process, but I wish there was a scratch & sniff function, these smell ridiculous good!!

More ripening, pray for unchanged weather...
 
A second pull of ripe Serranos. Let's pray there's time for a third. Some of these are in various stages of ripening, I'll paper bag them for a couple days before smoking again...
Serrano 2nd pull 9-21-21.jpg


There's a lot of green Serranos still out there, I'll be making a lime sauce with them if nothing else...Anyone have experience with smoked GREEN Serrano powder?
 
I waited to get more peppers on the smoke plate, I'm out of coal, so trying to do it at one time.
I'm sorry for the fuzzy pic, will work to do better...
GIP Mem 9-26-21.jpeg


I put them on for 45 mins, if they look like they need more I'll keep 'em in for a bit longer.

There's a lot of green Serrano pods still out there, I know I'll be harvesting those for sauce, but let's see if the weather will hold for
just one more good batch, eh?
 
An hour and 15 minutes in the smoker. There were around 4 layers of peppers, the bottom layer actually got partially dried out.

Three overloaded trays for the dehydrator, the other two are Chimayo/Nambe Pueblo, which are still pumping them out!!

The smokiness is other-worldly...
GIP Serrano trayed2.jpg


Yes, that is my Bug-A-Salt peeking in. A true "blast"!!

Yet, I'm scheduled to shoot skeet with a friend here in another hour... :woohoo: 🎯
 
Good news, that last batch graduated us to a gallon ziploc. There will definitely be a third batch, a possible fourth if current weather holds. We still haven't had a frost, and so far none is forecast.
20210928_120514.jpg


It's a great season for Serranos, I wonder if GIP is directing the patterns for me...

Next year I hope more member will honor Andrew with a grow. It would be a great tribute...

Thanks for watching, kids! I'm not sure when the grinding will begin, but I'll be requesting mailing info when the time comes....Stay alert!
 
So cool stettoman! Such a fitting tribute. Andrew, indeed was one helluva guy! After I ate his powder on buttered corn-on-the-cob, it ruined me from ever eating it plain again. I shared the first batch he gave me, the second one, well, I proudly Bogarted to the last speck...
I've no doubt yours will be great and further that GIP would be honored!
Cheers sir! :cheers:
 
I’ve been making a lot of powders the past few weeks and would recommend you doing the grinding outdoors and have at least a face shield on. I accidentally got a little bit of backdraft and got ghost powder in both eyes at the same time. To call it painful is the understatement of the year. Fortunately I figure it was a small amount but I was definitely worried about some sort of chemical burn on the eyes. When I make reaper powder I also wear a respirator. A small dollar store artist brush is helpful at getting the powder out of the grinder with some control.
 
So a 3rd pick has just concluded, another full 5-quart pail full.

All through this grow I've been getting mutants, like
Serrano oddcolor1.jpg


And
Serrano oddcolor2.jpg


They eventually, given a few days, become full red. there aren't soft spots or mold inside, just a funky ripening phase...

Thought y'all might enjoy the spectrum...

Anywho....
 
The last harvest is in! And a nice haul, too. I separated the green ones for other considerations, but wound up smoking all of it.
oct pull 1.jpg


Clean & sort operations. I am a smooth running machine
oct clean and sort.jpg


The halving ceremony. Having fun yet?
oct smoke prep.jpg


While I used the the perfed tray, there were just too many peppers and I am still working on getting this house ready for listing. So I loaded up a couple of bigger tubs, which I smoked for over an hour, flipping them every 20 minutes or so.
oct big trays.jpg


I went ahead and picked up a bag of Cowboy lump and was mighty surprised when I opened it. There be chunks here!
oct smoke 1.jpg
oct smoke 2.jpg


Time being of the essence I loaded all five dehydrator trays up. No doubt the machine will have to run for a few days to get this all done, and I bet I'll be upgrading to a two gallon bag.
oct 5 trays heavy.jpg


And to top it all off, I absconded with my daughters Ninja for the grind. It holds a lot more than the little coffee grinder. I'm old and I deserve it---
ninja.jpg


Besides, she's had the dang thing for 5 or 6 years and hasn't used it once yet...

OK, expect an update and you won't be dist-a-pointed...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top