Rooster Spur? Uses?

I pulled a few ripe pods off the plant today, and ate one on the spot. I would describe the flavor as lemony-acidic with a nice kick of heat. No bitterness. Very tasty. Glad I'm growing it.
 
Roguejim said:
I pulled a few ripe pods off the plant today, and ate one on the spot. I would describe the flavor as lemony-acidic with a nice kick of heat. No bitterness. Very tasty. Glad I'm growing it.
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Yep! That's the one! The reason I prefer them over what we know as "Thai this or that" :) That very frutescens burst at the front of the palette sets it apart from Thais for me. Glad you like it! 
 
Update on this topic: Spoiler alert! Confession incoming! 
 
 
So I went back into my "photo vault" from many years ago to review these when I first began growing them. I must admit that back then, I noticed the pods were, for the most part, absent of that slight curve that they display on about 20% of the total pods now a days. So it got me thinking. Perhaps a slight mutation or cross may have occurred somewhere along the line over the years. The taste has not changed one bit, nor the color. The length and width of the pods is still very much close to what they were back then as well. 
 
So in being a good sport and for the sake of experimentation, I got in touch with Mr. Ainsworth and will be receiving some pods straight from his son's garden in a few days. I'll post back when I get em :) 
 
Looks alot like the Yatsufusa plants I grew from seed from pepperjoes.  The Yatsufusa are Capsicum annuum.  I guess mine are more of the thai variety.
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
Pepper Guru and I shall have to agree to disagree, clearly a Rooster Spur should look like a roosters spur and not a sloth toenail. ;)
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Do Thai peppers have that up front lemony burst of flavor?  I tried a Ma Wiri Wiri pod last evening, and it was very similar to the Sloth Nail, in flavor.
 
Roguejim said:
Do Thai peppers have that up front lemony burst of flavor?
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You opened a thread some time ago ;)
 
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/37571-thai-chiliesflavorless/
 
Genereally speaking i would say no, they've a "dry" heat type that make them so versatile in cooking with some subtle flavor nuances between various types.
I would not classify Rooster Spur as a "Thai", because is growing in US from over a century and consequentely the flavor is very different from Far East landraces.
 
@Pepper-Guru
 
In my understanding Rooster Spur is not a cluster-type, see the picture here:
 
http://www.seedsavers.org/onlinestore/pepper/Pepper-Rooster-Spur-OG.html
 
(in the notes: "Rare variety from SSE member Virgil T. Ainsworth of Laurel, Mississippi.")
 
and this video:
Yours seems definitely closer to Thai Red Hot but if you got seeds from the original source that's a mistery...
 
Cya
 
Datil
 
Datil said:
 
You opened a thread some time ago ;)
 
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/37571-thai-chiliesflavorless/
 
Genereally speaking i would say no, they've a "dry" heat type that make them so versatile in cooking with some subtle flavor nuances between various types.
I would not classify Rooster Spur as a "Thai", because is growing in US from over a century and consequentely the flavor is very different from Far East landraces.
 
@Pepper-Guru
 
In my understanding Rooster Spur is not a cluster-type, see the picture here:
 
http://www.seedsavers.org/onlinestore/pepper/Pepper-Rooster-Spur-OG.html
 
(in the notes: "Rare variety from SSE member Virgil T. Ainsworth of Laurel, Mississippi.")
 
and this video:
Yours seems definitely closer to Thai Red Hot but if you got seeds from the original source that's a mistery...
 
Cya
 
Datil
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I've seen that video. You'll notice the peppers she pans over from the right to the left in the beginning, look more like the image most people have of a rooster's spur than the one she ends up touching and talking about, which looks almost identical to mine. (not to mention, i've seen some long curved and pointy spurs on male chickens before) You can see the ones she's touching are clustered and perhaps picked on quite often as well.  
 
Thai's don't taste like the ones I grow and most of them (dragon included) hang down eventually, are much larger (2-3in in length, thicker), and with more of a curve. Trust me, I've always seen that same picture on seedsavers etc where they look more like a slightly pointed Tabasco, but with more than 5 min of searching the phrase "rooster spur pepper" you'll soon realize there are many different peppers out there that people call the same thing.   
 
Either way, I'll know for sure fairly soon! For now, these Sloth Nails are oh so good :) 
And hell, if you check this article I posted, seems they have an entirely different description than seed savers does. 
 
"Rooster spur pepper, Capsicum frutescens fasciculatum, is not to be confused with rooster pepper, which is just a large red pepper much like a bell (no relation) pepper. The spur pepper, sometimes called a bird pepper, is small and fiery. It derives its name from its appearance: a slender, narrow, pencil-thick red fruit, about three inches in length, resembling a male rooster's spur."
Pepper-Guru said:
This is an interesting read from 1982! Haha 
 
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/23/us/rooster-spur-pepper-scarcer-than-hen-s-teeth.html
 
 
 
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The moment you've all been waiting for! 
 
 
Got them in the mail today. From the dried pods I can tell they are a bit shorter, do have a slight curve, but can't determine actual ripe color. I am sowing these right away and they will find a comfortable home in the greenhouse this fall and winter. Will report back as they sprout and grow! 
 
 
Anyway, here are the pictures! Straight from the Ainsworth farm. 
 
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14724027998_7fb168fb8b_c.jpg
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
I grow rooster spurs :)
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Hi JHP,what would be your main use for them, and whats your thoughts on heat and taste? I have Rooster Spur seedlings growing now for the first time along with other cluster Chillis.Are you growing the Ainsworth family strain?

Thamks,
 
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