Smoked flavor in powders

USAF Ben

USAF Ben

A guy at work brought in some outstanding powders from http://volcanicpeppers.com/ that he received as a gift and they have opened our eyes to the potentials of powdered hots and super hots.  Even though they're pricey, I won't be able to resist picking up a jars from this site before my 2014 harvest is ready.  In the meantime, I plan to run to the Mexican Market this weekend and get some peppers to practice on before the garden starts producing.
 
Some of those commercial powders have the distinct flavor that they've been through a smoker.  I've tried smoking and drying peppers before, but the peppers came out of the smoker dark, cooked, and mushy.  I was afraid the mushy peppers would go bad so I rushed the dehydration and the end result was not good.  The resulting powered was dark and had an overcooked bacon flavor (without tasting like bacon); probably due to using higher heat.
 
The commercial powers have good color and are fresh tasting.  Has anybody had good results drying and grinding smoked peppers?  A different guy at work suggested we dry them first, THEN smoke them.  Thoughts?
 
The way I do it is slow and low like any good BBQ.  I don't let temps hit above 200 F and I smoke until dried.  I split in half  and put the skin side down.  You really have to monitor your heat and dryness of the pods.  I go through and feel for when they are dry and pull the pods that are dry,  and let the pods that still have moisture smoke.  Some people smoke for only a couple hours than dehydrate.  I've never tried drying and then smoking.  Not sure if the smoke will penetrate through as well when done like that but sounds like a good experiment.  Good luck!
 
I smoke my peppers and the results are fantastic. Several people here have had my smoked powders and hopefully they can chime in on their experience.  I smoke fresh and not pre-dried peppers.
 
I smoke them for a few hours then dehydrate them, and have good results. I have experimented with leaving some in the smoker longer, and the result was an overpowering and somewhat bitter flavor (to me). I would suggest smoking a batch and taking 1/3 out after 2 hours, 1/3 out after 3 hours, and the rest at 4 hours (or something like that) to see what works best for your tastes. You can separate them by putting them on different racks in your dehydrator. There are lots of threads (with pics) about smoking peppers in the "BBQ/Grilling" forum. http://thehotpepper.com/forum/31-bbqgrilling/
 
Good luck!
 
I smoke them for at most 2 hours, and I never let the heat go above 250.  Also, I don't place the pods directly over a lit burner (I use my gas grill).  After they are done smoking, I place them in the dehydrator at 95F and let them stay in there for a week.  That gets them completely dry.  IMO, doing it that way gives a good hint of smokiness while letting the pepper's natural flavor still come through.
 
Edit:  And by all means, if you are looking for powders from commercial vendor, give Joyner's Hot Pepper Powders a try.  Chris indeed has fantastic products.
 
Thanks for the great advice.  I'll go for low temp smoking and dehydration and give it a try this weekend.  I'm also trying a few samples of Joyner's Hot Peppersto help me get through the spring.
 
Still experimenting.
I am an admitted smoked pepper salt addict---it goes on (almost) everything.
 
Last years batch got 2 pans of chips in a little chief, then into the dehydrator.
 
This spring got a baggie each of frozen Reapers, Brains, and TSMB in the smoker with 3 pans hickory and stayed there till crispy.
 
Haven't made the salt yet.
 
Smoke mine (for later grinding into flakes or powder) in a little chief.
Found an easy way to shewer half peppers and hang them, rather than on a tray or screen, with wood skewers.
 
1 pan of chips, rotate bottom to top, 1 more pan of chips, into the dehydrator.
 
Somewhere between 4 and 5 hours in the smoker, overnight in the dehydrator.
 
I grind them in a small blade grinder----close to a window, with a fan blowing out, and gloves on.
 
You will still get an occasional snoot full, and likely find escaped dust sticking places you don't expect for a few days.
 
romy6 said:
I smoke mine at around 175  degrees for about an hour and a half to two hours . Any burnt pieces I throw out. I then finish up in the dehydrator. 
Click to expand...
 
I stole this recipe last year and still use it! Smoke first, then dehydrate. I set mine on 100 degrees I think (dehydrator that is).
 
You'll want to smoke at a low heat level, even cold smoke, to keep the colors from darkening and "over-cooking".
 
Most of mine are done around 110-120 (cold smoke 85-100) and about 2.5 hours with my personal choice of applewood. I do like another poster mentioned and split'em in half.
After smokin' them anywhere from 8-14 hours in my dehydrator(s).
 
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Enjoy experimenting to find your personal tastes and uses !
 
OhioHeat
 
Peppers with low moisture content are best. This is why red jalapenos are used for chiptoles. They are left on the bush to fully ripen.

Chiptoles are smoke dried at low temps for several days until dehydrated.

Don't forget the wood you use matters! There are some strong woods that will ruin a pepper. Especially when smoke drying. Fruit woods and pecan are great. In fact pecan is used a lot in Mexico for chipotles, almost exclusively.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
Peppers with low moisture content are best. This is why red jalapenos are used for chiptoles. They are left on the bush to fully ripen.
 
Click to expand...
 
I've never noticed a ripe jalapeno to have less moisture than a green one. They are both thick walled and juicy as far as hot peppers go. I do love me some chipotles in adobo sauce though.
 
I've heard in Mexico they leave it on the vine as long as possible, until deep red with low moisture.

Hmm okay I googled it but it could be wrong of course!! It is wiki.

They are kept on the vine as long as possible. When the jalapeños are deep red and have lost much of their moisture
 
You're probably right wiki sucks. I took this to mean they were left a little past normal ripening but I don't know.
 
Yeah musky your wording makes more damn sense.
 
Found this too: For Chipotle the peppers are allowed to stay on the plant until they turn deep red and begin to dry out.
 
http://www.chipotle-peppers.com/

Point being though you don't want to steam or cook the pepper while smoking, and moisture will have a steam effect inside the walls. But you do want some moisture.
 
One could partially dehydrate, then smoke until fully dehydrated.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
 

Point being though you don't want to steam or cook the pepper while smoking, and moisture will have a steam effect inside the walls. But you do want some moisture.
Click to expand...
 
I agree. The only chipotles I've had are canned in adobo sauce, and they appear to be full pods. I've never looked hard enough to see if they slit them or something, but it's possible. When I smoke and/or dry pods I always cut them in half to speed up the process, and also to make sure there's no bugs or mold or other nasty stuff inside the pod.
 
I like peppers only, but that looks good.
 
Reason I like peppers only is more versatile. Usually I just want to add heat and pepper flavor to a dish that is already seasoned properly, and I don't want to add a generic herb blend and veggies.
 
i cant stand to much heat, i like spicy but not to spicy that you wont be able to taste your food, so i mix mine up, and this one is only the first part of my powder blends...
 
and heres one of the blends i made with this peppers
 
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