So , how dry is enough ?

[1894]

Put a few of my super chilis whole on the smoker for several hours a day for about three days now. After the second day I had one that I could hear the seeds rattling around in. I took a sharp knife and put a slit in each of the rest and put them on again for another 4-5 hours. They all rattle now , but I just want to make sure they are dry enough to chop up for the coffee grinder.

 

[walking dude]

i dehydrate them till they snap in two....but if i am going to make powder, i de seed em first before dehydrating. the seeds can cause a bitter powder..........

 

[richoso1]

What he said.

 

[1894]

OOpps

Glad I didn't dry all of them. So I'll just toss these and halve and deseed the rest I guess ?
Crap , never mind, dang things are too hot for anything anyway

Oh well , at least they looked nice in the garden

 

[walking dude]

dude you are fine...........the ones i get from the store, still has seeds in em.........i just toast em in the oven for @10 minutes.............then snap em in half, pour the seeds out, then grind...........do it all the time. But since this year we grew our own, and i get em fresh, i just split em and get rid of seeds first. but you will be fine, don't throw anything away

 

[walking dude]

if you got T OO hot ones, get some milder ones, dry em.........grind em, and mix with the hot ground ones. that will make em milder........trust me on that one dude...........

 

[1894]

Ok , I really should have started researching this earlier in the year

So , it I just dump the seeds before I grind them up I won't get a lot of bitter taste , and if I split and deseed the next batch I should have even less bitter taste ? Right ?
I got about 2 dozen or so left to try and do something with , so if I lose a few it won't be a big deal.

 

[walking dude]

yeppers, you got it..........

 

[1894]

ok this is my first test batch. I gave 'em a few more hours on the smoker today just to make sure they were dry enough. Guess I over dried them a bit because they just shattered instead of breaking in half.
Top of the plate is a lone habanero and a jalop that I just didn't like the looks of so it didn't get added to the mix.



No pics of breaking them up but I sifted them through a screen to seperate the seeds , then into the mr coffee to grind it all up. Then into a zip lock for storage.




Haven't tried it yet

but it smell hot and a little smokey

 

[walking dude]

if you have a dehydrator.........try smoking em first abit, then dehydate them..............but you are looking swell so far..........kewl beans......

 

[walking dude]

also.........its a good idea, just to grind up what you will need..........i dry em, and then ziplock em.............when i need powder, then i grind up fresh........i also freeze em whole..........japs, serrano's, anahiems, nanners, hot wax/hungarian, italian roasters, and garden salsa peppers.......opps, forgot the kung pao's and cayenne's i freeze. Waiting on the tobassco's to redden up now. then i can either use fresh, or dry and grind later this winter after thawing.

 

[1894]

These little guys are pretty thin skinned , you say I can just freeze some whole ? Guess just remove the stem and zip or vac seal and freeze ?
Also split some, deseed ,smoke ,dry ,freeze and grind or crush up when needed ?
Sorry for so many ??? I'm just really new to this and if the dried ones are anywhere near as hot as eating a whole one , these will last me a long time.

 

[walking dude]

i freeze some whole............i dehydrate to the nice dark red color, i try to only pick once they turn red.........the green ones i freeze to use fresh after i thaw em. the dehydrated ones, i just put up in ziplocks, and use as needed........you can even RE-hydrate em. The ones i freeze i use ziplocks freezer bags........they are tripled layered. I just make sure i take all the air out. But i freeze ALL kinds of peppers.........thin skinned and thick skinnded.