# ABT heat



## billbo (Jul 17, 2009)

I have done some ABT's in the past using Japs and sweet peppers (WBT's) or wimpy buffalo turds.

My question is this. Every time I use Japs they are just so wicked hot that even I cannot eat more than one. I de-seed them so that is not the issue. They are just too spicy to eat. I am not a wimp and love hot food but this is over the top. Am I doing something wrong?


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## irishteabear (Jul 17, 2009)

Japs are too hot for me too and I find they don't have that much flavor either.  I use ancho/poblano (depends on what store I shop at as to what they're called) chiles instead.  Just cut it in half lengthwise and fill it that way.  There is still some heat, but also a lot more flavor than you get with a jap.


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## nitrousinfected (Jul 17, 2009)

Are you removing the white membranes from the peppers?


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## chisoxjim (Jul 17, 2009)

WBT's... hilarious.


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## bman62526 (Jul 17, 2009)

Strange...

I've only made ABT's twice - and both times, I was surprised how LITTLE heat there was to these!  I mean, considering that for my entire life I've always eaten jalapeños in very small doses, when I smoke these apps I can eat 3 or 4 whole and not notice hardly any heat??  Nothing but good taste coming through...

Maybe this is too simple, but I think you just need to smoke them longer...low and slow seems to take the heat out for me.  

What temps and how long are you smoking them now? I would increase the smoke time and see if that helps.


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## chisoxjim (Jul 17, 2009)

I agree,  I do mine about 2 hours, and I think a good long smoke, the wrapping in bacon, and putting them right on the grates takes out alot of the heat.


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## bman62526 (Jul 17, 2009)

Yup...last time I did mine for  2 1/2 - 3 hours @ 240, and they melted in my mouth with hardly any heat.  Amazing...


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## billbo (Jul 17, 2009)

I have done the low & slow with no luck, what is this white membrane Nitrous speaks of?


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## twistertail (Jul 17, 2009)

The white membrane holds a lot of heat!  Its the part that holds the seeds to the meat of the pepper.  I take mine and cut length wise in half then scrape out the seeds and the white membrane.  I would say that is where your heat is coming from.


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## motorcitykid (Jul 17, 2009)

Also can be called veins.  Make sure that all the seeds and the veins are gone.  That is where the heat is.  Buy a good coring tool and the rest will be history.  Friend cleaned up anaheims to add to the mix and one lit me up hard-she didn't know that all the stuff inside had to go.  It was a good anaheim but it lit me up.

Steve


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## billbo (Jul 17, 2009)

Thank you everyone! I think the vein is the culprit! Now I need to try another batch!!


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## backcountry (Jul 17, 2009)

I leave a little vein in a couple peppers and keep them off to the side to have a few that'll blow the lid off those who like it hot. I can only handle one myself, but I have some buddies that are true chilli heads that can't get it hot enough. 

My better half grabbed one of these by accident and took it in one bite then turned beat red... Now she always takes a test bite before taking a whole one down.


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## enterprise (Jul 17, 2009)

Deseed them and devein them as much as possible, cold water rinse, soak my in Whole milk for about an hour or two and then another cold water rinse and they MAY have a little kick to them but most do not. I too cannot stand the heat but this way I was really surprised that it worked.


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## pignit (Jul 17, 2009)

I've checked out a lot of variables on this heat thing with the jalapenos and one thing I would suggest is to note where you buy them. I can buy the jalapenos at food city here where I live for 99 cents a pound and they are very rarely hot. I can get them at Kroger for 1.49, cook them the same way and they will set you on fire. If I'm not familiar with the jalapenos I'm buying I agree with the suggestion of soaking them in milk for a couple hours before stuffing them making sure you get out the seeds and veins. It also seems the longer cook time the milder they get. I love these things and eat them by the dozen when they aren't too hot. One off the chart hot ones slows me down and I will save them for scrambled eggs the next day.


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## nitrousinfected (Jul 17, 2009)

Yeah that's the word I was actually looking for. They hold as much if not more heat that the seeds themselves


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## alx (Jul 17, 2009)

I have grown them 20 years or so and growing the varities from seed and experimenting gives a jap flavor you would have a hard time finding in stores.If i pick some green in june they are NEVER as hot as july-sept.The hot weather makes mine hotter/sweeter

I grow 16 plants. 10 for chipotles powder or re-hydrating/adobes etc...
The rest relatives stuff for bbq comps etc.

When a jap is RED mature and corked the flavor sweetens and in my varities looses some heat.Totaly different then same fruit green.I let them mature to deep red at least two weeks.

Some japs in this years garden










Picked this one wdnesday-4.5 inch x 1.5


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## flash (Jul 17, 2009)

Now that is a Jap Alex. Wish they would grow that size down here. I'd keep growing them then. Instead, I'll opt out to Sav-A-Lot and there $ .79 to .89 cents a LB. Japs.


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## beer-b-q (Jul 17, 2009)

I love hot peppers and eat them like candy so JAPs don't seem hot to me.  I use Habanero Hot Sauce  on about everything, the wife doesn't even like black pepper so I guess opposites do attract. LOL

Here is a link to the Scoville Heat Scale showing how hot each pepper is.  It may be useful to some of you.

http://ushotstuff.com/Heat.Scale.htm


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## billbo (Jul 17, 2009)

Wow ALX that is some garden you got going there!


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## gnubee (Jul 17, 2009)

I find that cooking them till the bright shiny green color has been replaced by a sort of army drab olive color gets rid of some of the heat. The best way to do Japs so they are not to hot is to do *Anehiems* *instead of Japs*. They are somewhere between a Jap and a bell pepper in the heat range. My wife likes Japs with minced serranos inside them I like the WBT's myself.


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## motorcitykid (Jul 17, 2009)

Backcountry that was some funny stuff about your better half eating that ABT.  I have similar story about this happening.

Steve


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## mballi3011 (Jul 17, 2009)

Wow Alx that is a huge pepper there. I just smoke them alittle longer to hopefully cook some of the heat out. I don't wrap bacon I cut them long ways and lay bacon over the jap. If you wrap them you won't smoke the whole jap just the part that is exposed to the heat. No matter I still love them and that little pink pill.


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## smokinjoeb (Jul 19, 2009)

Also, someone on here suggested that after taking out the seeds and the veins you soak in sprite or diet sprite overnight. i did that last time and they were much milder and you could eat alot of them.  My first few times they were wicked hot, which i like, but, many guests were turning RED.  

try the sprite soak.  i did mine overnight and that takes alot of the heat out.


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## travcoman45 (Jul 19, 2009)

Well this don't do much fer the store bought ones, but if grown yer own the site I bought mine frome suggestes that fer hotter peppers, hold back on waterin ta the point they will wilt a bit, fer milder pepper, water often.

The ones at the store perty much just luck a the draw, sometimes there hot, sometimes they ain't.  Clean em well an smoke em long.


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## heliboydoesbbq (Jul 20, 2009)

The easeiest tool to get rid of the Veins, ribs or the assorted white stufff and seeds in one swoop is called a melon baller 

Heres a link to one.. 
till I figgur out how to post a photo.. 

http://tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:...500_AA280_.jpg


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## dropride (Jul 20, 2009)

I made some abt's for the first time this weekend and was disappointed in how little heat there was after cooking.


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## chisoxjim (Jul 20, 2009)

try this next time:


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## bman62526 (Jul 20, 2009)

I did a batch of 20 ABT's this weekend...along with a fattie.

Both went on @ 11:15 am, smoker was pre-heated to 250°

Fattie hit 161° in two hours, so I took everything off.  ABT's tasted awesome but there was zero heat.  I didn't mind...

I think next time, I'll add ground cayenne pepper to the cream cheese filling, so that there is a little bit of zing.  

I guess you could not cook them so long if you like more heat, but then the peppers dont get soft enough for my liking...which is why I think I'll add the cayenne to the filling.

BTW - fattie?  Did NOT explode!!!!  Lol - that's the first time I've accomplished this.  Thanks to all who helped me with pro-tips when I posted something about this last month.  Kept it simple:  Farmland pork sausage, stuffed with shredded sharp cheddar, sautéd onions, garlic and seasonings like CBP and Tony C's.

I took the fattie and the ABT's to a 40-person cookout yesterday...it was for my wife's grandmother's 80th b-day surprise.

All of my smoked goodness disappeared before anyone had a chance to get up for 2nds!


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## mnbike (Jul 20, 2009)

I also tried them for the first time this past weekend. I cut them in half and took out the seeds and veins. Boy were they hot. I wrapped them in bacon so I'm going to give the spite soak and just laying the bacon on the top. Thanks to everyone for the pointers!


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## ellymae (Jul 21, 2009)

The jalapenos are hit or miss aroung here - some will rip your face off, and others are quite mild... the problem is you won't know until you take the leap. 

I have used the diet sprite trick and it worked fine.


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## billbo (Jul 21, 2009)

Trade ya! Seems it is hit or miss.


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## taterdavid (Jul 21, 2009)

i have been making some every weekend past few weeks from the ones in the garden. they have not been hot at all. wife says they are but shes kinda got a sensitive stomach. i haven't tried one straight to see if they are hot so maybe they are just kinda mild.

i de-seed then get the vien, then soak in water for just alittle while, not long. last ones maybe 10 minutes while i mixed the cream cheese.


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## jaxgatorz (Jul 21, 2009)

Around here it's easy to figure out( at least so far).. The little ones are hot and the big ones are not.


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## hoser (Sep 1, 2009)

I agree with Heliboy on removing the vein...I use a very small melon baller, and it does trick quite nicely.


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## irishteabear (Sep 1, 2009)

Earlier this year I planted some False Alarm japs that I grew from seeds that I got from Burpee.   They are supposed to be not hot.   I picked 5 the other day and out of the 5, one of them was hot, the other 4 were not hot at all.   Just thought I'd mention that for anyone wanting to grow their own and not deal with having to do anything extra to them to take the heat away.


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