# Freezing Jalapenos for ABT's later?



## iron city (Aug 27, 2012)

My wife has just returned from her family's farm with a wonderful gift. My brother in law sent me a bushel of Jalapenos. Now, I could make enough ABT's to feed about 5 people (25 abts per person min) but I have to freeze these babies as I don't want to waste em.

Has anyone froze jalapenos for use later in ABTs? I was thinking about slicing them in half, seeding them and then blanching for about 30 seconds then to an ice bath then to a foodsaver bag and into the freezer? What do you folks think I should do?


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## scarbelly (Aug 27, 2012)

If I was going to do that, I would follow your procedure as you wrote it but I would put the individual peppers on a sheet pan and freeze them before vac sealing- I think they will last longer an not crush when you seal them


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## ironhorse07 (Aug 27, 2012)

Peppers do not need to be blanched to freeze, I just freeze them, they do get a little limp when they thaw out. I have used them cooking this way but have never tried abts.


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## garyt (Aug 28, 2012)

Freezing breaks down the cell walls and makes them too mushy for ABT'S in my opinion.


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## tjoff (Aug 28, 2012)

I agree w/ garyt.  they will be too mushy once thawed to make ABTs.  Ok to cook with in other recipes but not ABTs


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## frosty (Sep 5, 2012)

garyt said:


> Freezing breaks down the cell walls and makes them too mushy for ABT'S in my opinion.










You could smoke them and dehydrate them, then grind them up to a powder for an excellent Jalapeno powder.


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## scarbelly (Sep 5, 2012)

Interesting that you have experienced the mushiness with the peppers. We get so many here in this area that I halve them then IQF them and use them all the time - I admit I have not made ABT's with them but have used them in fresh pico de gallo and sauces with no issue.


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## damon555 (Sep 17, 2012)

I've tried several times to freeze peppers and it never really work that well. They are ok to use for cooking but not for anything that required a whole pepper with any fortitude left in it. If you have a water bath canning setup you could pickle them.


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## grinder (Dec 23, 2012)

Frosty said:


> You could smoke them and dehydrate them, then grind them up to a powder for an excellent Jalapeno powder.





garyt said:


> Freezing breaks down the cell walls and makes them too mushy for ABT'S in my opinion.


Agree with both.


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## jwbtulsa (Dec 23, 2012)

put some in a basket with some tomatos, an onion, and garlic; perhaps a bunch of cilantro. give it away as a Pico Xmas gift


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## berninga87 (Feb 17, 2013)

Frosty said:


> You could smoke them and dehydrate them, then grind them up to a powder for an excellent Jalapeno powder.


X2! I had a surplus of peppers last fall and decided to dry and grind the extras. Out of the seven varieties I have, the jalapeno powder is by far the best for adding awesome flavor to lots of different dishes without adding a ton of heat. I just realized this post is a little old but it still seemed worth sharing.


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## welbigm (Jul 10, 2013)

Look up pickled jalpeno for canning take away the dill to make it sour I do all my jalpeno that way stay fresh. Just the end off leave  the seeds if you really imterested let me know I got about a month left ill post pics and detail on how to do it


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## bigfoote (Oct 5, 2013)

I have frozen ABTs several times and they turn out fine.  When I've got a big Q planned, I try to do as much as possible before to avoid not being worn out when the guests arrive, and also allow me to get in some golf.  I make the ABTs, sometimes months in advance, put them in a bag and vacuum seal them.  I put them on the smoker (225 to 250 degrees) about 3 hours before the guests arrive, and I can't tell the difference.  If you doubt this, do like I did and test about 6.  Good luck!


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