# Solaryellow's Chipotle Powder Factory



## solaryellow (Nov 13, 2010)

The last batch of chipotle powder has been processed for the year. I use a lot of chipotle so it only made sense to make my own. Here is how to do it.

First, I smoke the ripe (red) jalapenos with mesquite for about 4 - 5 hours. I do a heavy smoke using a 10" cast iron pan full of mesquite chunks over a 1000W hotplate in my plywood smoker. After smoking, I put a small fan in the bottom of the plywood smoker and fully open the vents for airflow. During the warmer months it will only take a week to dry the peppers out. When temps drop below 70* I add a hotplate to keep temps around 90*.

I use some stainless steel racks during the smoking and drying phase to keep the peppers from rolling up and trapping moisture on the inside.








When they go into the smoker they are butted up against each other. You can see how much they shrink during dehydration.













And into the "spice mill" (really a coffee grinder) the dried and smoked peppers go.







After a couple grinds we end up with chipotle powder.







Packaged up to share with a friend.


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## bmudd14474 (Nov 13, 2010)

solaryellow said:


> The last batch of chipotle powder has been processed for the year. I use a lot of chipotle so it only made sense to make my own. Here is how to do it.
> 
> First, I smoke the ripe (red) jalapenos with mesquite for about 4 - 5 hours. I do a heavy smoke using a 10" cast iron pan full of mesquite chunks over a 1000W hotplate in my plywood smoker. After smoking, I put a small fan in the bottom of the plywood smoker and fully open the vents for airflow. During the warmer months it will only take a week to dry the peppers out. When temps drop below 70* I add a hotplate to keep temps around 90*.
> 
> ...


Looks great. Hopefully the person who you give that bottle to realizes that its not a dyed nutmeg


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## solaryellow (Nov 13, 2010)

It is the guy who grew the jalapenos for me. I am sure he will notice the difference. 
 


bmudd14474 said:


> Looks great. Hopefully the person who you give that bottle to realizes that its not a dyed nutmeg


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## chefrob (Nov 14, 2010)

looks like some good stuff!


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## tjohnson (Nov 14, 2010)

I'm in Minnesota, and Red Jalapenos are not available.

I would Love to make my own Chipotle Powder....

TJ


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## mco (Nov 14, 2010)

T Johnson just buy fresh ones and hangem up they'll turn red for ya


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## richoso1 (Nov 14, 2010)

Thanks for the great post, nothing beats home grown. It's all good my friend.


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## erain (Nov 14, 2010)

TJohnson said:


> I'm in Minnesota, and Red Jalapenos are not available.
> 
> I would Love to make my own Chipotle Powder....
> 
> TJ


had a bumper crop of jalepenos this year Todd, i got some all nice and red rite from the plants waiting to be smoked and ground up just like solar did. this was kinda a wierd year in the garden this year,,, would guess almost 2 weeks early so was able to get ripe(red) ones straight from the plant this year.


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## loosechangedru (Jun 25, 2011)

Solar, this looks so cool! I really want to try this. If I smoked them in my WSM at 225*, then put them in the dehydrator, would that get the job done?


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## solaryellow (Jun 25, 2011)

LooseChangeDru said:


> Solar, this looks so cool! I really want to try this. If I smoked them in my WSM at 225*, then put them in the dehydrator, would that get the job done?




225* seems a bit high to me. When I smoke them I see temps around 110* or so using the hot plate and cast iron pan full of mesquite chunks. If you can lower the temps I can guarantee they will turn out great. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. Good luck Dru!


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## alblancher (Jun 25, 2011)

Do you halve them and remove the seeds?  If so do you do it before smoking or after smoking and before drying?

Al


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## solaryellow (Jun 25, 2011)

alblancher said:


> Do you halve them and remove the seeds?  If so do you do it before smoking or after smoking and before drying?
> 
> Al




When I first started I did remove the membrane and seeds. What I ended up with was a very flavorful chipotle without much kick. I started leaving the seeds and membrane in and got the kick I was looking for. I cut about 1/8" below the stem and then halve them prior to smoking.


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## diggingdogfarm (Dec 9, 2012)

I had no idea there were so many chipotle fans here until I did a search tonight! Cool!!!
I'm a chipotle fanatic!!!!!
I just made a bunch of sauce yesterday.



~Martin


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## unionguynw (Dec 14, 2012)

TJohnson said:


> I'm in Minnesota, and Red Jalapenos are not available.
> 
> I would Love to make my own Chipotle Powder....
> 
> TJ


This year my jalapenos didn't have time to turn red so I smoked a bunch of green ones then dehydrated them.  Not quite the same as the red ones, but still a great taste!


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