The StoryI love the taste of chipotle peppers. they are nothing more than smoked, ripe jalapeños.
From a young age, my love of heat has taken me on a journey seeking more heat than can be provided by the modest jalapeño .
On that journey, I found that I like the taste of habanero peppers much more than jalapeños.
So I thought, why not make my own habanero "chipotle?"
Fast forward to today, where I am making a batch of smoked peppers with a crop of Trinidad Moruga Scorpion peppers. The taste is very similar to a habanero, even through they physically resemble a Bhut Jolokia, aka Naga Jolodia or Ghost pepper .
It seems hot peppers record breaking levels are advancing at a rate that is hard for me to keep up with. My crops are usually a year to two behind in terms of what is currently listed in the Guiness book of world records. I was reading about the Trinidad while growing Red Savina Habaneros, and now that my Trinidad plants are thriving, a new record holder has assumed the throne, the Carolina Reaper.
At any rate, these Trinidad peppers pack quite a punch and have a wonderful flavor and aroma.
The SmokeToday also marks my first use of a new AMNPS 5x8 (
https://www.amazenproducts.com). I just received this unit and wanted to give it a go. I used the pitmasters choice pellets included with the smoker tray, as I had read reviews on this board that these they are starved for oxygen in our smokers due to lack of airflow. I was not sure if it would work and wanted to minimize my risk on investment. I am happy to say, that it worked perfectly in my smoker, blown with the 23cfm fan. One row of the MAZE lasted 4 hours, producing plentiful smoke from beginning to end.
The SetupThe fan was blowing into the bottom rear of the smoker.
I put the SI smokebox in place, but it was empty.
I placed the AMNPS on the floor, at the front of the smoker, to the right of the SI smoke box.
I inserted the SI cold smoke plate in the lowest position.
I positioned the meat probe below the cold smoke plate, on the left of the SI smoke box.
I used the Auber to monitor temps, but did not power the SI element.
I used the Q-MATZ from amazonproducts to keep the peppers from falling through the grates. I've had these for a few years and they have held up great. They are just like new, although I only use them for this purpose; cold smoking.
The ExperienceI filled two grates with peppers and placed them the top two positions.
About 2/3rds of the peppers were frozen, as I harvest and freeze until I have enough for a batch.
This made the top, cold smoke chamber drop quickly to 55F, while the ambient temp was 88F.
4 hours later, the top chamber was at 104F while the lower chamber with the AMNPS hit 116F.
I can see this setup working perfectly in the winter, but may need ice bottles up top for cheese any other time around here.
The RecipeI take the peppers (smoke is optional), rough chop them and fill quart size mason jars. Each jar gets 2 tablespoons of sea salt. Then I snug brand new lids and boil the jars for 20 minutes to sterilize the contents. Upon removing the jars from the boiling water, I tighten the lids and label them with pepper variety, smoke? and date. They then go into those two cabinet doors above the fridge for at least a year to ferment. This really develops the flavor and unfortunately lowers the heat. This is the main reason I go to great lengths to start with the hottest pepper I can. The last batch of hot sauce I made fermented for 8 years; Red Savina Habanero.
When the time is right, I crack open a jar, and mix with 5% acidity white vinegar. Liquify, strain and bottle.
3 Ingredients: peppers, vinegar, salt. Delicious and requires no refrigeration.
The Pictures