Smoked jalapeno powder!

milesvdustin · September 2016

So i love taking hot peppers, cold smoking them for a long time, and then dehydrating and grinding them into powder. Sometimes i do jalapenos, sometimes habaneros. I decided to detail how I do it so some of you could try this.

I use the LBGE, Amazen smoker, a dehydrator, and the adjustable rig with 3 racks, and a stone and spider.

First, i freeze the peppers i am going to use. This makes them lose a lot of juice, which makes them dehydrate faster after the cold smoke. Its also easier to get most of the guts out. I can do two gallon bags stuffed full at a time. Thaw them out after being frozen a few days.

Here they are cut and mostly seeded, the rest of the seeds will drop out easily when they are finished drying.

milesvdustin · September 2016

So i get the Amazen smoker filled with a pitmaster blend of pellets, and light it up.

I clean all the charcoal and ash out and out of the bottom, and put the smoker box on it, then put the spider and stone in.

After that, i lay all the pepper slices out on the racks, it fills three levels in the adjustable rig. I have two oval and one d grid. I load it all up and throw it in for about 12 hours.

Tomorrow, ill show these all smoked headed into the dehydrator. Stay tuned!

chuckytheegghead · September 2016

Staying tuned! Thanks for posting this, I'm interested in trying.

JacksDad · September 2016

chuckytheegghead said:

Staying tuned! Thanks for posting this, I'm interested in trying.

Me too! Looks great, looking forward to how these turn out...

EggMcMic · September 2016

Very cool. I am looking forward to the continuing saga...

InfectedDAS · September 2016

Wow!
I'm eager to know the result (and procedure

HeavyG · September 2016

I'm lazy so I just buy chipotle powder.

Looking forward to the rest of your process tho!

charliebatutis · September 2016

watching!

feef706 · September 2016

I'm interested in this also, can you please post a shot of the amazen smoker after you are done, curious how much of the pellets you actually burn in a typical session. They have a 6" tube which seems great for smoking cheese but I like the idea of smoking peppers and already own a dehydrator so just wanting to get the right product for my needs.

HeavyG · September 2016

feef706 said:

I'm interested in this also, can you please post a shot of the amazen smoker after you are done, curious how much of the pellets you actually burn in a typical session. They have a 6" tube which seems great for smoking cheese but I like the idea of smoking peppers and already own a dehydrator so just wanting to get the right product for my needs.

I have that Amazen tray and fully loaded it will last about 12 hours so I'm guessing it would be just ash when he finished.

milesvdustin · September 2016

Yeah it went a bit over 12 hours. Here is the tray all finished.

As you can see in the next picture, the peppers are not bright green anymore and you can see the smoke tint they took on.

milesvdustin · September 2016

Trying again

feef706 · September 2016

Yea I saw afterwards that you said around 12 hrs, I guess for the extra $10 it's worth having the flexibility to run up to 12 hrs if you wanted to.
They definitely have a different tinge after smoking that long.

How hot does the egg get for one of these cold smokes? I've seen some people putting a bowl of ice in their egg when cold smoking cheese.

lousubcap · September 2016

@milesvdustin - as you are well-versed in this process, I'm sure the dehydrator is a great finishing device. I don't own one but run the low (around 170*F on the LBGE - once a year adventure at that dome temp) smoking process and it takes a good 24 hours to get them to the dried and ready for grinding look/feel without it.
Of course my entire process must be done outside. Never started with frozen but will give it a go this year-mainly habaneros but last year a friend (?) had a goodly amount of Carolina Reapers and that powder will outlast my time on the planet.
Enjoy the process-looking good.

milesvdustin · September 2016

I did habs last time, the powder went quick as me and my wife love it! I like to mix some with ranch or sour cream to use for dipping or topping, fhe smoke really comes out then and its to die for. Next throwdown or whatnot ill send a few tablespoons of powder to the winner.

Carolina reaper powder sounds amazing! Was it smoked? I love stupidly hot food. I eat Ms. Renfros roasted ghost pepper salsa on my eggs every morning.

lousubcap · September 2016

I smoked around two levels of the reapers (LBGE) and will never want for hot powder again. How long do you run them in the dehydrator as the BGE moisture retention characteristics really make for a protracted cook.

milesvdustin · September 2016

Yeah, even with the massive fluid loss from freezing, they will take at least 24 hours in the dehydrator. That pile of peppers lost about 2 cups from the bags, and another half cup when i cut them up and seeded them.

Just checked them, still have a good ways to go but they have shrunk down considerably

nolaegghead · September 2016

I didn't smoke or freeze them, but I bought a bunch of jalapenos when they were beautiful and $0.25/lb at a local grocery, then put them on my dehydrator.

I sliced them in half after removing the stem. Left the guts in for heat.

Took about 12 hours. I'm certain that cutting in half lengthwise dramatically reduces dehydration time.

Anyway, ended up with a giant bag of dried japs and used the last up recently on a rub for beef jerky.

MO_Eggin · September 2016

Is there a benefit or difference in cold smoking versus a typical low/slow temperature? I've smoked peppers (jalapeno, habanero and serrano) in the past L&S - around 225 - before dehydrating, and have been pleased with the results, but always looking for improvements.

A PSA for those of you who may try this for the first time - I strongly recommend having very good ventilation wherever you do the dehydrating step, otherwise its what (I imagine) getting pepper sprayed feels like with burning eyes and running nose.