Complete Guide To Chipotles: how to use them, controlling the spice level and how to make homemade chipotles.
Made from the Morita pepper from the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. The word Morita translates to the Spanish word "small mulberry". The Morita pepper is darker in color with a reddish-purple exterior.
Next, the Meco pepper is used all over South America. Also referred to the ahumado chili, or tipico and is grayish tan in color.
Once smoked, they have the appearance of a dusty-looking surface, looking like a cigar butt once smoked.
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Producing Chipotles takes a few days to complete. When making chipotle, work on a 10 to 1 scale. Every 10 pounds of jalapenos will amount to 1 pound of chipotles.
The jalapenos smoke for days, until most of the moisture has been is removed. Over the first 3 days, the red jalapenos will decrease from 88% to 81% in size.
By the end, when the chipotles are completed, the moisture level will reach a value of around 6%. Almost dehydrated in nature.
The process of smoking chipotle peppers dates back to the Aztecs. They created the process to preserve the chiles.
If you're interested in making your own chipotle peppers check out the How-To card at the end of this post.
🔍 Identification
Jalapenos are green during the growing season and turn red in the fall. In Mexico, red jalapenos are sold at a premium price.
Chipotle peppers stay on the vine until they turn to a deep red color and begin to dry out.
👨🍳 Taste Profile
Smokey, fruity and bold with a peppery finish. When using dried chipotle in its whole form, the smell is going to remind you of BBQ and grilling out. The pleasent smokiness is the key chariristics of the chipotle pepper. And there are ways to control the spice level.
In the dried powder form, I find it to be spice forward and I would suggest being careful how much you add a recipe. Take a small taste before using.
🌶️ Spicy or Not?
Cooking with chipotle peppers can be a chef's secret ingredient. The type of recipe that leaves the guest wondering, "what is making is the dish so great"?
The idea that chipotle peppers are always hot/spicy to the tongue isn't true. The key to using chipotles when cooking lands on a few decisions the cook has to make before cooking.
Here are a few tips:
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Decide if you want to A) add a deep depth of flavor, or B) add spice to your recipe.
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If you want more flavor without the added heat/spice then remove the seeds and rib of the chipotle.
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Dried chipotle peppers, which are not in adobo sauce, you have to rehydrate them. Then you can remove the seeds and rib/stem.
You can grind chipotle peppers into a powder or paste. Might choose to wear a mask when grinding so not to breath in the air particles.
📖 Uses
- Salsa
- Marinades
- Remoulade/flavorer mayo
- Blood mary drink(award winning concept)
- Holladaise sauce
- Tomato/Roma sauce
- Soup bases
- BBQ dry rubs
- Baked good like bread or cornbread recipes
NO rules on what you can dream up.
📋 Recipes To Try
- Homemade Adobo Sauce
- Traditional Texas Chili Recipe
- Instant Pot Chili
- King Ranch Chicken Casserole
- "Masters" Pimento Cheese
- Texas Sweet & Spicy Meatballs
How To Make Chipotle Peppers
Instructions on making authentic smokey chipotle peppers from scratch
Suggested Equipment
BBQ Smoker - For Chipotles
Ingredients
Type Of Wood
- 1 stack Pecan Wood (traditional) If a lot of bark is present, peel back or remove a part of the bark.
Peppers To Use
- 1 bag Jalapenos Use as much as you like to make a quality of your choosing. 10 to 1 ratio on volume.
Instructions
The Jalapenos
- The jalapenos need to completely ripen before beginning the process.The jalapenos need to ripen to the point they have turned red in color. If you grow your own jalapenos, you can ripen them on the vine for max favor.If using store-bought jalapeno peppers. To ripen them further, place them on the counter in the open air to allow the denaturing process to continue. The jalapenos will change in color to orange and red. Have you ever noticed this at the grocery store? Looking at the jalapenos, a few already turned orange/red.
Smoking The Jalapenos
- The process takes days to complete. The goal is to smoke the jalapenos at a low enough temperature to remove the moisture. Around 180 to 200 degrees.Place the red jalapenos on a flat surface inside the smoker. Make sure the surface allows smoke to penetrate, like a grill grate. The jalapenos will smoke for days until most of the moisture is removed. Over the first 3 days, the red jalapenos will decrease from 88% to 81% in size. By the end and how you'll know you're done, the moisture level will reach a value of around 6%. Once to 6% remaining moisture, you will have Chipotles.Key Tip: Every few hours the red jalapenos need to be turned over in the smoker.Time-Saving Tip: you can speed up the process by beginning with smoking the jalapenos for a few hours to impart the smokey flavor. Then finish using a food dehydrator to remove the excess moisture.
How To Store Chipotles
- Method #1The classic method of preserving chipotles is using adobo sauce. The sauce has the perfect ingredients to keep the flavor and stop spoilage. Below within the Note section, you can find our amazing adobo sauce recipe.
- Method #2Another method to freshness is using a food saver machine to remove the excess air. This will give your chipotles a longer shelf life.
- Method #3Allow the chipotles to rehydrate in water. You can then puree them and store them in glass jars in the refrigerator.
Notes
- There are over a hundred types of jalapenos in the world.
- classic chipotle pepper originated in Chihuahua Mexico.
- Chipotle Morita is the name given to the peppers produced in Chihuahua Mexico.
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