How to Make Chipotle: A Pictorial Guide
Ground Chipotle
Chipotle made from smoke-dried, over ripe (red) jalapeño peppers, is a favorite seasoning in Hispanic cuisine. In the old days, making Chipotle was a long and labor intensive process taking 6 or 7 days. This traditional method involved slow smoking jalapeños over a low temperature, pecan wood fire. The smoking had to be constantly tended to insure the peppers did not char badly or burn.
This pictorial guide uses a bit of modern, household technology to speed up the process, and will produce Chipotle with a smoky/sweet taste, good color, and plenty of heat. Some things to keep in mind before you start.
1). This guide is the result many failed experiments. Although the method seems straightforward, getting it right can be tricky. So, if you come up with better way, please let me know.
2). The method here uses the whole pepper - seeds and all. For a little less heat, seeds and ribs can be removed.
3). Charred or burned peppers are the the biggest challenge. These will give the final product a bitter taste and dark color. Small charred spots can be cut out, burned peppers should be discarded.
4). The peppers, while smoking and drying, should be checked frequently - about every 30 minutes. Rearranging peppers on the grill can minimize burning.
5). Wear gloves when handling the peppers.
6). The dust from grinding burns the throat and stings the eyes. Consider grinding the peppers outside.
1. Start with firm red, Old style (not TAM) jalapeños. For traditional taste, use pecan wood for smoking. Use indirect smoking with a temp around 125f. Total smoke time will be around 2.5 to 3 hours. Check the peppers every 30 minutes. Rearranging the peppers as they smoke to minimize charring/burning.
2. After one Hour peppers will start to shrivel
3. After two hours peppers soften and begin to collapse.
4. After 2.5 hours Shrunken, collapsed peppers turned and rearranged to prevent falling through the grill.
5. Removed from Grill after 3 hours
6. After 10 hours in the dehydrator at 140f peppers are ready to grind. Remove stems and charred bits before grinding.
7. De-stemmed and cut in half peppers are ready for the spice grinder. Or you can stop here and use these chunks to infuse honey, tequila,, etc.
8. Finished Product. pepper chunks Ground to a course powder but long enough to grind the seeds. A high speed spice/coffee grinder seems to work much better than a food processor.
MOISTURE IS NOT YOUR FRIEND
For a final drying, lay two sheets of parchment over a cookie sheet then spread the powder thinly over the paper. Place in an oven heated to the lowest temp possible (mine is 140f) for about two hours. DO NOT spread directly on the cookie sheet as this will scorch the powder (one of my many mistakes). Store your Chipotle in glass jars with food grade moisture absorbers.
The perfect aroma, taste, sweetness, and heat of homemade. pecan-smoked Chipotle powder sprinkled on anything - eggs, fish, steak, salad, cheese, hamburgers, sandwiches - is simply an everyday culinary necessity in my house. But then again, I’m from Texas.