Roasting Chile Peppers
Chiles roasted over an open flame, or in the oven, impart a delicious smoky flavour to salsas or any dish that uses chile peppers.
Lay whole chiles directly on a barbecue grill, under a broiler, on a stove top grill, or over a gas flame. Grill or broil, turning frequently, until the chile skins are evenly blackened and charred all over, but the flesh is still crisp. Put the chiles into a paper bag for a few minutes to cool and steam, this helps further loosen the skins. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, the skins will slide off easily. DON'T rinse the roasted peppers under the tap or all the flavoursome juices will be lost down the plug-hole. Slit and remove veins and seeds. If doing this with very hot chiles, be sure to wear rubber gloves and don't touch your eyes. Use the prepared chiles in sauces and salsas, in rice casseroles, on hamburgers, and in all Mexican dishes. Also great with summer squash, green beans, corn, or homemade fajitas.
Oven roasting
Simply put the chilies on a baking sheet in the oven at about 400 and leave until the skins are blistered. Remove the blistered skins under cold running water. This method doesn’t develop quite as much flavour as flame roasting does. Remember, you are not just blistering the skins, the chiles are also being cooked.
Gas Stove
This method works well for roasting a small quantity of chile peppers but it does not work well for tomatoes or garlic. Use a long handled cooking fork with a handle made with a non heat-conducting material. Pierce the pepper with the fork and hold the pepper over a gas flame (or grill flame), about 4" from the heat source. Keep turning the pepper until it is evenly charred on all sides. The pepper skins should turn black when properly roasted. Place the roasted peppers in a plastic bag and seal the bag. (You can also use a small wire grilling basket and char a few peppers at a time.) After a few minutes the bag should be opened, the peppers taken out and you'll find the char skins will just slide off the peppers.
Dry Grill
For tomatoes, garlic, or a larger quantity of chiles you can use a stove-top grill. This fits over a gas or electric burner. Sit the chiles on top and turn occasionally to allow even charring.
New Mexico method
The Roasting of green chiles is done using a contraption which is apparently commonly used in the Southwestern States, Mexico too, I reckon...
Cylindrical wire cages about five or six feet long, and about two or three feet across, are sitting on a simple metal frame, just within the reach of a half a dozen gas jets.
A small motor on the end turns the cage.
Making chipotles
1 pound ripe red jalapeno or fresno chiles
10 pounds charcoal briquettes
smoke chips your choice (such as mesquite chunks cut into smaller pieces)
a few springs fresh cut rosemary (optional)
Start this as early in the morning as possible.
Put smoke chips in a container and cover with water. Mound about one half the briquettes into the charcoal pan and light.
Wash the chiles and cut a slit lengthwise in each one from just below the shoulder to about a half inch from the tip. Place the chiles in a single layer (slit side up) on a surface that will fit in the smoker and won't let the chiles fall through. When the briquettes are covered with grey ash, spread out into an even layer (if using a BBQ, spread the briquettes to the side leaving a bare spot in the center).
Place some of the soaked smoke chips on the briquettes. Fill the water pan with 2 to 3 inches of water (if using a BBQ, use an aluminium foil pan that will fit in the bare spot in the center of the BBQ) and put in place over (or in the center of) the briquettes. Put smoker or BBQ rack in place, place the container of chiles on the rack over the pan of water, and cover the smoker or BBQ.
The idea is to keep a low-heat, smouldering, smoky fire for a couple/ several/few... 90 minute hours.
Add briquettes, soaked smoke chips, and the perhaps the optional bits and pieces of a sprig or two of fresh rosemary as needed to keep generating heat and smoke.
After 6 or 7 hours, the chiles have probably absorbed as much smoke as they're going to.
They should be a dark, brick-red colour and somewhat wrinkled but, they won't be totally dehydrated to a point where they would keep at room temperature.
Remove them from the smoker and finish drying them in a warm oven or a dehydrator if needed.
[One can em up with ones favorite variation of tomatoes (adobo sauce...salsa's...etc) for a real long term storage Gourmet smoked chile treat]
Chiles roasted over an open flame, or in the oven, impart a delicious smoky flavour to salsas or any dish that uses chile peppers.
Lay whole chiles directly on a barbecue grill, under a broiler, on a stove top grill, or over a gas flame. Grill or broil, turning frequently, until the chile skins are evenly blackened and charred all over, but the flesh is still crisp. Put the chiles into a paper bag for a few minutes to cool and steam, this helps further loosen the skins. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, the skins will slide off easily. DON'T rinse the roasted peppers under the tap or all the flavoursome juices will be lost down the plug-hole. Slit and remove veins and seeds. If doing this with very hot chiles, be sure to wear rubber gloves and don't touch your eyes. Use the prepared chiles in sauces and salsas, in rice casseroles, on hamburgers, and in all Mexican dishes. Also great with summer squash, green beans, corn, or homemade fajitas.
Oven roasting
Simply put the chilies on a baking sheet in the oven at about 400 and leave until the skins are blistered. Remove the blistered skins under cold running water. This method doesn’t develop quite as much flavour as flame roasting does. Remember, you are not just blistering the skins, the chiles are also being cooked.
Gas Stove
This method works well for roasting a small quantity of chile peppers but it does not work well for tomatoes or garlic. Use a long handled cooking fork with a handle made with a non heat-conducting material. Pierce the pepper with the fork and hold the pepper over a gas flame (or grill flame), about 4" from the heat source. Keep turning the pepper until it is evenly charred on all sides. The pepper skins should turn black when properly roasted. Place the roasted peppers in a plastic bag and seal the bag. (You can also use a small wire grilling basket and char a few peppers at a time.) After a few minutes the bag should be opened, the peppers taken out and you'll find the char skins will just slide off the peppers.
Dry Grill
For tomatoes, garlic, or a larger quantity of chiles you can use a stove-top grill. This fits over a gas or electric burner. Sit the chiles on top and turn occasionally to allow even charring.
New Mexico method
The Roasting of green chiles is done using a contraption which is apparently commonly used in the Southwestern States, Mexico too, I reckon...
Cylindrical wire cages about five or six feet long, and about two or three feet across, are sitting on a simple metal frame, just within the reach of a half a dozen gas jets.
A small motor on the end turns the cage.
Making chipotles
1 pound ripe red jalapeno or fresno chiles
10 pounds charcoal briquettes
smoke chips your choice (such as mesquite chunks cut into smaller pieces)
a few springs fresh cut rosemary (optional)
Start this as early in the morning as possible.
Put smoke chips in a container and cover with water. Mound about one half the briquettes into the charcoal pan and light.
Wash the chiles and cut a slit lengthwise in each one from just below the shoulder to about a half inch from the tip. Place the chiles in a single layer (slit side up) on a surface that will fit in the smoker and won't let the chiles fall through. When the briquettes are covered with grey ash, spread out into an even layer (if using a BBQ, spread the briquettes to the side leaving a bare spot in the center).
Place some of the soaked smoke chips on the briquettes. Fill the water pan with 2 to 3 inches of water (if using a BBQ, use an aluminium foil pan that will fit in the bare spot in the center of the BBQ) and put in place over (or in the center of) the briquettes. Put smoker or BBQ rack in place, place the container of chiles on the rack over the pan of water, and cover the smoker or BBQ.
The idea is to keep a low-heat, smouldering, smoky fire for a couple/ several/few... 90 minute hours.
Add briquettes, soaked smoke chips, and the perhaps the optional bits and pieces of a sprig or two of fresh rosemary as needed to keep generating heat and smoke.
After 6 or 7 hours, the chiles have probably absorbed as much smoke as they're going to.
They should be a dark, brick-red colour and somewhat wrinkled but, they won't be totally dehydrated to a point where they would keep at room temperature.
Remove them from the smoker and finish drying them in a warm oven or a dehydrator if needed.
[One can em up with ones favorite variation of tomatoes (adobo sauce...salsa's...etc) for a real long term storage Gourmet smoked chile treat]
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