Roasting Peppers

[Jim Dixon]

I've roasted peppers with a blowtorch, on the gas burners of my stove, under the broiler, and on the grill. But I have to credit my friend Bob with coming up with my favorite new method:

This is a load of lump briquet (as discussed recently here) getting started in the charcoal chimney. The heat comes out of this thing like a blast furnace, and Bob told me he'd been tossing in peppers while the coals got burning. Work great, and it's fast.

Jim

[MatthewB]

Jim,

Looks interesting!

But I'm interested in why you like this method better than grilling?

Please do tell.

[tommy]

and it's fast.

not if you're not planning on grilling.

i usually put them on the range. doesn't take very long at all. but this is a neat idea. what else can we think of to put on a pile of coal?

that picture, btw, is beautiful. i might frame it.

Edited June 23, 2003 by tommy (log)

[slkinsey]

Hee! Looks cool!

I have to say that, in terms of blasting off the skin while cooking the flesh as little as possible, I have not been able to beat a big old blowtorch from the hardware store.

[Jim Dixon]

I like it because it's fast (the peppers don't cook so much as with the stovetop method), I don't need to take up valuable grill space and time (mmm, the grill space-time continuum...see that other thread above for discussion of the spatial and temporal pros and cons of lump briquet), and I get to use the heat that otherwise warms up my outdoor kitchen (or threatens to set my fence alight).

The blowtorch has the same affect as far as minimal pepper cooking goes (I use my Bluet ski-waxing torch).

tommy...I'm liking my relatively new Pentax Optio 330RS, a now-discontinued 3.3 MP unit. I made a little batch thing in Photoshop that automatically downsizes the pix to the eGullet-friendly 300 pixel width. I'm still a hack, photographically-speaking, but this camera takes pretty good shots. Here's one that didn't come so great...

I'm holding the tongs with one hand and shooting with the other...a little too close for the auto-focus.

JIm

[fresco]

If anyone has a better method for large-scale pepper roasting (we do a couple of bushels every fall) than grilling, would sure love to hear about it.

[alacarte]

It looks like fun, but I have to say that it doesn't look very sanitary...

[MatthewB]

It looks like fun, but I have to say that it doesn't look very sanitary...

Huh?

[alacarte]

I wouldn't want to eat anything right off the coals like that, even though I know the skin gets peeled.

I'll probably be chided for being too fastidious by all the "macho grillers" out there.

[MatthewB]

I wouldn't want to eat anything right off the coals like that, even though I know the skin gets peeled.

I'll probably be chided for being too fastidious by all the "macho grillers" out there.

I'm not a "macho" griller.

But I don't understand how this is unsanitary.

:confused:

[inventolux]

and it's fast.

not if you're not planning on grilling.

i usually put them on the range. doesn't take very long at all. but this is a neat idea. what else can we think of to put on a pile of coal?

that picture, btw, is beautiful. i might frame it.

Whole eggplants. Wait till they are soft and use pulp as a soup thickener.

[tommy]

I wouldn't want to eat anything right off the coals like that, even though I know the skin gets peeled.

aren't coals primarily carbon? all of the impurities are burned off in the coal making process as far as i understand. although i can see how it might be a bit dirty. given the fact thay they'll be washed, though, i don't know that i'd be too concerned.

[Craig Camp]

I wouldn't want to eat anything right off the coals like that, even though I know the skin gets peeled.

aren't coals primarily carbon? all of the impurities are burned off in the coal making process as far as i understand. although i can see how it might be a bit dirty. given the fact thay they'll be washed, though, i don't know that i'd be too concerned.

Never wash roasted peppers. The best flavors are washed away. A typical Italian method is to roast over coals or gas then to wrap them in wet paper (these days) towels and to immediately put them in a covered pot to steam for about 20 minutes from their own heat. Then you just use the paper towels to wipe away the skins.

They are much sweeter and more flavorful when not rinsed.

By the way Jim's method looks like it would work great.

[tommy]

i didn't mean washed. i meant cleaned.

[MatthewB]

i didn't mean washed.  i meant cleaned. 

tommy, you're doing an awful lot of defining today.

[tommy]

i didn't mean washed.  i meant cleaned. 

tommy, you're doing an awful lot of defining today.

i've been talking out of my ass much more than usual today. could be the heat. regardless, don't you dare wash that delicious carbon off of your pepper.

[fifi]

This is a really cool idea for when I would be grilling. Can't wait to try it. And so environmentally friendly, use of waste heat you know. I use a chimney already. I'll bet it helps the flavor, nice charcoal and no lighter fluid.

Here is what I do when I get a bunch of peppers... I go ahead and quarter them, removing the stem and seeds. If they are strange shaped, I may cut them into six strips. The idea is to get them as flat as possible. I then spread them out skin side up on a baking sheet and run them under the broiler, as close as I can get to the heat. (Like you... want to get charring without over cooking. I can't wait to get the new stove with the high BTU broiler.) Dump them in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, wait a few minutes them peel and store. I usually store them in jars with a little olive oil. If I really have a lot, I will freeze some. I know they won't have the best texture after freezing but they are fine for some recipes.

[Craig Camp]

When you cut them you lose the steaming effect of cooking the pepper whole. They will lose moisture that way.

[fifi]

It doesn't seem to happen. I have done them all kinds of ways (gas flame, blow torch, grill) and I can't tell the difference, well... except that the grill does lend that nice charcoal flavor. You do have to get them really close to the heat source to char the skin before they yuk out any juice or over cook.

[Dave the Cook]

Why not set a small cake rack on top of the chimney, the way Alton Brown suggests searing tuna (recipe/technique here)?

That way, we could char those suckers and get alacarte to take her finger off the Poison Control speed dial.

[Craig Camp]

It doesn't seem to happen. I have done them all kinds of ways (gas flame, blow torch, grill) and I can't tell the difference, well... except that the grill does lend that nice charcoal flavor. You do have to get them really close to the heat source to char the skin before they yuk out any juice or over cook.

Taste them side by side. I have done so several times and there is a difference. There is also a huge difference between rinsed and unrinsed

[Bux]

I suppose I will chime in with my preferred method. I have a commercial range with 15000 btu burners. There are more powerful residential burners these days. I roast the peppers whole on the range top putting them directly on the grill that holds the pots and pans. I wash the peppers first and then I oil them. I find the oil seems to carry the heat, lets them char more evenly and above all, the uncharred bits seem to come off easier. I turn the peppers a lot while the skins are charring and don't do more than I can watch at one time. When pretty well blackened, I put the peppers in a bag which I close tightly. Five or ten minutes later, I take out the pepper, remove the stem and core and quarter the peppers on the ribs. I then scrape off the blackened skin. I'm always washing my hands and the knife, so there's always some water going to come in touch with the peppers, but I try not to wash the peppers themselves and just scrape them clean. I usually heat some minced or sliced garlic in olive oil at a low temperature and add this to the bowl with the peppers and then add some good extra virgin olive oil which I've not heated.

Back to Jim's chimney. I think unsanitary is not the word to use for something that's been sterilized by the heat. Tommy, charcoal briquets are loaded with petrochemicals. If someone were to use pure charcoal, I would have no qualms. After contact with briquets, the peppers might merrit washing however.

[tommy]

Tommy, charcoal briquets are loaded with petrochemicals. If someone were to use pure charcoal, I would have no qualms. After contact with briquets, the peppers might merrit washing however.

yeah, i know. i was hoping those weren't briquets!

clarify: the briquets you buy at the food store.

Edited June 23, 2003 by tommy (log)

[Jim Dixon]

They're not...

lump briquet = hardwood charcoal

Jim

[Angus2]

So many great suggstions here from many!

I have done roasted peppers every which way but loose. Just never cut them up before they are roasted.

I just recently saw a show, a Mexican woman roasting peppers over hardwood coals. Looked fabulous.

As long as they are charred evenly and steamed, no worries. Try and save as much of the oil that you can. Therein lies all the flavour.

What you do with them after that is a personal preference. Umm I wonder if this post could make it on the fun food in the bedroom thread?