Jalapenos

[s'kat]

My husband came home last night with about 50 peppers, mostly jalapeno, some banana, some green.

I've already pickled four large jars worth, using the previous bags he'd brought home from this friend's house. Any other ideas on what I can use these in? I feel like I have peppers coming out of my ears!!

[NulloModo]

Chili, soups, just cut 'em up and toss them on sandwhiches, roasted peppers for dips, jalepeno poppers, thai curries (jalepenos substitute well for serranos and vice versa), or anything else.

50 peppers should be a breeze to blow through.

[ludja]

jalapeno salsa

[Msk]

Homemade Hot Sauce

Msk

[Gale]

Hey s'kat - Wolvie here -

if it was me, I'd clean them, chop them up, dry them, then spread them out on a cookie sheet and put said sheet into the freezer. Once frozen, bag them up and put back in freezer. Then you can take out as many as you like for soups, etc. Works great with any type of pepper, actually.

My husband came home last night with about 50 peppers, mostly jalapeno, some banana, some green. 

I've already pickled four large jars worth, using the previous bags he'd brought home from this friend's house.  Any other ideas on what I can use these in?  I feel like I have peppers coming out of my ears!! 

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[BeJam]

Jelly, Jelly, Jelly. Well, Jam actually.

Then put on a cracker with cream cheese or glaze a pork roast. Eat it with lamb or prime rib. Put it over some parmesan or bleu cheese.

[fifi]

For a little different approach to pickled peppers, I picked up a jar of "bread and butter" style jalapeno's that I read about in a local publication. It is a local brand, Joy Peppers. I tried them and they are GOOD! I am not usually a fan of sweetish bread and butter style pickles (I like them either really sweet or totally savory.) but this is a good fit for the sweet/sour taste. I haven't tried to adapt a recipe to the jalapenos as yet but this has possibilities.

[ludja]

Jelly, Jelly, Jelly.  Well, Jam actually. 

Then put on a cracker with cream cheese or glaze a pork roast.  Eat it with lamb or prime rib.  Put it over some parmesan or bleu cheese.

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Good idea BeJam; The pepper jelly and cream cheese on crackers is a southern classic--easy and nice hors d'oeuvres for Thanksgiving. Looks even prettier if you add a few red jalapenos in there...

[s'kat]

Bejam and ludja, I'm a proper Southern lady, with no fewer than 5 jars of varying-degrees-of-hot pepper jellies in my cupboard. Good stuff!

NulloModo, I love fiery foods, but I don't know that I could 'breeze through' this many- you have my respect!

Msk, I also made hot sauce and chili paste with my last batch, too.

Wolvie, I didn't know that you could freeze them! That's most likely where most of this batch will end up. Thanks!

[msphoebe]

I have made Jalapeno relish in the past, it's good to have on hand. Equal amounts peppers and onions, equal amounts olive oil and vinegar, equal amounts garlic powder and sugar, and half that amount of salt.

[=Mark]

Atomic Buffalo Turds

Ingredients:

• 2 lb Jalapeno's - fresh 2 -3 inches each (approx 30 count)

• 2 8 ounce pack of Cream Cheese

• 2 lb Bacon (may not use all)

• 1.5 lb Pulled Pork

Preparation Directions:

• Wash, remove stems and half jalapeno's lengthwise. Only cut the stem off, don't cut the end of jalapeno off to remove the stem. Remove seeds and veins (leave veins in if you would like a hotter ABT).

Use left over pulled pork, or prepare a small shoulder (2lb) for this. Besides pulled pork you can use any meat. Hamburger, or wedges of italian sausage work well also.

Cut lengths of bacon strips just long enough to wrap around jalapeno half about twice.

Fill jalapeno halfs with cream cheese, top with a small amount of pulled pork and wrap the whole thing with a peice of bacon. I usually hold bacon on top of end of jalapeno and wrap around the middle and come back up over top at other end. Hold bacon ends in place with ½ toothpick each end.

Cooking Directions:

• Get cooker at 325deg steady. You are wanting to get bacon cooked without burning up the jalapeno's. I use a raised grid, and place the jalepeno's on a veggie rack allowing for easy removal when done.

Smoking these are even better. Maple wood and Hickory work well.

Allow 30 - 40 minutes for bacon to be done. Check them half way through and rearange as necessary to prevent any hot spots burning any.

Special Instructions:

• Cream cheese will not melt out unless the jalepeno is tipped over. After removing from grill let them set for about 10 minutes to let the bacon crispen up. Otherwise eat as soon as you are able to. Have a drink ready.

[snowangel]

Thanks =Mark. I have a bit of leftover pulled pork, and have been looking for something other than pulled pork on a bun (or with fingers).

And, jalapeno's are dirt cheap at the farmer's market these days.

So cheap, in fact, that bushels of japalenos are running $3.00 per, and bushels of Thai bird chilis are about $3.50 per. Which leads me to wonder just what one would do with a bushel of bird chilis?

[NulloModo]

So cheap, in fact, that bushels of japalenos are running $3.00 per, and bushels of Thai bird chilis are about $3.50 per.  Which leads me to wonder just what one would do with a bushel of bird chilis?

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Hehe... I'd blow through them in about a week making larb, chili, vindaloo, and my other favorite dishes ;).

[fifi]

A few years ago, there was this dessert featured in a magazine that included these beautiful red jalapeno strips that had been "candied" as a garnish. I think it was on something like a frozen mango mousse and I think it was in Martha Stewart. The strips looked to have a texture sort of like a candied cherry in that they were stand-up stiff and they were translucent like a candied cherry. I have tried every sort of candied fruit recipe known to man... or, at least, me... and the peppers always collapse into this withered pile of flabby goo. The only thing I haven't tried is pretreating with pickling lime. My dad used to use that to make some incredibly crisp pickles and pickled watermelon rind. Every time I see red jalapenos I sigh for that recipe.

One of the most spectacular and delicious desserts I have ever had (and I am not crazy about dessert) was in Akumal Mexico. It was incredibly complex in flavor and we kept trying to guess what was in it. All it was was mango in a blender, sweetened condensed drizzled in to taste, minced haberneros, frozen, served in a big brandy snifter. At the table, the waiter lit some good tequila and dramatically added a dipper of the flaming liquor to each snifter. I am sure that the flavor had nothing to do with the fact that our table was in the sand under the palm trees and the flaming concoction in the dark was so theatrical.

Talking with the chef later (when we found out what was in this incredibley subtle and complex dessert ) he said you could use any pepper you wanted. I am thinking that experimenting with adding minced peppers to any number of desserts would be fun to play with.

[lovebenton0]

Fireballs!

several finely minced jalapenos

1 finely minced medium onion

1/2 pound each ground beef and pork

1 pound grated baked potatoes

1 egg

salt to taste

mix together and form as for meatballs

deep fry in hot oil until nicely browned

serve with dijon mustard as dip

have plenty of beer on hand

[NulloModo]

Oh yes pepper desserts could be great. You could try Jalepeno ice cream, or even better, a savory smoked jalepeno ice cream topped with a bit of pulled pork as a sort on non-sequitor starter.

[viva]

Try a jalapeno-poblano cheesecake with a cornmeal crust & mango-papaya salsa garnish as an appetizer...sort of like a quiche but better.

[s'kat]

What a wonderful assortment of ideas! I really wish that my husband liked the heat as much as I do. Looks like I'll have to throw a pepper party.

[Toliver]

I attended a "Hot Pepper Party" a couple years ago.

One dish (purported to be a Wolfgang Puck recipe) was diced mangos, diced red onion and diced jalepeños in a sort of vinaigrette. The mango pieces were actually chunkier than a dice and I can't really recall any other ingredients. It was a wonderful balance of hot & sweet & sour (from the vinaigrette). Simple but hot.

They also had an Artichoke Jalapeño cheese dip (also purported to be from Wolfgang Puck) that was the hit of the party. It's just like all those recipes for Artichoke Cheese dip you find on the web except you add diced jalapeños. When I bring this to parties I also make a batch with just diced green chiles for those who don't like the heat of the jalapeños (wimps). Serve with tortilla chips.

I can post the recipe if you're interested.

[ludja]

Along the lines of "twist on a perennial hors d'oeuvres" favorite as Toliver pointed out...

A local restaurant makes a spicy pimentio cheese dip to serve with tortilla chips. (Not sure how they lighten the texture a bit, mayo? and then jalapeno's added for heat). It 's addictive!

[lovebenton0]

I make a jalapeno pimiento cheese dip -- good with tortilla chips or thin crispy crackers. Also wonderful spread on cornbread. Sharpest cheddar, lighten it with mayo and sourcream.

Then, of course, for those who indulge, there's always a jalapeno margarita.

[andiesenji]

A few years ago, there was this dessert featured in a magazine that included these beautiful red jalapeno strips that had been "candied" as a garnish. I think it was on something like a frozen mango mousse and I think it was in Martha Stewart. The strips looked to have a texture sort of like a candied cherry in that they were stand-up stiff and they were translucent like a candied cherry. I have tried every sort of candied fruit recipe known to man... or, at least, me... and the peppers always collapse into this withered pile of flabby goo. The only thing I haven't tried is pretreating with pickling lime. My dad used to use that to make some incredibly crisp pickles and pickled watermelon rind. Every time I see red jalapenos I sigh for that recipe.

I make candied Chile Tepin or Chile Pequin but I start with a dried pepper in a very light simple syrup, i.e., 1 part sugar to 4 parts water to rehydrate them and then add more sugar as they plump. The trick is to cook them for a period of time, then cool them completely, then cook again.

With fresh ripe fruit you have to go very slow and use 1:1 simple syrup. Again, you have to bring them up to a bare simmer for a short time which drives the natural moisture out of the pepper, then let them cool completely which allows some of the syrup to take up the space where the natural moisture was. Then heat again just to a simmer, cool and repeat. This will keep the cell walls from collapsing as they would do if cooked continuously.

Try it with one pepper cleaned and cup in strips in about a cup of syrup, in a microwave safe bowl that is deep enough to hold the liquid if it starts to bubble up. You will be working in seconds instead of minutes, but it will give you an idea of the number of steps it will take to reach the point where the entire strip is translucent which indicates the syrup has replaced the natural moisture in the flesh of the pepper.

Use an instant read thermometer to measure the temperature of the syrup you want to keep it below the "soft ball" temperature so it will remain syrup and not solidify.

Otherwise, try partially drying a couple of whole peppers in the oven at its lowest setting.

Shake them occasionally and when you can hear the seed rattling around they should be dry enough to start the candying process. Proceed as above.

Don't forget to save the syrup! You can either put it in a bottle (carefully marked) and store at room temperature. Or cook it down further to the "hard crack" stage and spoon little dollops onto parchment paper to make "red-hots" sweet, hot drops which, after they have dried into hard little lumps, can be crushed and stirred into vanilla or chocolate ice cream.

Edited October 2, 2004 by andiesenji (log)

[fifi]

Thanks andie... That method is pretty much what I did, several times, altering syrup strength, watching temperature etc. BUT... I didn't dry the strips first. And I didn't make the first pass in a light syrup. I would love for pepper strips to come out with a texture like the cherries. Cherries have a somewhat similar cell structure so it must be doable.

I did save the syrup! But... boy was it hot! I gave it to an asbestos mouthed friend. That really surprised me since I had seeded and sliced out the membranes.

[MarkinHouston]

I ran across a discussion about making sweet hot jalapenos from fresh jalapenos last week. I saved the recipe, or so I thought, and now I can not find it in any of my likely computer files. I would appreciate help in locating the pertinent information---I have the jalapenos and the sugar, but I don't recall the exact directions. Thanks in advance.

[judiu]

Googled Candied Jalapenos and came up with this: http://www.jalapenomadness.com/recipe_candied_jalapenos-sweet.html

HTH!