Habaneros - What to do with this years crop?

[FoodMan]

I have one Habanero plant in the back yard and that thing has to be the most prolific thing I ever planted. This is what I picked a couple of days ago...

...and I have like three times that in the freezer.

I can never eat all that as is sliced on top of food and I am not going to make jerk seasoning with all of it. So what do you suggest I do? I am thinking some time of chili jam or a thick hot sauce maybe.

However any suggestions are welcome. So let's hear it.

Elie

[tryska]

I have one Habanero plant in the back yard and that thing has to be the most prolific thing I ever planted. This is what I picked a couple of days ago...

...and I have like three times that in the freezer.

I can never eat all that as is sliced on top of food and I am not going to make jerk seasoning with all of it. So what do you suggest I do? I am thinking some time of chili jam or a thick hot sauce maybe.

However any suggestions are welcome. So let's hear it.

Elie

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do you cook with chilis often?

i use them in place of green chili or even dried red chili/cayenne pepper in whatever indian food i make.

but with that amount, i would probably dry some, as well as make hot sauce and a pepper jelly. (and jerk seasoning of course.)

[reesek]

what a gorgeous photo...my mouth is watering.

i love habaneros and summer fruit - peaches and nectarines...can you freeze some of them, or do they lose their heat?

i'd dry and grind some, make a sweet firey jam with honey and bell peppers, and maybe a couple of marinades...like an orange habenero barbeque sauce or a pineapple hab. marinade for grilled chicken.

ooh - make some pickles too!

[NulloModo]

Invest in a couple cases of beer (or bottles of wine if your friends swing that way) and invite the buddies over. Drink heavily until someone accepts your dare to eat the entire bowl, then be entertained when recollecting the experience thereafter.

[Jason Perlow]

Make your own hot sauce and give them out to friends as holiday stocking stuffers.

Remove the stems, slice the peppers in half and cook them in vinegar (don't breathe in the fumes!!!!) with some black pepper and a good amount of salt. After the peppers soften, throw the entire thing into a blender, puree. Taste. Add more salt and vinegar if needed. Optionally add a fruit component such as mango pulp, banana or citrus juice.

Put into botttles, add decorative label.

[SobaAddict70]

Slightly offtopic, I suppose you could get a few of these suckers and mix it up a bit.

Soba

[FoodMan]

Invest in a couple cases of beer (or bottles of wine if your friends swing that way) and invite the buddies over.  Drink heavily until someone accepts your dare to eat the entire bowl, then be entertained when recollecting the experience thereafter.

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I suppose it's an option. Do you think I should make them sign anything? you know I would not want to be charged with attempted homicide .

Actually I think a good hot sauce is the way I would go, like Jason suggested. It is tasty and lasts a good while. See, no one in my famlily would come near the stuff (so I cannot just use for cooking) so it is all mine, mine, mine..unless you folks would like a sample ?

I am thinking about adding some orange juice/zest to the hot sauce. What kind of proportions of pepper to vinegar to salt to citrus am I looking for with long term storage in mind? Should I store in small mason jars or actual bottles?

Elie

[lovebenton0]

Salsas with fruit component are excellent as Jason suggested. One of my favs is golden Romas, sweet onion, nectarine and habanero. I call it Afterburner 'cause it goes in sweet and kicks you after your mouth is workin' on it.

You can also do this with some of them for multi-use storage.

Just clean and pop off the stems, pack into a sterilized pint or quart jar for canning (this is a quart -- I also had pounds of them last year and didn't even grow them this year!). These are whole but I also halve them sometimes before I pack them. Then pour hot, salted (1 tsp salt/pint) vinegar/water (3:1) over them. Stash in pantry or fridge -- you can see by the condensation these were fridged. Then you can do about anything with them you would any other hot pepper. They keep their shape well like this and don't get mushy like they do by freezing them sometimes. Take out a couple, chop, add to dishes for a hit of hot/sour intensity, or to add whole or halved to a jar with other vegs/fruits to perk that right up! The handy habanero.

[Suzanne F]

Actually I think a good hot sauce is the way I would go, like Jason suggested. It is tasty and lasts a good while. See, no one in my famlily would come near the stuff (so I cannot just use for cooking) so it is all mine, mine, mine..unless you folks would like a sample ?

Elie

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Where can we sign up?

[FoodMan]

Actually I think a good hot sauce is the way I would go, like Jason suggested. It is tasty and lasts a good while. See, no one in my famlily would come near the stuff (so I cannot just use for cooking) so it is all mine, mine, mine..unless you folks would like a sample ?

Elie

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Where can we sign up?

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Well I have to make them first and make sure they came out ok, then we'll see how many I have to give away .

Elie

[Jason Perlow]

I am thinking about adding some orange juice/zest to the hot sauce. What kind of proportions of pepper to vinegar to salt to citrus am I looking for with long term storage in mind? Should I store in small mason jars or actual bottles?

Elie

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Commercial hot sauces use a lot of salt. Tabasco actually packs peppers in salt for 3 years before blending them with vinegar.

to 2 cups of Chile I would add 1 tablespoon of salt.

Here is a basic primer:

http://www.davidscooking.com/recipes/hotsauce/hotsauce1.html

[foolcontrol]

Use all of them to make one batch of Habañero sorbet.

Realistically:

Habañero Peach Ice Cream would be good.

Habañero Peach Cheesecake would be good.

Habañero Peach Jam.

[FoodMan]

Ok, right after the hot sauce, a habanero peach ice cream is on the list. It sounds great. Since fresh peaches are not available, I might have to use peach preseves though.

Elie

[FoodMan]

I cannot believe I forgot this, but I just remembered I made several jars of peach "syrup" this summer. I am positive I can use those in the ice cream or even some in the hot sauce.

[fifi]

I am currently lusting for a sauce I heard of by Fischer Weister (sp?) that is mango/ginger/habernero. Supposedly it is now carried by Kroger but mine didn't have it. I am sure you could come up with something good out of that combo. (How could it possibly be bad?)

I had a dessert in Mexico that was to die for. You freeze ripe mango and put it in a blender. Blend adding sweetened condensed milk to taste. Add finely diced habernero. This was served with flamed really good tequila. You could probably come up with s ome sort of ice cream out of that.

Beware... Some peppers get hotter when stored in the freezer in something with fat in it. I have no idea why, other than the capsaicin continues to diffuse out into the creamy base.

[jmcgrath]

Habanero vodka! Quarter three or so peppers and stuff them into a liter bottle of decent vodka. After about three months, store the bottle in your freezer. They make great shots.

Jim

[KatieLoeb]

Use all of them to make one batch of Habañero sorbet.

And one would serve this to, um, cleanse their palate??

[TongoRad]

Habanero plants are certainly prolific. A while back I got a sixpack of seedlings through a mail order company which eventually resulted in a bumper crop of the little devils. No matter how creative I got I just couldn't make a dent in them; realistically you're only using a few at a time. I wound up making hot sauce, lots of hot sauce (I tried to duplicate Melinda's, and added carrots to the works.) That winter my friends and I enjoyed Habenero Buffalo Wings almost every weekend.

Other ideas:

Habenero Pumpkin Nut Cookies

...or even Muffins ( I gave these away as Christmas gifts to friends- nothing says you care more than inedible cakes )

Habenero/ Radish Salsa (or Salpicion)

Simple- just finely diced radishes and habeneros marinated in OJ, with maybe some scallion tops. Herbs (cilantro...) and spices (cumin...) could also be added. Accompanies grilled, well.., anything- shrimp, pork, etc.

If you have access to a smoker you could also make Smoked Habanero Powder, very handy to have around.

[FoodMan]

Habanero vodka! Quarter three or so peppers and stuff them into a liter bottle of decent vodka. After about three months, store the bottle in your freezer. They make great shots.

Jim

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I like THAT very much. I can also see some kick-ass Bloody Marys in my future.

Elie

[haunted_chef]

i make a chocolate habanero chutney, the hananero is a chocolate habanero, hence the name. When the pepper is ripe it is dark choc. in color. I grow them in pots in my yard ytear round.

[Jason Perlow]

i make a chocolate habanero chutney, the hananero is a chocolate habanero, hence the name. When the pepper is ripe it is dark choc. in color. I grow them in pots in my yard ytear round.

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Yep. I grew them once, the plants are very prolific. They look like dog poops when mature though. Very hot.

[KatieLoeb]

Habanero vodka! Quarter three or so peppers and stuff them into a liter bottle of decent vodka. After about three months, store the bottle in your freezer. They make great shots.

Jim

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I recommend extreme caution in how many peppers one uses for this infusion. Herbacidal made some Habanero vodka a while back that had to be dispensed with an eye dropper when it was done. It practically made the tomato juice start to bubble and smoke when you put it in the glass.

[jmcgrath]

I recommend extreme caution in how many peppers one uses for this infusion.  Herbacidal made some Habanero vodka a while back that had to be dispensed with an eye dropper when it was done.  It practically made the tomato juice start to bubble and smoke when you put it in the glass.

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I assumed that warning people about Habaneros was akin to warning them about standing on the oven door. I suggested three Habs per liter of vodka. That seems about right for my non-suicidal chile-head friends. Habs do wander all over the heat spectrum and your milage will vary. What ratio of Habs to vodka did Herbacidal use?

Jim

[Pan]

A local Southwestern-oriented restaurant I like (Miracle Grill) makes an Ancho-Chocolate cake which is really good. Granted that anchos have a smokey taste different from habaneros, but how would an Habanero-Chocolate cake taste? Might be interesting.

[Jason Perlow]

Habanero vodka! Quarter three or so peppers and stuff them into a liter bottle of decent vodka. After about three months, store the bottle in your freezer. They make great shots.

Jim

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I recommend extreme caution in how many peppers one uses for this infusion. Herbacidal made some Habanero vodka a while back that had to be dispensed with an eye dropper when it was done. It practically made the tomato juice start to bubble and smoke when you put it in the glass.

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I agree. I made a habanero infused vodka as well (with Red Savinas), used only 3 peppers for a whole 750ml bottle, and after a period of 3 weeks, the stuff was absolutely evil. A few drops of the stuff at most added to a bloody mary made with regular Vodka is enough to make a VERY spicy drink. I still have like 90 percent of that bottle left, thats how potent it is.