Aye - Chipotle!

Yes indeed - the mighty chipotle... really a lowly jalapeño raised to an exceptional level of goodness by a slow smoking process that concentrates the flavorful (read hot) oils of the pepper and changes them somewhat as the complex aromatic molecules of the smoke interact at a temperature around 225F.

It sounds more complicated than it is - basically - take jalapeño peppers that are red and heavy - even starting to dry a little on their own on the vine... place them in your smoker - and smoke for about 4-5 hours... from there they move to the food dehydrator for another 8 hours or so - and what you end up with is a shriveled up, smoky smelling firecracker of taste.
One thing I have learned over the years in making chipotles is to take a knife and split the big fat end of the pepper (as shown) to give an easy egress point for the moisture that the process strives to get out of the pepper for long term storage. (of course I realized as I was making mine - I forgot to tell someone that tip - and they were complaining about how it was taking forever for things to dry out - oops).
You don't HAVE to split the end - but it does make a difference.

Once the peppers are split - they get loaded into the smoker for what I consider 2 smokings - really 2 full smoke boxes full of wood (I prefer mesquite - as that's the right wood for the "origin" of the food). Each box runs about 2 hours - so that's where I get my 4 hours of time in the smoker. I also change the top and bottom rack positions at the first wood change.
When they come out of this configuration they are moderately shriveled but still very juice (and I DO NOT recommend licking the good looking juice off your fingers - trust me on that one). Toss them in the dehydrator for about 8 hours (over night and the house smells "smoked" in the morning) - and that's it.
Store in a brown paper lunch bag in a cool dark place.
These guys are almost always the LAST thing from a garden that get put up for the winter... which is ironic because the oils they contain really have the heat of the summer sun.
ENJOY!

Comments

[Jeph]

How do the green and red ones differ after being smoked/dried?

[Andy]

Red - hotter.