There are several Mexican groceries around me, they carry lots of different kinds of dried chiles, nearly all are sold whole in plastic. I’ve seen dried chiles torn in half or pieces, and toasted for a short time on a hot griddle, which intensifies the flavor a bit.
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This is something that I always do when working with Mexican, Indian and Szechuan Dried Chilies.
Toasting or frying Chilis definitely adds another layer of complexity and roundness to the flavor.
It and can help to counteract some of the astringency and bitterness (although over toasting makes them taste horrible).
To get the most out of toasting your Chilies using Oil or Lard (almost always done in Chinese Cooking) gives the most noticeable boost to the flavor of the finished Dish.
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If I am gonna fry, my choice is to roast & process (rehydrate, add other seasonings/ingredients, blend), and then add that liquid to hot oil. I think way more flavor comes from frying the processed chile mixture than just the chiles themselves.
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For me those they are not mutually exclusive. Many things used Chilies that are fried more than once.
Mole for example, Chilies are seeded, Oil roasted/fried and rehydrated. Then pureed with additional Ingredients and the resulting Paste is “fried” till the Oil separates before liquid is added.
Many South Indian Masalas are treated in a similar way.
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You don’t find frying the chile impedes the rehydration? I have only fried them when I was looking for chile oil for the rest of the recipe… and the end result was the blended chiles needed straining even out of the Vitamix (which is not the case with toasted, rehydrated chiles).
Yes, this process of toasting dried chiles briefly (I learned to be quick about and not burn after several mishaps), rehydrate, add other ingredients, puree, maybe strain or not, then fry the puree is what I learned from Rick Bayless’s first cookbook, which I was thrilled to check out from the library and then purchase in 1988.
So I always toast dried chiles even when the recipe isn’t Mexican. I also started dry toasting unpeeled garlic cloves and raw sliced onions and raw chiles and raw tomatoes in my very hot Lodge cast iron frying pan…no added fat, nice char, lots of taste.
And I always toast nuts, seeds, whole spices like cumin, coriander, caraway, etc., as well…for any recipe. So much more flavor. Much more easily burnt, so I use the microwave.
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I make a recipe (I think it is from Gjelina) where sweet potatoes are roasted with honey, espelette pepper and I think olive oil. The espelette pepper has a very distinct vegetal chile taste that is refresing and different from aleppo or say korean pepper flakes (another good not too hot one) . Unfortunately 1 of the 2 bottles of Espelette I bought online was old and less flavorful.
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Think I posted this photo earlier this year, but since there’s now a thread dedicated to piment d’espelette, why not show more appreciation for it?
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Nope it has never kept the Chilies from rehydrating and I have done it many times and sometimes in quite large quantities.
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The Boonville Barn Collective in the Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, California, grows what they call a California version of Piment d’Espelette.
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I’ve planted some, after harvest, I’d no time to deal them, and eventually, the fresh ones dried out on their own, just like the dried one on your photo. I still had some of those, will toss them in oven and would proceed to making them into powder.
I always have a bought bottle of espelette pepper in my spice drawer. It’s essential if you are cooking southern French / Basque cooking, in spite of adding (black) pepper, you used espelette pepper. Not really spicy, but it adds some character in a dish.
One of the dishes I like is this duck breast with piment d’espelette that I recommended someone, very good.
You can also make a espelette pepper confiture (jelly / jam like), so you can eat with cheese platter.
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I do love a good confiture!
For the duck; you remove it from the sous vide bag, then put one of the skin sides down before putting it in the oven? Do you flip it at some point?
Tie the 2 breasts and cook like a roast on a grill in oven, with a tray of water below:
Flip it half way, for more regular cooking.
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ps also the aleppo pepper is cured with salt and oil, which does develop a distinct delicious savor different from the Espelette
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I’ve dried very large quantities and many varieties of peppers, both sweet and hot. Here, it’s too humid to dry them outdoors, and the sun can bleach some of the color out. There are also insect pests which can infest dried peppers, including the meal moth larvae and certain beetles.
The dehydrator gets set to 120°F, (49°C). It often takes days for the pods to dry out properly, due to the skin. One way to save space and greatly speed up drying time is to cut the pods in half and remove the core and seeds before putting in the dehydrator. This is a must with juicy peppers like bells or pimentos.
Another pre-drying trick is to smoke the fresh peppers in a covered smoker outdoors. I build a very low charcoal fire in the center and put soaked cherry and/or hickory wood on the coals. The peppers, often pasilla (Bajio negro) and Ancho, are piled in a circular ring on the grate, with a hole in the center. Directly over the coals, it’s too hot, even if the drafts are nearly closed. After hours of smoking, the peppers are split, cored and dried, usually on the porch. The odor is too strong for indoors!
It’s a good idea to “condition” dried peppers. While they may appear dry, moisture may be present, hidden. Put the peppers in tight jars for a day or two. If moisture is present, the peppers will soften as moisture evens out. Even if they don’t change, further dehydrating is wise, just to make sure.
I pack dried peppers into mason jars, add an oxygen absorbing packet, and vacuum-seal the jars. Kept dark and in the cool basement, they last for many years without losing quality. Oxygen ultimately ruins the flavor of dried peppers and causes red or yellow colors to turn brown. Light, especially sunlight, is also destructive. Here is where halved peppers work better because you can fit more per jar. Another option is to use oxygen absorbing packets and seal the dry peppers in mylar bags, using a heat sealer. I’d put the peppers in a foil pouch first; see below.
A vacuum sealer which has an accessory port often has the ability to vacuum-seal jars, if one gets the attachments. I don’t trust peppers to be in contact with plastic vacuum bags, long term. Who knows how the capsaicins and oils react if in contact with plastic. One could put the peppers in a foil pouch, prior to vacuum-sealing in a bag; I’ve done that with hops. For larger peppers, half gallon mason jars work well.
Powders are made in a Vitamix, with the grinding blade container. I’m sure a blender would work. For best quality, always de-seed the peppers first, by hand or by using a fan/wind to separate the seeds. If you make powders or flakes, they can be preserved very well for long-term storage using the techniques described above. Pack the jars tightly, not just to squeeze out oxygen, but to help prevent the vacuum sealer from pulling up dust. Don’t fill jars to the top; leave about a finger or thumb space from the rim. Even without oxygen absorbing packets or vacuum-sealing, powders keep very well in airtight containers (glass) and frozen. These techniques eliminate the tendency of powders or flakes to lose quality.
Oxygen absorbing packets are inexpensive. They’re basically iron powder with a trace of moisture inside a membrane which keeps the moisture in it. The packets form rust when exposed to air, pulling oxygen out of the container, if it is sealed properly. Since the packets are usually sold in groups, typically 10, having a vacuum-sealer is handy to save the packets you don’t use. An added bonus of an oxygen-free storage: no insect pests!
If you plan on toasting dried peppers, leave them whole and dry them lying flat. I’ve cut the tops off, removing the stems and creating an easier way for moisture to escape. Figure seeds will fall out during the drying.
Using an oven for drying is possible, but it’s energy-intensive, it’ll heat the house, and it’s harder to prevent excess heat from evaporating fragrances. For those on a budget, check second-hand stores, flea markets and yard sales. Place the dehydrator in a fire proof spot, just in case! I had a plastic one melt down because the fan failed after the thermostat locked on; I’m glad it was on a sheet metal surface. Now, I use a ten-shelf, stainless steel model, which is easier to repair. That appliance has been worked to death over the years.
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So much useful information! Thank you.
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Happy to share!
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Sure you can; it just won’t taste the same 
“Substitute” is often a misleading descriptor! Aleppo does not taste like any of the smoked peppers/paprikas; their smoke aroma, however delicious, is much stronger.
All of the Aleppo pepper I’ve seen is now grown, processed in Turkey. I have some Halaby/Aleppo pepper seeds, waiting to plant in the coming years. I’m curious as to how fresh and home-grown compares to what I can buy. Often, a home producer can use lower heat when drying, slow the process down and get a better end result. Factories have time lines. Whether it’s drying pasta or peppers, higher heat in dehydration lowers the aroma/flavor.
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Genau! My point exactly.
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Today I powdered some Aji Amarillo I have had for at least a year. Looks promising, but I broke my grinder in the process.
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