Chipotle & Habanero: 2 Basic Questions

[Mylegsbig]

Hey guys i am going to reconstitute some chipotles for a hot sauce im going to make. My only concern is the times in the past ive used dried peppers, there are bits and pieces of a very hard texture, that i do not like. i assume this is the skin. I dont want any of these bits and pieces. I will be using a food processor on them. how can i get them extremely soft?

Also, this hot sauce im making will have these ingredients:

Roasted Serranos, Habaneros, Chipotles, Roasted Garlic, Lime Juice, Carrots, Onion,white wine vinegar, Honey, Mexican Oregano, Cilantro,salt.

I have some habaneros i want to use as a main ingredient also. My question is, can i roast these the same way i roast my serranos or are they too thin skinned?

I roast my serranos by cutting them in half lengthwise and putting them under a broiler until the skins blacken and blister.

 

[Mylegsbig]

One more question...

I am going to cook the onions, carrots, and garlic... gonna sautee the onions, then throw in the garlic, then add some vinegar+ water and the carrots and boil this mixture until soft. Does this sound ok?

I was going to add the peppers at the very end, before i put it all in the food processor, so i still have a hot pepper uncooked taste. Is this the right way to do it?

 

[jennyema]

You won't have a hot pepper uncooked taste because you will be using cooked peppers, assuming you roast the habs (which you can -- just watch them).

Chipotles tend to hijack anything they are used in, so make sure you consider that they may well negate the fruity habarnero flavor. As will the roasted serranos. And roasting the habs will also change their basic fruity nature.

Reconsitute your peppers until really soft and then run them through a food mill or seive to remove the still-hard bits.

 

[Mylegsbig]

i don't have a food mill or seive, but i do have a strainer....

Should i just hold off on the habs?

Just make this a serrano + chipotle sauce?

I was thinking of mashing the habaneros adding vinegar and salt, to make a mash and let it age for awhile.

Do you know anything about pepper mashes?

 

[jennyema]

I would make a small batch of serrano chipotle alone, yes.

And I make a hab mash with onion/garlic/carrot and let it sit for a while before food milling it and straining it into bottles.

I, personally, love the fruity, heady flavor of fresh habs -- nothing else like it. That's why I wouldn't muddle it with smoked peppers or even roasted ones.

But experiment! Find out what suits your palate. It's just that smoked anything (peppers, cheese, fish, meat) tends to dominate anything its used in.

 

[Mylegsbig]

thanks jen, will the strainer work for the hard chipotle bits?

it is a little hand held strainer it looks like an ice cream scoop, but it has mesh for straining....

 

[jennyema]

Yes, that will work fine.

If you really get into making sauce, get a food mill. Not expensive and you can use it for lots of other stuff, too, like tomatoa sauce.

 

[Mylegsbig]

im gonna buy one next time i go to the store.

what technique should i use to get the hard parts of the chipotle out?

i have no idea how to go about it. should i use a spoon or something to smash it? any ideas?

 

[jennyema]

I would rinse them off and then split them. Then soak in hot water till soft. keep soaking till they are as soft as you think they'll get.

Then you can whirl in food processor then strain, pushing the pulp through the strainer. The hard parts and seeds will be left behind.

 

[Mylegsbig]

awesome, thanks

 

[karadekoolaid]

awesome, thanks

I've found that if you bring the chilpotles to a gentle boil in a little water, then boil for a minute, then remove from the heat and leave them to soak overnight in the cooking water, they get softer.

I made some hot pepper sauce today - I don't sautée my onions, just zap all the ingredients in the blender then cook them gently till I get the right texture. If you sautée them, you have to use oil, which will tone down the fruity flavour. NOT that I'm against using oil - I've got some other hot, hot HOT stuff which uses oil - it simply makes for a different flavour.

I'd also agree totally with jennyema - if it's smoked, everything will be smoked.
Now Habanero/Serrano would be an interesting mix...

 

[Mylegsbig]

Well im roasting the serranos so i figure with the smokiness of the chipotles it could be very tasty.

I am also adding some fresh ground cumin to the mix.

I will let you guys know how it turns out.

im using

8 Serranos, roasted
2 Chipotles
few T of onion
few T of carrot
1 T of garlic
few squeezes lime
fresh ground cumin
fresh minced cilantro
sea salt



Just curious, for those proportions i listed, how much vinegar/water do you think i should add?

 

[Mylegsbig]

btw - this sauce is supposed to be VERY spicy if those proportions look off

 

[Robo410]

do get a food mill, they are real useful. not as mangling as a food processor, but very effective.