Help - Dried Chilis Problem

[tmoney25]

Hi

I'm making a large pot of stew that I usually cook for 6 hours or so. I decided to add several Dried Chilis in this batch. I rehydrated them for 30 minutes, chopped them into 1 inch pieces and threw them in. Its 3 hours later and they are still like paper/onion skin. I know most people blend these up and make a sauce, but I am not (can not now) and assumed they would eventually become soft.

Anyone know if thee will eventually break down/soften to be edible?
Thanks!

 

[pepperhead212]

Welcome to the forum!

You didn't mention what type of pepper you added. Some chiles have very tough skins, and will still be sort of leathery after a long cooking - the reason they are often softened, by soaking, and then blended. I would just pull them out as serving, or try them while eating, and if still tough, tell everyone to take them out while eating.

 

[tmoney25]

Thanks Dave. These were Guajillo. I'll experiment and see how they eventually end up and report back for anyone else who may be curious.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Remove the peppers, with some of the stew broth and place into your blender. Blend on high speed for a minute or so. That should solve the issue.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[pepperhead212]

Thanks Dave. These were Guajillo. I'll experiment and see how they eventually end up and report back for anyone else who may be curious.

Guajillos are some of the tougher ones. One of the more used in Mexican food, and one of my favorites, and I got a batch of crushed ones from one place - looks like crushed red pepper flakes, but they are the guajillos.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Yep - Dave is right. Guajillo chiles in particular seem to be very difficult to rehydrate completely. Next time I´d toast them briefly over a direct flame, remove the stalk/seeds and blitz them in spice grinder/coffee grinder before adding them to the stew.
They add a wonderful depth of flavour, however.

 

[GotGarlic]

Yep - Dave is right. Guajillo chiles in particular seem to be very difficult to rehydrate completely. Next time I´d toast them briefly over a direct flame, remove the stalk/seeds and blitz them in spice grinder/coffee grinder before adding them to the stew.

They add a wonderful depth of flavour, however.

It's not about rehydrating them completely. The skins just don't dissolve in water. It's the same reason why Anaheim, Hatch and similar chiles need to be roasted and the skins removed - they just don't break down. So you have to pulverize them in order to avoid eating tough skins.

And yes, they are delicious [emoji39]