Home-made Chipotle

SmokinMAK

New member
Hey gang. I am interested in making my own chipotle. I like making home-made salsa and my favorite uses chipotle in it. I just can't bring myself to add something from a can to my fresh (MAK charred) veggies.

Has anyone made thier own Chipotles and if so, how would you rate the results?

Appreciate your feedback.
 

SmokinMAK

New member
What I use is a knock-off of Chevy's recipe, except we add corn.

About 10 Roma tomatoes, 1/2 yellow onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 small can chipotle peppers, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, 1 ear corn. I roast the tomatoes, onion, garlic and corn on the MAK. Throw everything (except corn) into food processor and blend well. Stir in corn and water if needed for consistency. I've also added roasted jalapenos (4-5), but they definitely kick-up the heat a bit.

Now if I can just do my own chipotles so I don't have to open a can...
 

TentHunter

Moderator
I looked into making my own Chipotle Chiles this past year and this is what I learned:

Generally speaking, Chipotle Chiles are ripened (or red) Jalapenos that have been dried & smoked. These are called Chipotle Morita (or just Morita Chiles) and are the most common kind found in the US.

There is another type called Chipotle Meco - These are basically unripened (or green) Jalapenos and turn a brownish color when dried & smoked.

The chipotles that you buy in a can are usually Morita Chipotles that have been reconstituted in an adobo sauce (a seasoned Mexican tomato sauce).

Now, if you want to make the Morita type (the red ones), you have to be able to buy ripened jalapenos, or grow them yourself so you can let them ripen on the plants. You can buy green Jalapenos at any supermarket and make the Meco type.

My guess is if you're using them in salsa, then color won't matter so much. So, I'd do the meco type since red ripe jalapenos will be hard to find.

One more note: Chipotles are smoked AND dried in large amounts in order to preserve them. If all you want is enough for a batch or two of salsa, then you can just smoke them overnight (10-12 hours) and not worry about totally drying them. The dried ones have to be reconstituted anyway! Just use them before they go bad.


How to smoke & dry them:


Basically you wash the Jalapenos & either leave them whole or split them open and remove the seeds to reduce how hot they are. The choice is yours. Spread them out on your smoker grate so they are not touching (time for FrogMats). Use one of the two following methods for smoking:

1) Smoke them on a low dry heat (around 100 - 150 degrees) for 48 - 36 hours until done.

OR...

2) Smoke them for about 16 hours then put them in your oven at the lowest temp (below 200) to finish drying. (its not recommended to use a dehydrator; the plastic trays can absorb the smoke and be ruined!) They can take a day or longer to dry.

When done, the red Morita type will look like dark chocolate (almost black) and the green Meco type will look brown like a cigar. Get them as dry as you can. They should be leathery and sort of brittle or they can loose their flavor and possibly mold.


Hope this helps!



P.S. If you want to buy Dried Chipotles online don't just search for "Chipotle Chiles". Also search for "morita chiles" and you'll find more places that sell them.
 
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SmokinMAK

New member
Hi Tent,

Thanks for the post. That pretty-much sums-up what I have been able to find around the net as well. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble finding ripe Japs around here. I think there is a Hispanic grocery on the North side of Salem I need to go check there.

I have also read that drying them in a "seasoned" pit gets you some nasty flavors in your Chipotles. The recommendation is to use a smoker exclusively for doing the Chipotles.

Hmmm. Maybe I need a 1 Star on my deck for doing peppers and such while I use my 2 Star for meats. I'm sure I can get the wife to buy off on that! ;)
 

TentHunter

Moderator
Yeah, here in NE Ohio ripe japs are next to impossible to find. Hmmm, I hadn't noticed any off flavors when I smoked some.

I'm sure your wife will gladly let you spend mega bucks for a smoker just for smoking peppers! Wives love that sort of thing.

Sometimes I think my wife would love to buy a smoker to smoke me in!:p
 

SmokinMAK

New member
Well, dammit - I went to a local Hispanic grocery and got excited when I saw the picture and price for red Japs. Unfortunately, they had none. They did, however, have stacks and stacks of dried peppers of every type including Chipotles. About 20-30 dried chipotles for $3.99. I have some rehydrating now for a go at my next batch of salsa.

Given that the Japs would have to be smoked for 24 hours I would have had to do a HUGE batch to make the pellet cost worthwhile. Oh well, at least it isn't out of a can!
 

TentHunter

Moderator
Glad you found some, keep me posted on how it turns out!

I totally agree that it'd take a huge batch to even make it worthwhile. I figure, why smoke & dry them for days just to end up reconstituting them. I can just hot smoke or fire roast some green japs, peel the skins and call 'em Fresh Meco Chipotles.


BTW... Glad to see I'm not the only one nuts enough to go through all that trouble. Perhaps the smoke's gotten to our brains! ;)
 

SmokinMAK

New member
LOL! Smoke on the brain - no doubt.

I did 10 of them and made some home-made adobo sauce for them. I'll let them mellow for a day or two before I make salsa out of them. I should be an interesting exercise.

FYI - Plan on your house (and hands) smelling like Chipotle if you make adobo. Oh - And don't rub your eyes if you have been handling them ;)
 

txpgapro

New member
Mostly I'll use big ol' pablanos. I'll put a bunch in a BBQ basket that goes on a spit and smoke and roast for 4-6 hours. Then throw them on a hot grill to remove the skin. Use them in mole sauce, queso, pico, just all kinds of stuff.
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
ahhhh I had no idea as a kid that I would grow to love peppers and all you could do with them...Mike that last thread makes me want top rush to the market and fire the baby up
 
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