Need info on smoking hot peppers

[SemperFiPhil]

Since I am new to all this, I need info on how to smoke habaneros and Japalenos.  Please let me know.  The final end product I want to make is hot pepper powder.  Thanks again all.

[pensrock]

I slice them in half and place on the racks. Put into a preheated smoker @ 180-200 F. Then apply 2-3 hours of the wood of your choice, mine is hickory. Then into the dehydrator. Allow to cool well overnight, this will also allow more moisture to be drawn out, then grind into powder.

Click pic to enlarge


Forgot to add, rotate trays from top to bottom and front to back during the smoking process.

[Habanero Smoker]

I prepare mine similar to Pens method, except for habaneros I just make slits in them. I don't have a dehydrator so I dry them completely in the smoker at 140°F; using a temperature control device. Or move them to my oven which has a dehydrating feature. My choice of wood is pecan.

[Up In Smoke]

WARNING,
use gloves when handling fresh peppers, the oils get into your skin and no matter how many times you wash your hands
if you make weedle your little buddy will get really hot!!!
Please don't ask me how i know.

[SemperFiPhil]

Thanks for the input!  I do not have a dehydrator, so I guess it's up to the smoker.  In the past, I have just seeded the habaneros and left them out.  (That's one of the many beauties of Nevada... dry, dry dry.)  As far as using gloves, I never do.  I will say I have paid for it in the past, but not very often.  Since I grew up on hot peppers, I know to be careful.  (I probably have downed more hot peppers than any one man should.) 

Thanks for the input! 

[Habanero Smoker]

Being in Nevada, you will probably be better off taking them out of the smoker and air drying them after you have applied the smoke. If you use the smoker to fully dry them you will have to frequently rotate the racks top to bottom, and front to back to have them dry evenly. Even then they don't dry evenly, and you have to pick the ones that dry early off the trays.

[jwu2]

I have been smoking peppers for years (anything hot;) mixing them with some I have dehydrated and some dried onion and dried garlic then grinding them up in my wife's blender and putting the end result in shakers. So far I have been doing carefully this in a charcoal smoker but this year I have almost 100 plants so I'm gonna have to find a better way. I'm buying another dehydrator but I need a smoker that will work for peppers instead of meat. I have about 25 varieties of peppers ranging from Jalapenos all the way to Bhut Jolokias. Any info on the smokers would be helpful. In the past I simply washed the peppers then thrust a knief thru them so they would dry and  smoked them trying to keep the heat choked down less than 200 degrees and rotating the pans to help them dry evenly. I'm either going to have to have something built or get one of these Bradley smokers...any advide?