Chili Powder

[ratherbboating]

I am going to be brave and ask who makes their own chili powder and if you will share, what is your recipe.  Look around and found a few "basic" powders, but I remember adding more than just a few things together.  Including toasting cumin seeds, toasting your own chiles, etc.
Thanks.

[Ka Honu]

I don't know that I've ever made chili powder in the way you're talking about. I grind a number of different (store-bought or homegrown) dried & toasted chiles, cumin seeds, etc. but it never occurred to me to blend them together in batches. I store them separately and mix as needed.  That way I can always use a bit of this and a bit of that to get the flavor I want for a particular dish instead of having my adovada taste like my chili which tastes like my barbacoa which tastes like ... sorry - I'm sure you get the point.

Jus' sayin'

[renoman]

I don't know that I've ever made chili powder in the way you're talking about. I grind a number of different (store-bought or homegrown) dried & toasted chiles, cumin seeds, etc. but it never occurred to me to blend them together in batches. I store them separately and mix as needed.  That way I can always use a bit of this and a bit of that to get the flavor I want for a particular dish instead of having my adovada taste like my chili which tastes like my barbacoa which tastes like ... sorry - I'm sure you get the point.

Jus' sayin'

X2   I grow, dry and grind my own chili peppers to make a variety of hot pepper blends. Even store bought jalapenos dried and ground are better than anything off the shelf.

[GusRobin]

How do you guys dry them? Dehydrator ? Oven?

I have a selection of seeds and plan on starting a pepper garden in a month or so. Any tips would be appreciated.

[Orion]

What seeds you plan to sow will determine your start date. Some peppers require a long season to produce ripe fruit, as much as 110 days. Some types are really slow to germinate and may take as long as two weeks.

Ensure you start with a sterile potting soil and add some pearlite and vermiculite. Popsicle sticks work well to keep track of which seeds are where. Do not plant the seeds too deep, I use a sharp pencil to poke a hole in the soil and carefully put a seed in each hole. I go two per little tray division and thin one out later if they both sprout. Peppers want warm soil so a heat pad set on low underneath your trays of seedlings will assist in good germination rates. Failing that, put the trays in the warmest place you can find. The trays should be kept damp but not soggy and a cover or saran wrap over them for humidity.

Light is not necessary until they sprout however when they do you need lots of light otherwise they will grow leggy. I have always used a 4 tube fluorescent fixture on chains and hooks from the ceiling so I can adjust the height. You want the lights about 6 inches off the plant tops. A small fan blowing on them a few hours each day strengthens them and discourages fungi. Buy a bottle of "Damp Off' and apply as directed. DO NOT fertilize until the plants have at least 6 true leaves and then only lightly.

Timing is important because if you start them too early they will grow too big in their containers before you can set them out. There is no point setting them out until the outdoor soil is warm. Without warm soil the plants will just stall in growth and sit there. Once outdoors the roots have to establish themselves well and then and only then will the visible portions start to take off.

Once the weather warms up you have to harden your seedlings off. You cannot take a tender plant grown indoors and just set it out in the wind and sun. You have to find a sheltered place that sees only a little direct sun and let them adjust. Ideally you will be moving them out in the morning to a sheltered spot and then back in the house in the evening. Just like you first few days in summer sun, don't want to get burnt. This process will take at least a week and exposure to direct sun and wind should be gradual.

These plants need calcium to prevent blossom end rot. I save my eggshells and grind them up to a coarse mix. Then, when planting in the garden I put a tablespoon in each hole preceding the plant. Do not plant them too close together, absolute minimum is 18" , 24" is better. Some varieties benefit from a stake to secure plant to however most are rigid enough on their own.

I have grown hundreds of pepper plants and dozens of varieties so feel free to ask questions.

Be warned... they become like babies and do require a fair bit of attention but the rewards are great.

[Habanero Smoker]

I use to make my own chili powders, and curry powders, but since found commercial ones that I like. They are convenient.

My chili powder blend only consist of about seven ingredients. I can post it or send you a PM; if you like to see it. My version uses only ancho chile peppers, salt (optional) smoked paprika, Mexican oregano, cumin, coriander, garlic powder and onion powder. I use ancho peppers because they have a great taste and mild on heat. If I need to kick up the heat of a dish, I will add a hotter chile pepper powder to the dish; such as habanero powder, or cayenne pepper. I leave out the salt so I can also control that ingredient.

[renoman]

How do you guys dry them? Dehydrator ? Oven?

I have a selection of seeds and plan on starting a pepper garden in a month or so. Any tips would be appreciated.

I use my dehydrator. If doing a large batch do it outside or in the garage as the fumes can be irritating.

[ratherbboating]

Hab passed along his chili powder recipe and I gave it a try on some chicken drum sticks for the game today.
I dusted half with his recipe (the darker colored ones)  and the other half with more cayenne pepper.  Both sat in a salt, cayenne, beer bath for a day.  I cooked them in the oven, it is blowing rain here (middle TN) otherwise I would have grill them outside.





I used Sweet Baby Rays bbq sauce on both of them  (I know some people do not like it, but we do). The ones with chili powder had an after burn to them, YUMMMMM.  I will point out homemade bake beans in the second picture and not shown was crusty bread to go with it all.

[Habanero Smoker]

I'm beginning to like Sweet Baby Ray's. Though I will thin it with apple cider, and occasionally vinegar, and use it as a glaze.