Smoked Chile's - Chipotles Part II

Carter · August 23, 2010, 10:55:26 AM

Hi Everybody,

A couple of months ago I posted some questions on Smoking Chiles:
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=15856.msg189800#msg189800

So this weekend I experimented with my first batch. The smoking part went well, but then came the dehydrating part after the smoke.

I bought a Salton Food Dehydrator from the local Canadian Tire Store.

24 hours later, virtually nothing is happening. I can hear the motor running from time to time in the machine, but very little change.

So after this time, I decide to bite the bullet and move the chile's into the oven. Fortunately I can keep it below 100 so things seem to be working OK.

My questions:

1. Is drying in the oven OK? Has anyone ever done it or have experience?
2. Has anyone ever used a Salton Food Dehydrator? Are they crap or have I bought a dud of a machine and should go and get a replacement?
3. What's a good dehydrator for the average chump like me?

If anyone has any thoughts that would be great. Pensrock, you were really helpful last time. Thank you.

Carter

TestRocket · August 23, 2010, 11:01:27 AM

Sorry Carter,

Someone should come along soon that can help you out. The only help I can give you is to say good luck!

KevinG · August 23, 2010, 11:07:24 AM

Haven't purchased that dehydrator, but when using the oven, you'll want to keep the door open to help let the moisture excape.

Carter · August 23, 2010, 11:13:28 AM

Ahh good. Another mistake. Door is closed and has been since yesterday afternoon. This has been one of my tougher "first time throughs". This experiment doesn't seem as forgiving as smoking a nice Butt - which I did a couple of weeks ago by the way. Used the Renowned Mr. Brown for the rub and Carolina Red for sauce(both from Smoke n' Spice). Delicious.

KevinG · August 23, 2010, 11:16:59 AM

I was assuming you meant your home oven when you said you wanted to dehydrate in the oven, if using a Bradley you can just leave the top vent open.

Carter · August 23, 2010, 11:24:02 AM

You were right Kev, I meant my home oven. It's been a real circus. You should smell my house. It's pretty hilarious. Fortunately my wife is tolerant. Not so sure about my Mom who is coming to stay with us for a few days.

I should have gotten myself on the forum 48 hours ago.

FLBentRider · August 23, 2010, 12:04:53 PM

I don't know anything about that dehydrator, but in mine (Cabelas 80L) you can definitely tell there is something going on.

Are there any settings on the dehydrator? Temperature?

Habanero Smoker · August 23, 2010, 01:08:08 PM

I have an electric oven that has a "drying" setting. I set it at 140°F, and it came with a magnetic holder to keep the door open a hair. It works pretty good, but you have to rotate the racks occassionally and pick out the pieces that dry faster then the others.

pensrock · August 23, 2010, 01:59:03 PM

I just seen this post and wanted to warn you not to do them in the house without a major big exhaust fan. I know a good friend who made that mistake. ;) SD, ;D ;D
I'm not familiar with your dehydrator but when I make chipotles I smoke them for about four hours then using the dehydrator on the covered back porch, I dry them. I always cut the peppers in half before smoking, they will accept the smoke better and dry faster when cut. I think my peppers dry out in a day or so.

Carter · August 23, 2010, 02:00:10 PM

No settings on the dehydrator FLB. Just an on/off switch. I'm just about to punch the clock here and head for home to see what's going on with these peppers.

FLB, if you dried jalapeno's with your Cabelas 80L, how long do you think it would take?

Same question for you Habs: At 140, how long should drying peppers take?

I guess at 140, I could have just left them in the Smoker with the heat element off and the vent wide open. All the rain this weekend would have made that tough though.

Hey thanks for all your thoughts folks. As always, I really appreciate it.

I've taken a bunch of photos of my peppers this year, and if I can find the link again to reteach myself how to post, I'll put them up.

Carter

Carter · August 23, 2010, 02:02:47 PM

Too late for that Pensrock. ;D Fortunately no burning eyes or lungs, just smokey pepper smell (strong smell). :P

What dehydrator brand do you use?

Habanero Smoker · August 24, 2010, 01:29:23 AM

I have dried both jalapenos and habaneros in my house oven without any problems of irritable fumes. I would suspect using the low heat prevented fumes from forming.

If you start with a couple of pounds of peppers, at 140°F it takes between 24 - 36 hours. I could have used a higher drying temperature, but after reading Pens post I happy I didn't go over 140°F.

Carter · August 26, 2010, 10:26:58 AM

Really great help folks. Habs, it's nice to hear about your times because now my time makes a lot more sense. Hopefully I dried mine enough. There may have been a few halves with a small amount of water still in them. I vacuum sealed them up and put them in the freezer. Hopefully they work well when I pull them out to use them.

I've still got a bunch more peppers to do something with before it gets cold so I may pull the frozen dried ones out of the freezer this weekend just to see how they work out thawed.

Thanks everybody.

Carter

MarkSchn · September 05, 2010, 07:00:33 AM

I have a very nice Excaliber dehydrator. It's pricey, but worth it. Has a thermostat, but no timer. I had a cheap $30 US one that worked ok, but got the bug and upgraded. I am smoking some red jalapenos in the Bradley, along with a pork shoulder today. The peppers shouldn't take nearly as long. Then I will finish them off in the dehydrator. My peppers weren't very big (off my pepper plants at home), so I put them in the smoker whole. The smoker is at 220F, so I will watch the peppers after 4 hours or so. Frankly, smoking them "too" long should just hasten the dehydration process. Thoughts?