Canning Jalapenos

[Smoking Duck]

One of the upsides to being currently unemployed is a little more free time on my hands (after working 80 hours per week for the last three years, it's actually a lot more free time  ;D).  I get to coach my son's baseball team now and decided that I would finally plant a garden.  So, I've got my essential items in the ground and am waiting for the last freeze (hopefully that will be tomorrow) to put the tomatoes, jalapenos and other mixed hot peppers into the garden.  I've never canned vegetables before and have a pretty decent grip on corn, etc. 

Has anyone canned hot peppers before (I'm sure someone has) and is there any trick to doing it?  Also, if after canning, would it still be possible to use them in ABTs?

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

Duck

[La Quinta]

Hey Duck...as I understand...canning is a pretty in depth proccess of sterilization and the like. Look on the internet. My hubby canned some plums for jam...and holy cow were they awesome. Never canned jalepenos...but have some growing now...big hot suckers (well not that hot but...) so let us know what you find?

[Smoking Duck]

Will do, LQ.  I've got a lot to learn! No smart comebacks on that last part, LQ!

[Ontrack]

Yeah, Duck I'd be interested, too. I had more peppers rot on the vines and wasted more than I ate last year. I wasn't even going to plant peppers this year, but along came the ABT's so they will be in the ground this week. I did find some stuff on the net last year about canning hot banana peppers (which I didn't do, either), but didn't check into the jalapenos.

[Smoking Duck]

So far, I've found out that you can definitely pickle them (After all, Peter Piper sure as heck did).  I wonder what the effect the pickling would have on the peppers if you pickled them, then pulled them out and made ABTs with them?  Anyways, here's a link for a recipe showing how to pickle (they can be done whole):

http://www.thatsmyhome.com/general/pickled-jalapeno-peppers.htm

I'll look more later.....gotta go listen to my little girl read before she goes to bed  :)

SD

[Ontrack]

I've eaten store bought pickled jalapenos, and they were good but they tasted uh, well, "pickled".

[Gizmo]

Lets see, pickled jalepenos, smoke cheese blend, on top of crisp corn chips, maybe some smoked and fire roasted green chilis,  ahhhhh and a Bohemia or Italian Cadillac Margarita.

Should go good with the smoked Diablo Verde Salsa I just made.  

[La Quinta]

Geezzzz Giz...I'm hungry...sounds really good and have all the stuff...well except the smoked cheese (Duck...NOOOO)!! Thanks!!

[Ontrack]

Did I mention I smoked cheese last weekend?

[pensrock]

Ontrack, I did about 15 pounds of smoked cheese today, now have to wait a week to taste it.  :(
I can hot peppers all the time but they are pickled. They would not work well as ABT's IMHO.
Maybe you can clean them and lay them on a tray in the freezer till frozen then vac seal? Since they would be frozen they should not get crushed when sealing, I have not tried this but it should work. Once you take them out to make ABT's they will be a little soft but I think it would still work, once again I have not tried it myself but it's worth a shot. I like to save the red jalapenos and smoke them; then into the dehydrator till dry and grind up for chipolte powder. This year I'm trying to grow some NAGA peppers, the new worlds hottest pepper, not sure how I'll use them yet but it will be fun.

[La Quinta]

OnTrack...that was a low blow dude...not nice...but...ok...I hope you enjoy your cheese... (don't you guys think that was very nice??) Actually...no...never mind...

[Smoking Duck]

I think OnTrack is the little engine that could.......I think I can irritate LQ, I think I can irritate LQ, I think I can, I think I can... ;D

Pensrock, I think you're absolutely on the money with your suggestion.  I have about 72 jalapeno plants ready for the garden (I'll be giving about 1/2 of these away to friends and neighbors), but I think I'll still have plenty to use and freeze.  I also like to use hot peppers in my 3 pepper venison sausage, so I'll have plenty for that as well.

I'd love to hear more about these NAGA peppers.  Musta been named after someone's mother-in-law  ;D

[Smoking Duck]

I would also suppose that you could prepare the ABTs in advance (with cream cheese, additional items) wrap in bacon and then vac-seal and put into the freezer then you could cut down a lot of prep time by just pulling out of the freezer and smoking or do you think the freezing of the cream cheese would not work?

[Stickbowcrafter]

Yep, Duck, it's that time of year again. I've got plenty of mild to hot chiles (peppers) started inside along with some other garden essentials. Last week fooled us with some high temperatures but we're not out of the woods in SW Pennsylvania yet. Supposed to have 30 degree temps at night this week. With the exception of the cold hardy plants, I won't get the garden fully planted until mid to late May.



Plenty of good info on canning out there for sure. Here's a simple method you can do on your stovetop with a deep, heavy pot, some canning jars with new seals and a rack or grate of some type to keep the jars up off the bottom of the pot. Make sure the pint or quart jars you choose will fit in the pot with enough room to be covered with water.

Depending on how many pint or quart jars you want to can, the basic canning liquid consists of 3 parts white vinegar and 1 part water. Add one crushed garlic clove per 2 cups of liquid. This recipe is for about 5 pint jars and 8-10 cups of sliced peppers. For some added color, try including a few baby carrots and pieces of cauliflower.

Approximately 10 cups sliced jalepenos (I like to slice mine about 1/4 inch. You can slice them any size or leave whole)
6 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
3 cloves of garlic, crushed

Prepare pot, rack/grate, jars and lids. Clean jars, lids and screw bands with hot, soapy water. Rinse and sterilize in simmering water.

In a large, stainless, steel saucepan, combine vinegar, water and garlic. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 more minutes. Discard garlic.

Pack peppers into hot jars to within a generous 1/2 inch of top of jar. Ladle/pour hot canning liquid into jar to cover peppers, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Be sure all air bubbles are removed and maintain 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rim of jar and center the lid. Screw band down until resistance is met then increase to finger-tip tight only. Do not over tighten.

Place jars in canning pot on the rack/grate so that the glass jars are not sitting directly on the pot bottom. Cover the jars completely with water and bring to a boil with the pot lid on. Boil for 10 minutes then turn off heat. Remove pot lid. Wait 5 minutes then remove jars, cool and store.

Now this is just a quick reference. I'd recommend picking up a good book, like the Ball Complete Book Of Home Preserving. The above recipe is from that book. Familiarize yourself with basic canning principles and safety. For example, don't try to modify this recipe or methods for canning low acidic foods that require pressure canning and longer processing times. Like the dreaded danger zones in smoked meats, there are a host of problems that can occur with improperly canned foods. Take it seriously and educate yourself.

-Brian   

[MoSmoke]

Duck,
I wouldn't use the pickled jalapenos for ABT's. What I have done in the past is to make a big batch, smoke them and when they are done freeze them on a cookie sheet. Then I place them in the food saver bags and store them until I need them. From the freezer to the table takes 20 to 25 minutes in the toaster oven.
I have pickled peppers before and between being too soft and the vinegar taste I don't think they would be good for ABT's.

John