Hot Pepper Oil

[Pam Rudd]

So, I made some hot pepper oil. I always make some out of the habaneras. They make a lovely scarlet-tinged oil that makes it easy to add a bit of heat and flavor to food. And it pops a mean popcorn.

(And Pat, I autoclave my flavored oils to get around the botulism issue)

Anyway, I used about two tablespoons of this hot oil in a pork stir fry I made last night. Two pounds of pork, lot's o' leeks, about a pound of snow peas, sweet red peppers, etc.

I was worried that it wouldn't be hot enough.

Oh boy was I wrong! So, maybe ten habs in two cups of oil was a bit much, most of my other peppers haven't been quite as hot as expected. And the Pimiento De Chieros were just to add aroma, I didn't think they'd add a lot of heat.

Note to self: Dilute! Dilute! Dilute hot pepper oil.

...but I still pick those habs with my bare hands (Hi Nydb!)

Pam

[len]

Geez, I wished I had access to an autoclave. I guess it is a steam autoclave? Maybe the turkey frier might work. Anyways sounds like a good stir fry. I pick our habaneros bare handed, but I don't break the skin without gloves. I learned this from personal experiance, ouch. Len

[Pam Rudd]

When last we left our heros, on Sat, 13 Sep 2003 22:15:17 -0400, "len" scribbled:

< I made hot pepper oil, emphasis on *hot*)

Steam and pressure. It's a nifty new one that I got when my lab moved to a new building. It might seem a bit extreme to autoclave the flavored oils, but, than botulism *is* a bit extreme, so I think it's important to be safe.

It was a joke from a few months back. I pick all my peppers with my bare hands. I use my thumbnail to cut the stem; except for the chocolate cherry peppers, their stem is too thick.

I'm trying a new popper recipe tonight. New in that the method for getting the breading to stick is new. I'm just using Colby Jack cheese with a bit of onion and basil for stuffing.

Pam

[len]

yup I scribble, my clerical skills are not good and I am proud of it.

that's cool>

. I pick our habaneros bare handed, but I don't break the skin

You know, this year is the first, we have grown habaneros. We have used them in the past for chiles, etc. We started in January, transaplanted in May; had a cold summer. Yet these bad boy's are hot. What I have done is cut them in 3rds( removing the seeds) then having some melon, and tomatoes, covered in bleu cheese + chicken and rice. First, you take a bite of the pepper, then the melons and cheese. Then the chicken and rice, repeat with the second piece.; Toss, the last third in the garbage. Len

[Bill]

Len / Pam ... this is NOYDB posting under a new name because the old address got harvested and slammed with spam (300-500 / day!)

I am ROFLOL at Len's response! It's hard to describe a truly hot hab to someone who hasn't come in contact with one yet ... but I think you did a fine job in you posting.

Pat ... the oil idea sounds intriguing. I don't have an autoclave, but could you tell me your time and pressure settings? Perhaps I could fudge it with a pressure canner (perhaps not ... it would depend on whether the the numbers you give are within the range of the canner.) I have held off making oils because my wife and I wouldn't use them much and because of the botulism concerns. If I can be reasonably certain that I have overcome that hurdle, I might be inclined to make up some 'half-hab pints'.

Bill / aka NOYDB

PS ... It's Nov. 1 and I still haven't had a frost of any sort in my garden. What a goofy year! Because snow was forecast last Tuesday, I pulled my green tomatoes and vines ... then we had a week that included two 70+ deg. days / 60deg nights. It won't last ... but I wouldn't mind if it did!

[len]

Thanks much. I too am being spamed out of existance, and am now in the process of changing e-mail right now, I will no longer be open about my address. I had 400 this morning. All the best Len

[len]

:

I forgot to mention, how good the flavor i s , before you realize, you have just bitten a hornet's nest, and they are stinging you. Serious hot pepper eating, is like, skydiving or bungy jumping, only with your mouth. At the end the thrill is survival. Len

[Pam]

In our last fun filled episode, Sat, 01 Nov 2003 17:59:48 -0500, "Bill" proclaimed:

I think everyone who posts to Usenet has been slammed hard recently. If they're not trying to sell me Viagra for my newly enlarged penis, they're telling me my breastisses are to small and men (assumedly clutching their own Viagra for their own recently enlarged peni) won't like me. Of course, the real pain has been the Microsoft Patch worm that keeps filling up my mailbox (yes, I know it's a worm, no, I don't open it)

I use the liquid cycle on the autoclave, 250 F for 15 minutes. The exact pressure is harder to come by, I couldn't get it to spit out its settings. It has to be between 15 and 20 pounds pressure, though. That's the range of the autoclave.

When I did a lot of research on botulism, one thing came through, the spores came from contact with the soil. So, I also carefully wash my peppers in mild soap and water before processing them. I also filter out all the peppers *before* autoclaving. I don't want to take any chances.

Last night at midnight, it was 70 degrees outside. In November! The house was so hot I was considering turning on the AC, but it was just...just wrong to run the AC in November. I'm still picking peppers a plenty, far more then I can use for myself. One of the Brandywine tomatoes is trying to make a comeback, but I doubt it has time to produce anything. We usually have a hard freeze close to Thanksgiving, so it will be interesting to see if I'm still picking peppers in December. I did fertilize them this week. (Yes, yes, it's an organic fertilizer)

Pam