How to turn Hot Chilli Peppers to Dry Ones

NewBoy2

I want to save some of the red and hot chills that I have grown at home

When I buy them at the shops I get jars of the dried pods and some of the seeds.

I want to be able to  use them in curries and stir fries.   

One type is the short fat ones and the other the long and thin types about 2 inches long. 

On the interweb there are "the five best ways " and "the easiest 10 ways " etc.

Does any one have a tried and tested method please.

Obelixx

I tend to freeze mine whole, use them to flavour oils or else make chilli jam with them but, one year, I dried them.  I found an old wooden picture frame which I could hang in a window above a radiator and then threaded sewing cotton through the stems of each chilli and then strung the rows across the frame with drawing pins.

It worked very well and also added a bit of festive cheer in the kitchen.

tui34

Good advice.  I grow hot peppers and dry them.  Sometimes I deseed them leaving them as whole as possible and dry them in hot oil.  They puff up and cook very quickly. So be careful not to burn them.   The smell is amazing.  Some I blitz into flakes and sprinkle on fried eggs, pasta dishes, piece of steak etc.  Here is a photo of some of my dried ones from this summer.  I dry them outside in the shade of the hot sun.  

BobTheGardener

I do similar to @philippasmith2 & @Obelixx and currently have a loop of them hanging above a storage heater (they are also acting as part of the festive decorations.)  You could also use the oven on a low heat as for home-made 'sun-dried' tomatoes (there a thread about that somewhere on here.)

Desi_in_London

As an enthusiastic chilli-eater ( and a wholly incompetent grower) ..... I'd agree with the string/hang  up in a warm dry airy place as suggested above as the best way to preserve / I'd caveat that this time of year in the UK, unless you have very good ventilation and  thin skinned varieties -- you might be better off  saving them by freezing or making jam/chutney/pickle .

NewBoy2

tuikowhai34

I will drop in in the Summer for a chilli pasta.

Bezier looks great on Google.

Obelixx

No airing cupboards here or in Belgium @philippasmith2.

This year I have one surviving chilli plant in the polytunnel and it is still producing fresh chillies.  2 more almost ripe and a dozen or so more coming on.   

Having failed to find interesting chilli varieties here I have ordered seeds from the UK and Belgium so I can have a greater variety next year.  All they sell in the SMs etc here are Bird's Eye and Scotch Bonnet and I want fruity and smoky flavours with heat but not a volcano.

tui34

@philippasmith2  Hi.  They take 3-4 weeks to dry in September/October in a good north wind in a shady place - such as hanging from a tree.  Wind coming off the sea makes them mouldy inside.  I think at this time of year, France or UK - the airing cupboard sounds ideal.
@NewBoy2 Spaghetti puttanesca is a pretty good way to go!!

PS  I had to fight to have an airing cupboard here - the French just don't get it.  They also don't have washing machines with hot and cold water.  The water goes in cold and the heater in the machine heats it - so expensive!!

tui34

Whoops - reading back on my first post - typing mistake - it's not DRY them in hot oil - it's FRY them in hot oil after they have been dried.  Then use as a condiment.  Sorry about that chief!!

Dovefromabove

Most washing machines here are cold fill nowadays @Obelixx.

bertrand-mabel

I hang them in a net in the kitchen and use them when needed.

This year as I couldn't get any chilli plants or seeds I used the seeds from the ones that had dried.

Great success and a good harvest.