What did everyone cook today?
-
calldoctoday I love the heat of fresh peppers I chop them up and put them in a lot of stuff like you I try to grow enough for a year but it is kind of tuff some years in the north east where I live I am going to try dehydration this year to see if it works any advice from you or anybody else on this would be greatly appreciated
gus4416 You can of course always use a dehydrator & that is probably what works best. However, I have never used one. In all these years I have used a little Farberware convection oven I purchased for Margaret of course about 38 years ago, that finally bit the dust this past year. That worked very well when I would just put it down on 150/200 & be patient. I have done the same thing in the oven. Of course we have sundried many of them over the years, but the conditions have to be just right down here with all the humidity or they will start molding. It is just hard to line up a major harvest segment with the weather, but they are good when they are good. Then I discovered by a lark the smoking them business. That works real good too. Just dry smoke them around 150/200° slow & smoky. I usually use Pecan or Hickory for those, although I have put some Mesquite in there on occasion, especially when I do a batch of Jalopolenos. I think you will be very satisfied with what you do & never go back to store bought because it is so easy & preserves all your peppers for what you love most. Just keep it simple. You do not need to de-seed them or anything, Ideally, keep the stems as short as possible though, but it is not totally necessary I do not think.
-
gus4416 You can of course always use a dehydrator & that is probably what works best. However, I have never used one. In all these years I have used a little Farberware convection oven I purchased for Margaret of course about 38 years ago, that finally bit the dust this past year. That worked very well when I would just put it down on 150/200 & be patient. I have done the same thing in the oven. Of course we have sundried many of them over the years, but the conditions have to be just right down here with all the humidity or they will start molding. It is just hard to line up a major harvest segment with the weather, but they are good when they are good. Then I discovered by a lark the smoking them business. That works real good too. Just dry smoke them around 150/200° slow & smoky. I usually use Pecan or Hickory for those, although I have put some Mesquite in there on occasion, especially when I do a batch of Jalopolenos. I think you will be very satisfied with what you do & never go back to store bought because it is so easy & preserves all your peppers for what you love most. Just keep it simple. You do not need to de-seed them or anything, Ideally, keep the stems as short as possible though, but it is not totally necessary I do not think.
-
gus4416 Thank you. We grind them up until we fill about a quart mason jar of each type. Then we just put the rest that remain in mason jars with one of those desiccant crystal things in the jar to store until we need to grind more. We use it to flavor all sorts of things because we like the flavor of peppers & they are good for you too. We also freeze lots of fresh ones of each type for using in situations where more of a fresh flavor is desired. We usually do about 11-12 plants & they really produce more than a years worth plus a whole Summer & Fall’s worth of genuine fresh.
calldoctoday have you ever tried to pack them really tightly into a jar and then fill with olive oil, that would make and awesome oil for cooking and peppers for topping. There was a place that smoked roma tomatoes and packed them in jars with olive oil and they were sold out before the plants were even planted.
-
calldoctoday have you ever tried to pack them really tightly into a jar and then fill with olive oil, that would make and awesome oil for cooking and peppers for topping. There was a place that smoked roma tomatoes and packed them in jars with olive oil and they were sold out before the plants were even planted.
mrobisr that sounds like a good idea my wife hates olive oil but I could probably use some other oil and try that she makes all of are sauce for spaghetti and anything else we use sauce for we grow are own tomatoes to do most of it I am trying to grow romas this year hope they grow we allso have a Amish family about 2 miles from us that we buy from I like to keep stuff close to organic as I can and the Amish have some great breads and pies I get all my eggs there allso I take it you live in the south
-
calldoctoday thanks for the advice
gus4416 You are very welcome.
-
calldoctoday have you ever tried to pack them really tightly into a jar and then fill with olive oil, that would make and awesome oil for cooking and peppers for topping. There was a place that smoked roma tomatoes and packed them in jars with olive oil and they were sold out before the plants were even planted.
mrobisr Yes, we have processed them in Olive Oil which is very good & also pickled them & cold pickled them, all of which work very well for their respective uses. We like them like that as well. I can easily imagine how those would be sold out very quickly. Also if packed with actual Green Olives too. I would gobble them up!
-
mrobisr that sounds like a good idea my wife hates olive oil but I could probably use some other oil and try that she makes all of are sauce for spaghetti and anything else we use sauce for we grow are own tomatoes to do most of it I am trying to grow romas this year hope they grow we allso have a Amish family about 2 miles from us that we buy from I like to keep stuff close to organic as I can and the Amish have some great breads and pies I get all my eggs there allso I take it you live in the south
gus4416 She may not have found the right Olive Oil for her yet. I would be reluctant to pay any ridiculous prices for it, but good stuff can be found for those that look. Sunflower seed oil to me has the best flavor all things considered though. Grape seed oil is good. I keep thinking there is another out there that is real good too, but my mind has gone blank like usual, at the moment. We have also done some garlic infused & pepper infused oils, just a few jars & that is also good.
-
gus4416 She may not have found the right Olive Oil for her yet. I would be reluctant to pay any ridiculous prices for it, but good stuff can be found for those that look. Sunflower seed oil to me has the best flavor all things considered though. Grape seed oil is good. I keep thinking there is another out there that is real good too, but my mind has gone blank like usual, at the moment. We have also done some garlic infused & pepper infused oils, just a few jars & that is also good.
calldoctoday well she is 72 now so I am afraid she will not change her mind
-
calldoctoday well she is 72 now so I am afraid she will not change her mind
gus4416 I understand.
-
calldoctoday well she is 72 now so I am afraid she will not change her mind
gus4416 said in What did everyone cook today?:
calldoctoday well she is 72 now so I am afraid she will not change her mind
Outstanding point, I don’t see why any other oil would not work, it is worth a try.
-
gus4416 said in What did everyone cook today?:
calldoctoday well she is 72 now so I am afraid she will not change her mind
Outstanding point, I don’t see why any other oil would not work, it is worth a try.
mrobisr Oh, of course you have Peanut Oil, which is very good, but I am not sure how well it would work with this sort of flavor profile. Pecan Oil is also cery good. I just still cannot seem to bring up the others we have tried.
-
gus4416 She may not have found the right Olive Oil for her yet. I would be reluctant to pay any ridiculous prices for it, but good stuff can be found for those that look. Sunflower seed oil to me has the best flavor all things considered though. Grape seed oil is good. I keep thinking there is another out there that is real good too, but my mind has gone blank like usual, at the moment. We have also done some garlic infused & pepper infused oils, just a few jars & that is also good.
calldoctoday You are so right olive oils vary a lot by variety, there was a small operation 45 miles from us that grew and made their own oil and by that I realized just how much the variety of olive matters. Unfortunately the grove froze out and so did mine, but I still hope to find a replacement one day.
-
mrobisr that sounds like a good idea my wife hates olive oil but I could probably use some other oil and try that she makes all of are sauce for spaghetti and anything else we use sauce for we grow are own tomatoes to do most of it I am trying to grow romas this year hope they grow we allso have a Amish family about 2 miles from us that we buy from I like to keep stuff close to organic as I can and the Amish have some great breads and pies I get all my eggs there allso I take it you live in the south
gus4416 I would try just plain soybean oil since it is so neutral in flavor that way the additions would be the star.
-
calldoctoday You are so right olive oils vary a lot by variety, there was a small operation 45 miles from us that grew and made their own oil and by that I realized just how much the variety of olive matters. Unfortunately the grove froze out and so did mine, but I still hope to find a replacement one day.
mrobisr That is just amazing that they able to get something going where you are at. I know it can get hot there, but it can get cold too. I think they usually like even more of a temperate zone. I want to say arid, but that may not be true, so long as the right temperature range is there. That must have been amazing when you could get them locally.
-
gus4416 I would try just plain soybean oil since it is so neutral in flavor that way the additions would be the star.
mrobisr Triple thumbs up for the perfect idea. Let the peppers, etc. bring the flavor on, all by themselves!
-
mrobisr That is just amazing that they able to get something going where you are at. I know it can get hot there, but it can get cold too. I think they usually like even more of a temperate zone. I want to say arid, but that may not be true, so long as the right temperature range is there. That must have been amazing when you could get them locally.
calldoctoday For the last 12 years we have the arid part down very well, but our temps have had wild swings the last few years. This last February blast killed all of our olives, citrus, and other temperate plants that were just barely able to get by in years past with a little protection and smart planting. I’m done with planting them it is just too much work to keep them alive and producing.
-
calldoctoday For the last 12 years we have the arid part down very well, but our temps have had wild swings the last few years. This last February blast killed all of our olives, citrus, and other temperate plants that were just barely able to get by in years past with a little protection and smart planting. I’m done with planting them it is just too much work to keep them alive and producing.
mrobisr Sad & unfortunate, but I understand.
-
Well, the cold weather is finally coming here. Having to harvest all of our peppers & preserve them. We usually smoke & dry them, so that is what we have done here. Also harvesting all the lemons so made a ton of fresh juice to freeze into ice cubes, but may consider processing some in pint jars as well
calldoctoday Looks like you’re set for peppers for the winter. Like your idea of lemon ice cubes. Those would be handy.
-
Decided to do an Apple Bourbon Brined pork loin then smoke it in Apple Wood. Figured those would be some good flavors for this cold weather finally reaching us.
Of course I had to add a little spice & garlic to kick it up a notch or two.calldoctoday Excellent looking piece of meat. Sounds delicious.
-
Got some jerky in the dehydrator and some jalapeño cheese summer sausage put together this afternoon.
Lance You are one busy guy. As always, the sausage and jerky look fantastic.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register LoginSponsored By:
