Food Processing: Oil-Infused Cayenne Peppers
Food processing has become a recent hobby, especially using produce grown right in the garden! There's a bounty and I hate to see it wasted. I found some creative means of preservation!
We've got four bushes of cayenne peppers growing. I don't know if they identify with the heat of the Louisiana sun, but they seem to thrive when most other plants are drying up. I harvested a bunch and brought them home. I used this recipe on Chili Pepper Madness (https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/cooking-with-chili-peppers/how-to-make-chili-oil/). Check it out for lots of tips about using chili peppers!
So, they're home, they're washed and they're ready to be sliced. Pro-tip: I had a few cups of chilis to cut. I should have used gloves, or a paper towel to place over them, because my fingers burned a little after working with them. Not bad, but think light sunburn.
Next step was into the oven for drying out. I turned the oven on really low and left the chilis there for about five hours. Another tip: even a low oven, for hours on end, can heat up an apartment. I had to actually turn on the AC for a few hours. I almost never use AC because I don't keep body heat.
When they were all dried up, I placed them on my cutting board to cool. I definitely didn't need a heat burn in addition to a pepper burn! (Is that a thing? A pepper burn?) About an hour later--yes, you're right, this really is an all-day task--they were cool enough to work with again. I diced them into pieces about a 1/4 inch long, discarding all membranes and seeds. If you have one, this step can be completed by a food processor or spice grinder. All cut up, the peppers filled 5 tablespoons. The recipe called for three, so I decided it was close to 1.5 times the amount and measured the oil accordingly.
As for the oil, the recipe recommends canola oil, but assured me that I can use olive oil. Since I was planning this for salad dressings and sandwiches, I chose the olive oil (I also don't keep canola oil in my house).
I heated up the oil for five minutes on low, just like it said, then added the chili peppers, stirred and let it cool. It ended up sitting there to cool for a day and a half because the jar it was destined for, an old peanut butter jar, still had a peanut butter smell, so it had to be washed again and aired out. While it waited, the pepper oil sat in a pot, lid closed, on the stove (burner off).
Finally, it was ready! I emptied the oil and peppers into the jar and into the refrigerator, to be used in the weeks to come. Note: It's solid here because it's already spent a few days in my refrigerator at the time of the picture!
So, they're home, they're washed and they're ready to be sliced. Pro-tip: I had a few cups of chilis to cut. I should have used gloves, or a paper towel to place over them, because my fingers burned a little after working with them. Not bad, but think light sunburn.
Next step was into the oven for drying out. I turned the oven on really low and left the chilis there for about five hours. Another tip: even a low oven, for hours on end, can heat up an apartment. I had to actually turn on the AC for a few hours. I almost never use AC because I don't keep body heat.
As for the oil, the recipe recommends canola oil, but assured me that I can use olive oil. Since I was planning this for salad dressings and sandwiches, I chose the olive oil (I also don't keep canola oil in my house).
I heated up the oil for five minutes on low, just like it said, then added the chili peppers, stirred and let it cool. It ended up sitting there to cool for a day and a half because the jar it was destined for, an old peanut butter jar, still had a peanut butter smell, so it had to be washed again and aired out. While it waited, the pepper oil sat in a pot, lid closed, on the stove (burner off).
Finally, it was ready! I emptied the oil and peppers into the jar and into the refrigerator, to be used in the weeks to come. Note: It's solid here because it's already spent a few days in my refrigerator at the time of the picture!
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