The Endzone Garden Thread

[GVF]

I have a bunch of jalapenos that I am letting turn red then I want to dry them, what is the best way to accomplish this feat?

My SIL has a an old window screen she hangs from the ceiling of the cool side of the greenhouse and throws stuff up there to dry like peppers, or elderberries. That works pretty good if you have a dry place to dry. Obviously, there is the dehydrator, which my son uses. you can also just pull the whole plant up and hang it in a cool dry place upside down until they are dry. Just make sure they are elevated off a hard surface like on a piece of mesh or something and have air all around. If you really have time watching TV one night, you can string/thread then thru their stem and hang them that way.

 

[82_VOL_83]

My SIL has a an old window screen she hangs from the ceiling of the cool side of the greenhouse and throws stuff up there to dry like peppers, or elderberries. That works pretty good if you have a dry place to dry. Obviously, there is the dehydrator, which my son uses. you can also just pull the whole plant up and hang it in a cool dry place upside down until they are dry. Just make sure they are elevated off a hard surface like on a piece of mesh or something and have air all around. If you really have time watching TV one night, you can string/thread then thru their stem and hang them that way.

So they dry vs. rot?

 

[GVF]

Do you know what recipe he used for the thai dragon sauce? We have a ton of them from our two bushes and would like to try making a sauce. Picked probably close to 100 peppers off them last weekend and there are probably another 100 green ones that will be ready soon. Most of the ones we picked are hanging in ristras starting to dry for now.

We refrigerator pickled 4 quart jars of banana, serrano, jalapeno, and dragon peppers. Cut them into rings and mixed the peppers in the jars. Less of the spicy ones for friends and one jar with almost only jalapenos and serranos.

Those Thai Red Dragons go nuts don't they? We only did two, and got a lot as well. (My tobasco's are crazy producers too). It's a beautiful pepper, with great post-heat shock flavors. And definitely packs a punch, but not offensively hot to where you can't eat it or enjoy it.

We used this process. You can be as creative as you want developing your own signature sauce. WE were boring and went very basic with only one pepper, and only added onion and garlic.
Fermented Hot Sauce - Chili Pepper Madness

Some things we did do:
- Did not have an air lock lid, so we stretched a coffee filter over the jar and screwed the ring on to hold it.
-Don't know if it made a difference in flavor profiling, but we actually added the garlic upfront for the fermenting cycle.
-When blending at end of fermenting, we added some onion and fresh garlic to flavor profile it. We also added some sugar to tame it a little. Might have done this a couple times till we took just the right amount of edge off it.
-Haven't gone back to ammend the hot sauce yet, but you can add xanthium gum to it while you are blending it down to keep it together. We didn't strain ours, so it may not matter. But, if we did strain it I'd definitely want the binder in it.

 

[GVF]

So they dry vs. rot?

As long as not in touch with hard surfaces (paper plates or paper towels are OK if air dryin) or restricted air circulation. And fairly consistent temps in a dry area. For me, for instance, I would set up to dry in the cellar. If you have a way to set up for drying in the laundry room, that's not a bad spot. I've also used the oven before. Lowest temp you can set it. Don't have to tend as much if you have a rack you can set them on that fits on your baking sheet. Or, you could lay direct on the oven rack and do quite a few at a time. Fortunately for me, my son wanted a dehydrator for xmas last year so we got him a right nice one for under $200. Makes the drying life easier.


Drying Peppers At Home: The 5 Best Ways - Get Busy Gardening

 

[GVF]

So they dry vs. rot?

Moisture and touching while drying is cause of most mold or rot when drying. I wouldn't say it has to a cool dry place. But consistent. And definitely dry.

 

[GVF]

So they dry vs. rot?

They also have a good set up on their greenhouse. Built a raised garden workshed with a split front door. The back door steps down into an attached greenhouse that he also threw together. So, she hung the screen from the rafters when you walk into the shed part, and anything she throws up there to dry is out of the humid heat inside the greenhouse section.

 

[VolNExile]

They also have a good set up on their greenhouse. Built a raised garden workshed with a split front door. The back door steps down into an attached greenhouse that he also threw together. So, she hung the screen from the rafters when you walk into the shed part, and anything she throws up there to dry is out of the humid heat inside the greenhouse section.

What did he use for glazing in his greenhouse? We’ve got a growing collection of old multi-pane windows that have been replaced in remodeling. They make great coldframes, but there’s only so much room for coldframes! Habitat ReStore often has old sliding glass doors as well. Seems like we could come up with a useful rednecky greenhouse…

And if you have a pic of their shed/greenhouse, and they wouldn’t mind, I’d love to see it!

 

[volkyries]

So they dry vs. rot?

We tried to string our jalapenos and dry them that way, but it took a long time since the skins are so thick and we still had a couple of them rot on us (we live in Knoxville for the humidity perspective). For our thinner peppers (cayenne, thai dragons, etc), we string those up and just leave them on a hook in the ceiling near a closed window in the house. Not in direct sunlight and we don't open the window during the summer, but they get a little bit of light and warmth throughout the day. We have so many this year that I am building a rack to hang the ristras on and will probably put them downstairs in our small room with the de-humidifier since it verifiable stays pretty dry (40-50%) with it running.

Previously when we had tons of jalapenos, I just borrowed a dehydrator from either family or friends. I didn't want to buy one just to use a couple of times a year and fortunately was able to borrow one. Our current jalapeno is producing but not enough to have many left after a couple of batches of pickling them or just making stuffed jalapenos, etc.

 

[volkyries]

Those Thai Red Dragons go nuts don't they? We only did two, and got a lot as well. (My tobasco's are crazy producers too). It's a beautiful pepper, with great post-heat shock flavors. And definitely packs a punch, but not offensively hot to where you can't eat it or enjoy it.

We used this process. You can be as creative as you want developing your own signature sauce. WE were boring and went very basic with only one pepper, and only added onion and garlic.
Fermented Hot Sauce - Chili Pepper Madness

Some things we did do:
- Did not have an air lock lid, so we stretched a coffee filter over the jar and screwed the ring on to hold it.
-Don't know if it made a difference in flavor profiling, but we actually added the garlic upfront for the fermenting cycle.
-When blending at end of fermenting, we added some onion and fresh garlic to flavor profile it. We also added some sugar to tame it a little. Might have done this a couple times till we took just the right amount of edge off it.
-Haven't gone back to ammend the hot sauce yet, but you can add xanthium gum to it while you are blending it down to keep it together. We didn't strain ours, so it may not matter. But, if we did strain it I'd definitely want the binder in it.

Thanks. I will give this a shot. I believe I still have an airlock somewhere in the house from my old beer brewing days.

 

[GVF]

What did he use for glazing in his greenhouse? We’ve got a growing collection of old multi-pane windows that have been replaced in remodeling. They make great coldframes, but there’s only so much room for coldframes! Habitat ReStore often has old sliding glass doors as well. Seems like we could come up with a useful rednecky greenhouse…

And if you have a pic of their shed/greenhouse, and they wouldn’t mind, I’d love to see it!

I'll get a pic, but basically he put on clear corrugated sides anf top, with window type venting at bottom. He bought those foam pieces shaped like the corrugated that go between the sheet and the stringers. so when you screw it on it seals the gaps.

 

[GVF]

We tried to string our jalapenos and dry them that way, but it took a long time since the skins are so thick and we still had a couple of them rot on us (we live in Knoxville for the humidity perspective). For our thinner peppers (cayenne, thai dragons, etc), we string those up and just leave them on a hook in the ceiling near a closed window in the house. Not in direct sunlight and we don't open the window during the summer, but they get a little bit of light and warmth throughout the day. We have so many this year that I am building a rack to hang the ristras on and will probably put them downstairs in our small room with the de-humidifier since it verifiable stays pretty dry (40-50%) with it running.

Previously when we had tons of jalapenos, I just borrowed a dehydrator from either family or friends. I didn't want to buy one just to use a couple of times a year and fortunately was able to borrow one. Our current jalapeno is producing but not enough to have many left after a couple of batches of pickling them or just making stuffed jalapenos, etc.

Yeah, Jalepnos and Seranos are probably not the best candidates for air drying due to the thick skin. they need a little assistance. I read today in a drying technique link to blanch the peppers first for about 5 minutes then pat htem dry before starting the drying process. Said it really improves the flavor of hte dried pepper.

 

[GVF]

Thanks. I will give this a shot. I believe I still have an airlock somewhere in the house from my old beer brewing days.

If you don't find it, ours fermented just fine using the coffee filter. Everything we found though says to make sure your brine is 2% salt for proper fermentation.

 

[82_VOL_83]

We tried to string our jalapenos and dry them that way, but it took a long time since the skins are so thick and we still had a couple of them rot on us (we live in Knoxville for the humidity perspective). For our thinner peppers (cayenne, thai dragons, etc), we string those up and just leave them on a hook in the ceiling near a closed window in the house. Not in direct sunlight and we don't open the window during the summer, but they get a little bit of light and warmth throughout the day. We have so many this year that I am building a rack to hang the ristras on and will probably put them downstairs in our small room with the de-humidifier since it verifiable stays pretty dry (40-50%) with it running.

Previously when we had tons of jalapenos, I just borrowed a dehydrator from either family or friends. I didn't want to buy one just to use a couple of times a year and fortunately was able to borrow one. Our current jalapeno is producing but not enough to have many left after a couple of batches of pickling them or just making stuffed jalapenos, etc.

We raised cayennes in K'ville and just dried them on thread. I was worried about the jalapenos for the skin thickness reason. I'm just going to bail and use the dehydrator. I'm probably going to do them outside overnight to keep from filling the house with eye watering vapor.

 

[GVF]

We raised cayennes in K'ville and just dried them on thread. I was worried about the jalapenos for the skin thickness reason. I'm just going to bail and use the dehydrator. I'm probably going to do them outside overnight to keep from filling the house with eye watering vapor.

Son sets up dehydrator on the stove. I can smell them coming in the back door

 

[82_VOL_83]

Son sets up dehydrator on the stove. I can smell them coming in the back door

Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of an outside vent on the stove. I may set it up tomorrow and just make GVG suffer all day. We're just going to crush them up for pepper flakes for pizza, sausage and soups so not worried about the seeds or anything.

Also, I have been wondering about putting them on the grill until just before char and then drying them or putting them on the smoker until they are dry and crunchy.

 

[Tin Man]

Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of an outside vent on the stove. I may set it up tomorrow and just make GVG suffer all day. We're just going to crush them up for pepper flakes for pizza, sausage and soups so not worried about the seeds or anything.

Also, I have been wondering about putting them on the grill until just before char and then drying them or putting them on the smoker until they are dry and crunchy.

If you’ve got enough, try that. I’ll be interested to learn the outcome.

 

[GVF]

Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of an outside vent on the stove. I may set it up tomorrow and just make GVG suffer all day. We're just going to crush them up for pepper flakes for pizza, sausage and soups so not worried about the seeds or anything.

Also, I have been wondering about putting them on the grill until just before char and then drying them or putting them on the smoker until they are dry and crunchy.

oh. we don't have an outside vent either. have to open window and a fan up.

 

[GVF]

Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of an outside vent on the stove. I may set it up tomorrow and just make GVG suffer all day. We're just going to crush them up for pepper flakes for pizza, sausage and soups so not worried about the seeds or anything.

Also, I have been wondering about putting them on the grill until just before char and then drying them or putting them on the smoker until they are dry and crunchy.

I 'd think the charring would work before drying. Would definitely change the flavor for the better. If you have a moker box where they have indirect, that'd probably work. That's how you get some of the dried peppers, especially the mexican peppers.

Ditto on letting us know how that comes out.

 

[GordonC]

Little man made me promise to show these pictures to everyone I tell about the garden stuff this year. He wants me to send a picture to his teacher, so his teacher can show his girlfriend. He's in Kindergarten this year, and apparently has the little girls lined up but one special girlfriend. HAHAHA
This was from the plant I said was not going to live a week. I won't be living that down anytime soon, and I shouldn't.
He is so proud of this.

 

[VolNExile]

If you’ve got enough, try that. I’ll be interested to learn the outcome.

The habanadas are finally starting to turn orange! Hubs and I are daring each other to see who wants taste one and see if they’re really “nadas”, or if they reverted to the 150,000-325,000 Scoville units of their parents. 🌶🌶🌶🌶

 

[VolNExile]

Little man made me promise to show these pictures to everyone I tell about the garden stuff this year. He wants me to send a picture to his teacher, so his teacher can show his girlfriend. He's in Kindergarten this year, and apparently has the little girls lined up but one special girlfriend. HAHAHA
This was from the plant I said was not going to live a week. I won't be living that down anytime soon, and I shouldn't.
He is so proud of this.
View attachment 483265


View attachment 483266

That is a SERIOUSLY cute kid!

 

[Tin Man]

The habanadas are finally starting to turn orange! Hubs and I are daring each other to see who wants taste one and see if they’re really “nadas”, or if they reverted to the 150,000-325,000 Scoville units of their parents. 🌶🌶🌶🌶
View attachment 483300

Curious minds want to know!

 

[VolNExile]

Curious minds want to know!

Frightened taste buds are reluctant!

 

[GVF]

My hot pepper story for the season. My son was capping a load of thai dragons to go in the dehydrator. I come home for lunch. Clean knife on counter. Get out my bread, slice my maters for a sammy, and spread the mayo. With said clean knife. And what a surprise to find out eating my sammie that the "clean" knife was used to cut the ends off the hot peppers. That was one spicy mater sammie. Wow!

 

[82_VOL_83]

My hot pepper story for the season. My son was capping a load of thai dragons to go in the dehydrator. I come home for lunch. Clean knife on counter. Get out my bread, slice my maters for a sammy, and spread the mayo. With said clean knife. And what a surprise to find out eating my sammie that the "clean" knife was used to cut the ends off the hot peppers. That was one spicy mater sammie. Wow!

anyone else read that crapping?