Latest Chilli Harvest

 

This is the latest batch of chillies that I grew. There is a Euro Coin on the left, just for scale. Some of the chillies are fairly large.

I was going to make a Chilli Jam and a Salsa. My friend Lee suggested that I also make a Chilli Oil. So, that was the goal.

I had just under 200g of Chillies. They were a mixture of Dorset Naga (Ghost) and Super Chillies. The Naga is super hot and the Super ones are also fairly hot. I split them in three and used a third in each recipe.

WARNING: Brefore we go on, I must emphasise that these chillies are very hot and you need to use plastic/rubber gloves when handeling them and any utensils that have been in contact with the chillies. After I made everything, I got something on my hands and they started to burn. Easily washed off, though. Special warning to men. You know what I mean. WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE YOU TOUCH ANYTHING.

Chilli Oil:

I dried the Chillies in the oven @ 100C for about 40 mins. I started watching them after 15 mins and just kep going until they were dried out.

I blitzed them and boiled them in malt vinegar. This has something to do with changing the ph of the chillies, so that the Botulism bacteria are killed. It is known to br found in chillies.

What was left was fairly dry, so I put it into some Vergin Olive Oil and brought up the temperature. Do not boil.

When it was hot, I put it into a scalded jar. When the mixture had cooled, I topped up the jar woth more Olive Oil.

The End.

Chilli Jam:

This was a first for me. I basically followed the recipe on
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/03/chilli-jam-recipe

I did not use the tomatoes. I used a whole bulb of garlic, jam suger (it contains precin, so bit helps) and about 30 chillies.

Again pour the hot mixture into scaleded jars.


Chilli Salsa:

Choose the tropical fruit of your choice. I like pineapple.

This time I used a tub of SPC Natures Finest, which contains pineapple, pear and peach in juice. I use the whole tub.

So, dump your fruit into the blitz machine of your choice, add all the chillies, one bulb of garlic, some salt and a good glug of vinegar.

Blitz it until it is the consistancy you like.

Taste and adjust the seasoning, if required.

Plop in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for a few mins.

Once again, decant into steralised jars.

The End.

Here is a picture of the latest family members.

I have named them, from left to right: Mr Chilli Oil, Mrs Chilli Jam and Mad Cousin Chilli Salsa.

The Chilli Oil is a bit lighter then the picture. You can see the residue at the bottom of the jar.

I tasted it It didn't taste hot initially, but then the heat sort of crept up on me scarred me. It was like a panther creeping up on you. You know it is coming but don't know when it will strike or how much damage it will do. Nice. Love the Burn.

The Chilli Jam was very red. When I blitzed the red peppers the result was a sort of pink but when I put the chillies in, it turned very red.

The taste was quite sweet, which is not a surprise, as it is a jam and has 700g of suger. It is a nice sweet garlicy sauce that gives you a punch in the face. What more can you ask for? Love the Burn.

The Chilli Salsa is a different animal.

It is a little sweet, a little tart but hotter then a blow torch. I dipped a spoon into and tasted whatever clung to the spoon. 10 seconds in, it got hot and kept getting hotter for ablut a minute or two. Then it started to spread to my head. It felt like I put a rubber band around my head and let it compress and pull my hair as it headed towards the back of my head. I know you have done that.

What a rush when the endorphins kicked in. Burn burn burn. Great.

I did not distribute the Naga and Super Chillies equally between the three batches. I just grabbed a handful and measured 60+ grams.

Great result and practically free. The only thing I bought was the Jam Suger.

Best Cajun Spice Mix

 
Cajun Spice Mix A handy mix using fairly ordinary ingredients. I like grinding my own pepper, as results in a more aromatic product. I have a grinder, I use for spices and one for coffee. You really need two grinders, as hot hot coffee is not great.


This mix gives a reasonably hot result, the pepper also gives a fairly smokey flavour. Mmmmmm.... 

If you are using fine ground black pepper, you will need to reduce the amount by 1/3. Otherwise it is very hot.
 
70 Grams Course Ground Black Pepper

26 Grams Garlic Powder

50 Grams Paprika

25 Grams Salt

7 Grams Dried Origano

10 Grams Dried Parsley

Mix together

Great with Chicken, Pork, Potato Wedges or basically anything.

To use just place the food in a bowl and sprinkle sufficient powder.
I suppose you need enough to cover the food.

Then grill or barbacue. It can be fried but it burns easily and creates loads of smoke.

I've found it. Ultimate Chilli Sauce / Salsa

After many years spent in the quest for the best Chili Sauce, I determined that the only way to find one is to make it myself.


There are basically at least two types, cooked and uncooked. I prefer the uncooked varieties, as they are usually sharper and more pungent in flavour.

I have tried many, from the US, Mexico, Africa and Asia.

Some I found were quite good but lacked the roundness in flavour I was searching for. Others were too mild or burned my face off. Not quite what I was looking for.

Anyway, I tried a number of recipes from books and the net. Not quite there.

I more or less stumbled on this one.

I bought two packets of fresh chillies in a local supermarket chain store (Dunnes Stores). This is often a bit suspect, as I am sure that they are just ordered from the suppliers, without respect to the heat they produce. In fact I bought some there a few months ago that were very very mild. The past few times I bought them they were nice and hot.

I don't have easy access to any Asian shops, so it is usually supermarket chillies or nothing.

OK. I bought my packets of chillies and did nothing with them.


They were getting a bit limp in the fridge, so I thought I better use them.

I searched in the cupboard for something suitable to make a chilli sauce with. I often use lime juice to add a bit of liquid and flavour. No limes. Feck, I said.

Found a large tin of Pineapple. Cool, I thought.

I am a big fan of Garlic, so I selected a whole bulb of it.

So, I had:

1 x Tin of Pineapple
1 x Bulb of Garlic
2 x Packets of fresh Chillies (Probably 10 or 12 in total)
1 x Blender


Peel the garlic and chop the chillies into large pieces.

Put the flesh of the pineapple into the blender. Reserve the juice/syrup. You may need the juice if the mixture is too dry.

Add a half to a full teaspoon of salt, depending on taste.

Add the chillies and garlic to the blender and zizz.


Blend until you get the consistency you like. I like it a bit chunky.

Add more juice if necessary.

Give it a taste.

Adjust seasoning.

Too Hot = Enjoy it. Or add another tin of pineapple.
Not hot enough = Add a teaspoon of chilli powder or more chillies.
Too much Garlic = Enjoy it.

I put the result into jars and store in the fridge.

Remember, this is an uncooked sauce, so all the crazy yeasts in the air will be trying to do rude things in the sauce. The fridge will take the lead out of their pencils. The worst that will happen, is that the sauce will ferment.


Love the Burn