Habaneros and their uses

[user 22118]

To me they are just heat, no flavor. I had some olives that were stuffed with garlic and habaneros and they were delicious, but gave me some super messed up guts. Came out hotter than when it went in.

I like to add Habaneros to sauces, stir frys and my chili. Always fun to get a little zing of hot when you are eating some stir fry.

What do you use them for?

 

[Mike M]

Jamaican Jerk. When used judiciously Habaneros have a nice flavor.

 

[pnj]

these peppers have the best flavor IMO. the problem is, they are so hot many people can't eat them without only feeling the heat. Start slow, add very tiny bits to your food and get used to them.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

I think they have a wonderful, fruity flavor that is unlike any other pepper. But I do wish they weren't so brutally hot, because it's hard to get that flavor across without hurting people!

About once a year I dehydrate a bunch of habaneros and grind them into powder. (Wear a breathing mask and eye protection!) I use a bit of this in my pork dry rub, it works great on grilled tenderloins. The fact that it's powdered makes it easy to start with just a little and incrementally add more until you find the heat/flavor balance you're looking for.

I also find that adding some sweetness (I usually use a little brown sugar) helps bring out the habanero flavor.

My friend's mother (from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico) makes the most wonderful habanero sauce, which see serves with cochinitas....these little pulled pork tacos. It looks like benign thousand island dressing, but will light you up like a mapp torch! Just three tiny drops per taco is all you need, and the fruity flavor of the pepper really comes through. I've asked her many times for the recipe, but she just laughs and says no!

 

[user 22118]

All three of you guys say they have flavor. Get some Thai Chilis (red dragon, chilis del diablo). To me they have the best flavor/heat ratio. You can eat a whole one, sweat, sniffle, tear up and still go about life without a messed up gut. I love Jerk, though haven't made it in a bit. I like to take Habaneros and blend them up with some lime and salt and toss it on some wings and into the oven.

 

[Tenchiro]

I have a big jar of Habanero chili powder I am still wondering how to use, I have been stuck with either simple chili or chili con queso or maybe a rub for something.

Anyone have a good recipe?

 

[user 22118]

Toss a little into everything that you make. Or as a rub I go with:

2 parts salt
1/2 part garlic powder
1/2 part Black Pepper
1/2 part ground mustard
1/2 part paprika

Then add in a little of the habanero powder, wet your finger and taste it. If it needs more spice then add some more. Rub this all over some ribs or on a steak and you are good to go.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

While I don't actually make anything with the habeneros myself, I do enjoy the flavour of them. That being said, they're so hot that I can only use a little bit, so the flavour usually ends up being rather subtle. Most commercial sauces are too hot or too vinegary for my taste. The Japanese make a sort of mayo they use in sushi that has habeneros in it & this stuff rocks! Great flavour, not too much heat, goes with a lot more than just sushi; I've used it on burgers & hot ham & cheese sandwiches, with egg rolls... A buddy of mine even uses it to dip his fries in. Sure would be nice if one of these garden seed companies like Burpee or Northrup King would develop a habenero with all the flavour & a lot less heat; I'd certainly grow some. Regards, GF.

 

[pnj]

Toss a little into everything that you make.

Do this. :rockin:

 

[dataz722]

Sure would be nice if one of these garden seed companies like Burpee or Northrup King would develop a habenero with all the flavour & a lot less heat; I'd certainly grow some. Regards, GF.

As nice as that would be I dont think it will ever happen because that would take the alure out of Habs for most people.

 

[thataintchicken]

Doing a flank steak with a habanero-mango marinade tonight.
Fresh corn tortillas and a cold lager.

 

[Yooper]

Doing a flank steak with a habanero-mango marinade tonight.
Fresh corn tortillas and a cold lager.

That sounds wonderful! I make a mango salsa with a little bit of Thai hot peppers to serve with fish. The cool mango really works well with hot peppers.

Would you share your marinade recipe?

 

[thataintchicken]

That sounds wonderful! I make a mango salsa with a little bit of Thai hot peppers to serve with fish. The cool mango really works well with hot peppers.

Would you share your marinade recipe?

1 mango , pitted, diced and mashed to a pulp
2 Tbsp Mead Vinegar
1 Tbsp Mango-Pineapple preserves.

mix these together and let sit for 20 minutes then add to

1/4 cup Habanero Hot Sauce ( homemade -- think a really thin hot wing sauce made with vinegar, carrot juice and habanero powder and some small pepper bits. )


I thank and honor my Grandmother every time I am canning or making preserves and sauces. Best training I ever had was in her kitchen.
Especially when it was time to make the Cranberry Wine.

 

[jgln]

There is one called Trinidad Perfume that is supposed to have the flavor of a habanero but without the heat. I have about a dozen plants in the garden now but no peppers yet. First time growing them so I am anxious to try them. Tomato Growers Supply Company carries seeds for them.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

There is one called Trinidad Perfume that is supposed to have the flavor of a habanero but without the heat.

Interesting. I'd prefer they had SOME heat (maybe around the level of a jalapeno) but that's a start. It's probably too late for this season, but I'm going to pick up a packet of seeds for next year.

 

[user 22118]

I was just looking around the net for pepper seeds, but I know it is too late. I have my first flowers on some Jalepeno plants and the habanero plants are about another two weeks away. The heat has finally come, so we should be getting peppers in the next month. Tomatoes just turned red!

 

[fineexampl]

Habaneros are really the superhot chile to begin with if you're serious about heat and flavor. Habaneros by themselves are pretty intense. You can soften the blow with mango or tomato. I make hot sauces, grow chiles, etc.

If anyone wants seeds or sauce, lmk. Seeds i have, but will have more in the fall at harvest. Hot sauce should be made soon as i'm tapped out. I usually sell it, but i'd trade for a quality homebrew or two or some brew ingredients.


Uses? Hmm...you can make a jelly, mix em in eggs, on pizza, in tacos, salsa, you can make a mean vanilla-hab ice cream, puree and make a marinade, eat them with some beer to have a flavor tripping party, dry and use for powder/flakes.

 

[jgln]

Habaneros are really the superhot chile to begin with if you're serious about heat and flavor. Habaneros by themselves are pretty intense. You can soften the blow with mango or tomato. I make hot sauces, grow chiles, etc.

If anyone wants seeds or sauce, lmk. Seeds i have, but will have more in the fall at harvest. Hot sauce should be made soon as i'm tapped out. I usually sell it, but i'd trade for a quality homebrew or two or some brew ingredients.


Uses? Hmm...you can make a jelly, mix em in eggs, on pizza, in tacos, salsa, you can make a mean vanilla-hab ice cream, puree and make a marinade, eat them with some beer to have a flavor tripping party, dry and use for powder/flakes.

I grow hot peppers and make hot sauce too as well as collect seeds. What I did find is some peppers do not produce good seed. I had one type of cherry pepper that of all the seed I collected and all the attempts not a single seed even sprouted, all my other seeds from other peppers produced at least some plants, some more than others. Have you ever noticed this?

 

[user 22118]

How do you save your seeds? I want to do this so that I can have seeds next year and I amthinking of drying the peppers and then getting the seeds out. Do I need to ferment the plants like for tomato seed harvesting?

 

[jgln]

How do you save your seeds? I want to do this so that I can have seeds next year and I amthinking of drying the peppers and then getting the seeds out. Do I need to ferment the plants like for tomato seed harvesting?

I just wait until they are very ripe or about rotting and then put them in the basement for the winter to dry out and plant them in the spring. Like I said all sprout, some more than others but not a single of the cherry pepper. Must be a cross pollination that yields seeds that will not germinate, the only way to get the plant is with the original plants cross bred.
My GF saves the tomato seed with great success but I don't know her method.

 

[jgln]

Peppers and tomatoes grow like weeds in our garden every year from the year before so the process can't be tricky.

 

[Rhoobarb]

I can't believe I am the first to mention using habaneros in... hel-looooo.... beer!

The guy at my LHBS makes a habanero amber ale that is really tasty. Enough heat and spice in the finish to let you know it's there, but no burn. It became so popular with customers that he made copies of the recipe and I have one. I plan to brew it later this summer. It's a basic American amber ale with 20 grams of peppers in the last few mins. of the boil and 4 grams in secondary.

 

[FlyingHorse]

One of my earliest brews was a Hot Chocolate porter, with cocoa and dried habanero. It was awesome. No hint of spice at first...just rich malty porter with a pronounced chocolate flavor. Then just as you start to say "hey, I thought this was supposed to be hot, somehow?", a strong but pleasant shot of heat at the finish.

Damn, I need to make that beer again and see if it's as good as I remember.

* goes off to look for ancient brewing notebook *

 

[Sean]

that hot chocolate porter sounds good, but maybe a stout? Please post recipe if you find it.

I find the Habs I grow are not as hot as the ones I buy, but still have that nice tropical aroma, and if you get all, every speck, of the pith out of them they are much easier to use.

I don't think they are very good for cooking, or with vinegar, most of the tropical fruitiness is destroyed. IMO.

They make a really nice compound butter for seasoning food that is already cooked. The butter mellows the heat, and the chiles stay raw, and very flavorful. I make a pound of it at a time.

About 4 - 6 habs, totally deseeded, and deveined
1 pound butter at room temp
Salt
1 cup of OJ boiled down until it is thick
Splash of white wine
fresh herbs if you want

Chop the chiles in a food processor, then add everything else. Then I roll it in parchment, and freeze it.

This is really nice on grilled or breaded fish, or on grilled porkchops, or smear in on bread, with garlic and make killer garlic bread.

 

[fineexampl]

I grow hot peppers and make hot sauce too as well as collect seeds. What I did find is some peppers do not produce good seed. I had one type of cherry pepper that of all the seed I collected and all the attempts not a single seed even sprouted, all my other seeds from other peppers produced at least some plants, some more than others. Have you ever noticed this?

absolutely. see below.

How do you save your seeds? I want to do this so that I can have seeds next year and I amthinking of drying the peppers and then getting the seeds out. Do I need to ferment the plants like for tomato seed harvesting?

Saving seeds is easy. Make sure the fruit is ripened (fyi: NO green peppers are ripe peppers. They ALL change color.) or the seeds will never ever grow. Than scoop them out and dry them either in a dry room with no sunlight or in a dehydrator NO HOTTER THAN 100 DEGREES. If you do that, they'll all grow usually. Fermenting pepper seeds is never done.

I just wait until they are very ripe or about rotting and then put them in the basement for the winter to dry out and plant them in the spring. Like I said all sprout, some more than others but not a single of the cherry pepper. Must be a cross pollination that yields seeds that will not germinate, the only way to get the plant is with the original plants cross bred.
My GF saves the tomato seed with great success but I don't know her method.

If they don't sprout they were probably dead seeds or immature seeds...or the rare instance of a dud.

I can't believe I am the first to mention using habaneros in... hel-looooo.... beer!

The guy at my LHBS makes a habanero amber ale that is really tasty. Enough heat and spice in the finish to let you know it's there, but no burn. It became so popular with customers that he made copies of the recipe and I have one. I plan to brew it later this summer. It's a basic American amber ale with 20 grams of peppers in the last few mins. of the boil and 4 grams in secondary.

hel-looooooo i have a homebrew Habanerale in my fridge. Canadian style lager with grapefruit zest and a whole red habanero in the bottle. It's good, but almost undrinkably hot.

One of my earliest brews was a Hot Chocolate porter, with cocoa and dried habanero. It was awesome. No hint of spice at first...just rich malty porter with a pronounced chocolate flavor. Then just as you start to say "hey, I thought this was supposed to be hot, somehow?", a strong but pleasant shot of heat at the finish.

Damn, I need to make that beer again and see if it's as good as I remember.

* goes off to look for ancient brewing notebook *

You need to get me that recipe!:rockin:

 

[fineexampl]

that hot chocolate porter sounds good, but maybe a stout? Please post recipe if you find it.

I find the Habs I grow are not as hot as the ones I buy, but still have that nice tropical aroma, and if you get all, every speck, of the pith out of them they are much easier to use.

I don't think they are very good for cooking, or with vinegar, most of the tropical fruitiness is destroyed. IMO.

They make a really nice compound butter for seasoning food that is already cooked. The butter mellows the heat, and the chiles stay raw, and very flavorful. I make a pound of it at a time.

About 4 - 6 habs, totally deseeded, and deveined
1 pound butter at room temp
Salt
1 cup of OJ boiled down until it is thick
Splash of white wine
fresh herbs if you want

Chop the chiles in a food processor, then add everything else. Then I roll it in parchment, and freeze it.

This is really nice on grilled or breaded fish, or on grilled porkchops, or smear in on bread, with garlic and make killer garlic bread.

You take away all that good capsaicin when you rip out the innards! Weak dude.

I'll be making a brew from my homegrown bhut jolokia chiles as soon as i have them in the fall. My plants are flowering now.

 

[Sean]

You take away all that good capsaicin when you rip out the innards! Weak dude.

I'll be making a brew from my homegrown bhut jolokia chiles as soon as i have them in the fall. My plants are flowering now.

If you read the thread you may gain some insight. Most posters wanted to accentuate the flavor of the chile, while keeping the heat reasonable. Taking out the innards does that --- NO??

If you want it hotter, I would suggest adding more chiles, but still removing the innards, the chile has such a nice guava, passion fruit, pineapple aroma, the object is to use that flavor.

Making things spicy is easy. dude.

 

[fineexampl]

If you read the thread you may gain some insight. Most posters wanted to accentuate the flavor of the chile, while keeping the heat reasonable. Taking out the innards does that --- NO??

If you want it hotter, I would suggest adding more chiles, but still removing the innards, the chile has such a nice guava, passion fruit, pineapple aroma, the object is to use that flavor.

Making things spicy is easy. dude.

I was just messing with ya. I agree actually, but i don't have the heart to gut a chile. Too much respect for them as a grower. I usually center my recipes based on the heat and mold them to accentuate everything. It's kind of the same thing, but backwards.

 

[FlyingHorse]

that hot chocolate porter sounds good, but maybe a stout? Please post recipe if you find it.

You need to get me that recipe!:rockin:

*wanders back up from the basement, after remembering he went down there for reasons other than a refill*

WARNING: this was my fifth batch ever. It was brewed more than 15 years ago. My brew session notes (I now realize) sucked back then, as you will see. I do not have written tasting notes, just a vague memory of "hey, that was good". If none of that scares you, carry on.

Pretty sure this was based on one of Papazian's recipes, but not sure which. Anyway, I was an extract brewer back then, so here goes:

6.6 lb dark LME
1 lb crystal malt (??L -- likely 40 or 60)
0.25 lb black patent
0.25 lb roasted barley (so maybe it was more stoutlike? Not sure why I called it a porter)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup dark molasses
8 oz unsweetened chocolate
4 dried habaneros

2 oz cascade (? AA) - 45 min
0.5 oz hallertauer (? AA) - 2 min

1 pkg John Bull dry ale yeast + 1 pkg Munton's dry ale yeast (I don't know why, probably just had them laying around)

I boiled my steeping grains (that was back in the day...), removed them, then added the LME, sugar, molasses, chocolate and 3 of the peppers at the beginning of the boil.

Steeped/boiled the 4th pepper in 2c water, and added that water to the primary.

Had no temp control back then, so guessing I fermented around 70F

OG: 1.050 (measured)
FG: 1.020 (measured)
ABV: 4.9%
IBU (guessing, since I don't know the AAs): ~45
SRM: black (likely 40+)

Seeing the unsweetened chocolate in the boil made remember that this beer had no head retention.

If I were going to brew this today, I can already see 15 things I'd do differently, but maybe it will give someone an inspiration...

 

[Sean]

I was just messing with ya.

Success!!

As a grower, do you find that different soil composition changes the heat or intensity of flavor of the chile? I understand the amount of sun the plant gets can.

 

[fineexampl]

Success!!

As a grower, do you find that different soil composition changes the heat or intensity of flavor of the chile? I understand the amount of sun the plant gets can.

Not that i'm aware of. it's like anything, the more care you put into it, the better the end product. you will find you get hotter pods by stressing the plants though. the harder journey from seed to fruit, the finer the burn.

And that beer recipe is definitely on my to do list. I'm sure my LHBS can help me refine it. And don't feel bad about boiling the grains. I did the exact same thing with my first (and thus far only) brew. that said, all samples thus far were not bad tasting.

 

[kjung]

If you want more of the citrusy (is that a word ?) flavor, but not the heat, I've got a couple of cookbooks from Jamaica and the Carribean that have recipes telling you to put a WHOLE chili into things like rice, or a stew, and then removing it before serving.












wimps

 

[jgln]

absolutely. see below.

Saving seeds is easy. Make sure the fruit is ripened (fyi: NO green peppers are ripe peppers. They ALL change color.) or the seeds will never ever grow. Than scoop them out and dry them either in a dry room with no sunlight or in a dehydrator NO HOTTER THAN 100 DEGREES. If you do that, they'll all grow usually. Fermenting pepper seeds is never done.

If they don't sprout they were probably dead seeds or immature seeds...or the rare instance of a dud.

hel-looooooo i have a homebrew Habanerale in my fridge. Canadian style lager with grapefruit zest and a whole red habanero in the bottle. It's good, but almost undrinkably hot.

You need to get me that recipe!:rockin:

Well, I understand green peppers don't produce seed that will germinate and that some just don't sprout or rot but I still believe some peppers are only reproduced by the cross pollination of the parent plants, the seeds produced by the parents will germinate but the seeds produced by the child will not explaining why of this particular pepper I did not get ONE SINGLE SEED TO GERMINATE, the seeds came from peppers that had turned red on the plant and even dried up on them, I also picked red peppers and dried them myself and they also did not germinate. My GF took some seeds and tried to germinate them and none there either.
This is not uncommon that cross pollinated plants don't produce true seed; you have to go back and cross pollinate to get the true plant. I think that is what happened here, not a process issue.

 

[Mutilated1]

How can you tell if the Habaneros are ready to pick ? Mine are still green but they are nearly 2 inches long.

Also are they really hot ? I want to make some salsa a guacamole weekend after next for the 4th. How many is a good number to use ?

I'm thinking 1 pepper for salsa, and 1 pepper for guacamole. Thats not too much is it ?

 

[jgln]

How can you tell if the Habaneros are ready to pick ? Mine are still green but they are nearly 2 inches long.

Also are they really hot ? I want to make some salsa a guacamole weekend after next for the 4th. How many is a good number to use ?

I'm thinking 1 pepper for salsa, and 1 pepper for guacamole. Thats not too much is it ?

You can pick and use them green if you like, they will still be very hot or you can wait until they turn orange when they are fully ripe. Very young they may have little to no heat but 2" sound like they are about fully grown and should be hot. If they don't turn orange by the 4th I would use them anyway.

Don't know about the rest.

 

[Mutilated1]

Are they too hot to just pick one and eat it ? I've never had a Habanero that I can remember.

I planted I think 10 different varieties of peppers, but unfortunately I forgot to label most of them until I had them mixed up and lost track of which was which.

I picked one little thin green pepper and tasted it, not sure what kind it was but man it really had some heat to it. It wasn't a Habanero I'm sure though.

The label on my Habanero's said "Worlds Hottest" on it, even though I know its not really the worlds hottest I'm still cautious about using it.

I want it to be nice and spicy so that paired with some salty chips it will facilitate much beer consumption, but I don't want it to be so hot that people won't have more.

 

[pnj]

They are usually pretty damm hot. Sometimes I've had them not be as hot as others but typically, they are smoking hot.

The red ones taste even better and I don't find them to be as hot.

Am I the only person who removes the seeds because I don't like the way they crunch when you chew them? If I'm not going to eat it (like in a sauce where I may strain out the seeds) I will leave them in. They are too much like chewing rocks to me.

 

[user 22118]

I keep seeds in all of my vegetables. I like my sauces to have the seeds as they add flavor to me.

Are they too hot to just pick one and eat it ? I've never had a Habanero that I can remember.

I planted I think 10 different varieties of peppers, but unfortunately I forgot to label most of them until I had them mixed up and lost track of which was which.

I picked one little thin green pepper and tasted it, not sure what kind it was but man it really had some heat to it. It wasn't a Habanero I'm sure though.

The label on my Habanero's said "Worlds Hottest" on it, even though I know its not really the worlds hottest I'm still cautious about using it.

I want it to be nice and spicy so that paired with some salty chips it will facilitate much beer consumption, but I don't want it to be so hot that people won't have more.

I would say this to you, mince the pepper up and add 1/4 of it to your salsa, taste. If you want more then add more. The thin little pepper could well be thai or cayenne as they are popular and might be in a seed packet.

 

[BlindLemonLars]

Are they too hot to just pick one and eat it ? I've never had a Habanero that I can remember.

I planted I think 10 different varieties of peppers, but unfortunately I forgot to label most of them until I had them mixed up and lost track of which was which.

Yes...they are too hot to just pick one and eat it. You may end up in the emergency room, should you choose to do so! The last time I was cleaning some, my girlfriend asked for a taste. I gave her the tiniest little sliver of pepper, so small I could barely pick it up with the edge of my knife. She screamed like a banshee, and spent the rest of the day cursing me.

They are small and fat...typically 1 - 1.5 inches long, looking very much like a miniature bell pepper.

 

[Mutilated1]

mine look like that, but they are green and not quite as wrinkly - I'm sure they are Habaneros though, because that was one of the few plants that I managed to keep straight with the label..

so really you guys think only 1/4 of a Habanero will make spicy salsa or guacamole ? i looked online for some recipes and more of them recommend like 2-5 Habaneros

I guess I will start with 1/4 and up it from there