It’s chili pepper harvesting time! I grow various types of peppers- jalapeños, habaneros, Chile de Árbol and my favorite Tabasco to name a few. Although I am not a big fan of spicy things, I am a wimp really, I do enjoy using them in the kitchen here and there as well as for tonics such as fire cider and homemade capsaicin salve as the warming qualities of peppers are great in the winter months!
Whenever I have a huge harvest as I have been having the past couple of years, I have to find a way to preserve them in various ways.
An easy way is to pickle them. This is by far the easiest.
Fill a clean mason jar with your peppers, add kosher salt and fill up 3/4 of the way with white vinegar and the rest with water.
I reuse a canning lid just place a square of plastic (I cut sandwich bags for this) so no rust or corrosion from the vinegar eats at the lid). This method requires no refrigeration or water bath/pressure canning. I put it as is in my pantry and in a couple of months or weeks when you are ready to use them you can drain off a little bit of the vinegar and use it to marinate pork or for spicy dressings. I then use the peppers to make a spicy garlic paste by grinding them with fresh garlic in the blender. And honestly this method lasts indefinitely even after you add the garlic if you keep it refrigerated.
Making Tabasco peppers salt as easy as well. Sun dry your harvest or dehydrated at 125 for 24 hours in your dehydrator. 3 parts peppers to 1 part kosher salt is what I use. The reason I used kosher salt is so that it doesn’t completely turn into find us once you pulverize it. Pulls it a couple of times in your blender or food processor until the desired consistency and it’s all ready! This is awesome to rim spicy cocktails or as a finishing salt for those that are brave enough!
Canning up some salsa is something I enjoy as well! Boil a couple of tomatoes, ripe is best, with a few peppers.
When the tomatoes look stewed, drain the water and add the peppers, tomatoes, and a couple cloves of peeled garlic and salt to your blender. Blend well.
You can water bath or pressure can your salsa. Due to the acidic level and capsaicin 40 minutes of water canning will do.
It’s such a simple salsa but it’s very delicious and goes well with tacos, and you can even use it to cook chicken or pork that you have seared and cubed.
Or eat it with chips!
So many uses for such a humble harvest right? I am forever grateful to my little patch of soil. Now to compost and feed the worms!
Do you enjoy spicy foods?
May your home be filled with warmth, your pantry full and may you always have good health!
Xo,
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