Trever Travis, Executive Chef of River Bend Golf & Country Club, says chili peppers—in all shapes, flavors and heats—are a great way for eager club chefs to experiment with spice.
I love peppers and chilis. They remind me of summer and of the bounty of fresh produce available locally and from our own garden.
Chilis range in size, flavor and heat. The scales start with the mild bell pepper as it moves up to banana pepper, then Anaheim, then poblano, then Fresno, then serrano, and higher still. High heat chilis include cayenne, bird’s eye, Asian chilis (also known as Thai chilis, even though my Cambodian friends say they should be referred to as Cambodian chilis), scotch bonnets, habaneros, ghost peppers, and to the infamous Pepper X that rates over three million Scoville heat units. (For a point of comparison, a typical jalapeno pepper rates between 2,500–8,000.)
There are subcategories of certain peppers, for example in Thai chilis have varietals including Thai prik num, Thai yellow, Thai Jinda (most common in Thai cuisine) and prik kee noo.
Dried or smoked chilies often go by different names, especially in Mexican culture. A dried poblano is an ancho chili. A smoked jalapeno is a chipotle. A dried mirasol is a guajillo. Utilizing these techniques helps to preserve chilis for later use. THey also change the flavor profile.
Chilis are used in almost every culture around the world in all forms including fresh, dried, pastes, smoked, cured, pickled, and pureed. Each pepper or chili contains its own little unique power punch of flavor, spice and sweetness.
Over the years I have learned many ways to access the flavors and showcase a chili’s true bouquet.
My favorite ways are to dry and pickle chilis. From here I make chili powders and chili pastes, such as green or red curries. Pickled chilis are great tossed in some flour and fried. Even adding chili powders to salt can be invigorating.
For drying chilis, I like to dry on top of a convection oven or in a hot warming box at about 175°F until well dried well for usually a couple days. Place in a mason jar or airtight container once cooled for up to a year or so.
Here’s the pickling liquid recipe I prefer:
3.5 lbs chilis (canned, sliced or pickle whole and scored)
2.5 cup vinegar (I prefer cider or a blend of cider and rice vinegar)
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
½ cup water
Bay leaf
oregano, fresh
fresh squeeze lemon
fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic smashed
Sometimes I like to add star anise, cinnamon or clove depending on the application. I place the chilis in a glass jar. I bring the pickling liquid to boil then pour the liquid over the chilis.
Canning chilis with this recipe is also a great way to preserve them for use in winter months when our blood needs that little bit of heat!
I use pickled jalapenos for our mango jalapeno chutney. It’s great on a pork chop or salmon fillet. Here’s the recipe:
Mango jalapeno chutney:
1 red pepper small dice
1 Spanish onion small dice
10 sliced pickled jalapenos
2 cup mango puree
1 cup honey
2 cups Cider vinegar
1 piece ginger
About 2 quarts diced or sliced fresh mangos
1-pound brown sugar
S&P
2 cup water
2 cloves garlic
Add all ingredients to sauce pot except mango and red & jalapeno peppers. Reduce by half then add mangos and slowly cook until thick. Add sliced jalapeno, red pepper and cook 5 more minutes.
Here are some of the chilis and dishes where we feature them here at River Bend Golf & Country Club.