I’ve been experimenting with dried peppers. Not complicated experiments, but really basic stuff. DEAD SIMPLE BASIC. I’m not the Edison of food science. I made a red chile/arbol salsa, and it is hot as hell (which I like). Then I thought about making a Hatch chile salsa, no arbols but the same process, which was kind of mild and bland. Then I decided to mix them together and see what happened, and honest to god it tastes pretty damn good. Like sriracha.
1 oz dried red Hatch chiles
1/2 oz arbol chiles
1/2 oz guajillo chiles
12 LARGE cloves garlic
2 cups of water from soaking the chiles
2 Tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp table salt
Toast the chiles in a 325° cast iron skillet. Keep them moving, do them in batches; it takes about 2 minutes. You can see them softening and giving off a little oil. As soon as you get a whiff of smoke, or flavor, they're done. Too much and they get bitter and you have to start over. I did 4 1/2 oz batches. Remove the chiles to a bowl, cover them with hot tap water, put a plate on top to keep them submerged, and let them soak for 15-30 minutes, depending on how dry they are. My arbols and guajillos were good in 15 minutes, the Hatch took 30.
Toast the garlic cloves in their husks in the same skillet, until they are soft with mottled brown spots. That is 10-15 minutes. Remove them, and when they’re cool enough to handle (about minute, or instantly) remove the husks. The husk falls right off.
Put the garlic and chiles in a blender with 2 cups of the water from the soaking. Blend that up until it is smooth like… sriracha. Pour it into a suitably sized container and stir in the apple cider vinegar and salt. Taste and adjust salt and vinegar to your liking.
The heat level of this is pretty close to what you get in the store. If you want it hotter, use more arbols and less Hatch. If you want more garlic, and don’t want to roast and re-blend, a little granulated garlic or powdered garlic is fine.
I didn’t document my process in photos like I usually do; honestly I wasn’t expecting much, I was just dedicating a day to learning about the flavors from treating different peppers the same way. This video shows the process in detail, and is how I taught it to myself. I did have to dump the first batch of toasted peppers, which is how I learned what “too toasted” is.
1 oz dried red Hatch chiles
1/2 oz arbol chiles
1/2 oz guajillo chiles
12 LARGE cloves garlic
2 cups of water from soaking the chiles
2 Tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp table salt
Toast the chiles in a 325° cast iron skillet. Keep them moving, do them in batches; it takes about 2 minutes. You can see them softening and giving off a little oil. As soon as you get a whiff of smoke, or flavor, they're done. Too much and they get bitter and you have to start over. I did 4 1/2 oz batches. Remove the chiles to a bowl, cover them with hot tap water, put a plate on top to keep them submerged, and let them soak for 15-30 minutes, depending on how dry they are. My arbols and guajillos were good in 15 minutes, the Hatch took 30.
Toast the garlic cloves in their husks in the same skillet, until they are soft with mottled brown spots. That is 10-15 minutes. Remove them, and when they’re cool enough to handle (about minute, or instantly) remove the husks. The husk falls right off.
Put the garlic and chiles in a blender with 2 cups of the water from the soaking. Blend that up until it is smooth like… sriracha. Pour it into a suitably sized container and stir in the apple cider vinegar and salt. Taste and adjust salt and vinegar to your liking.
The heat level of this is pretty close to what you get in the store. If you want it hotter, use more arbols and less Hatch. If you want more garlic, and don’t want to roast and re-blend, a little granulated garlic or powdered garlic is fine.
I didn’t document my process in photos like I usually do; honestly I wasn’t expecting much, I was just dedicating a day to learning about the flavors from treating different peppers the same way. This video shows the process in detail, and is how I taught it to myself. I did have to dump the first batch of toasted peppers, which is how I learned what “too toasted” is.
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