What To Do With Green Cayennes

[CaptainMike]

Well, it hit 28° this morning so The Master Gardener stripped her garden of the last of everything. We now have about a pound of green cayenne peppers that have no chance to ripen. Any ideas on what to do with them? We're thinking of some kind of salsa, but welcome any advice.

[Attjack]

Treat them just like a serrano. Slice and dice and put them in everything.

[CaptainMike]

My man, er, dawg! We were kind of thinking the same thing.

[tbob4]

I just read that if stored in a dry dark place they can continue to ripen. I didn't know that. Salsa is a good idea. I would treat them as though they were ripe. While everything I have read about peppers says they get hotter when they ripen, I have found that smaller unripen peppers, due to the concentration of seeds, can actually be hotter.

[texastweeter]

Yep, put them in a brown paper bag with a ripe piece of fruit. The will quickly turn red.

[CaptainMike]

That works for peppers/fruit that have signs or hints of ripening i.e. shades of color. Not so much for truly green fruit. We do that often throughout the summer to accelerate our harvest, but green fruit usually doesn't respond.

[texastweeter]

Drop them whole in venigar with salt and garlic to make a spicy condiment while pickeling them. Add to oil to make a spicy olive oil. Freeze and use in stir fry during the winter. Make green tabasco sauce.

[CaptainMike]

Leaning towards the tabasco sauce remedy.

[texastweeter]

CaptainMike make two batches, and ferment one. Then you can have two different flavor profiles with one pepper. Add garlic to the one you ferment, imo.

[mrteddyprincess]

I enjoy cutting the stems off, smoking them, and then drying them out on a cookie sheet in the oven at about 215 F. Prop the oven door open a bit to let the moisture out. Grind them up when completely dry. It's a great tasting smoked chili powder.

I just read the previous paragraph and realized I left myself open for someone wondering how I keep those peppers lit while I'm smoking them. I meant to say I put the peppers in my smoker and smoke them. :-)

[CaptainMike]

We do something similar with ripe ones, do you do this to green ones as well?

[mrteddyprincess]

Yes, green ones work for this.

[CaptainMike]

Thank you, I'll give it a go.

[Spinaker]

I would scorch those little guys. Then wrap 3-4 into a cellophane package and freeze. Then when you want to make a smaller batch of salsa, you have the peppers ready to go. Just throe them in the blender and let it rip. That is what I do with all of the peppers I grow. My sister-in-law uses them all winter for salsa.

[JGo37]

I would definitely use a few for some different vinegars, and see how well they flavor. I occasionally make vinegars and oils as gifts, and it would be a nice trial.