What should I do, drying peppers, will this work?

[harleysilo]

I have grown too many peppers, so I've started to just dry them out for decoration....

What I've got so far....



So habs I "grilled" then finished in the sun....



And some more I don't feel like grilling, how many days in the 100 degree weather with full sun do you think it would take?

The ones hanging from the light were strung up fresh and are drying nicely.

[Suze]

Nice pictures. I've been drying some of my peppers lately too.

And some more I don't feel like grilling, how many days in the 100 degree weather with full sun do you think it would take?

For smaller peppers in my food dehydrator, it says 1-2 days, dry until leathery. My dehydrator doesn't get that hot, I can stick my hand in there while it's on, so it shouldn't take much longer for you in the hot sun.

Have fun! I'd never be able to dry peppers outside here, the mole crickets would eat them, yes they will even eat the hots.

[Earl]

At a fleamarket I bought one of those handcrank grain grinders to grind my dried peppers, haven't used it yet but will advise how it works when I do.

[Grub]

I think you should halve your hab. peppers to assist with drying them... this helped me a lot. Also, I bought a grinder of chilli flakes (with seeds of course), sea salt and garlic (dried)... excellent spice grind for a lot of cooking... so there's an idea I am going to follow up... I am going to get my chilli flakes, add sea salt and buy some dried garlic and make a combo to use as a rub, a sprinkle a garnish. My peppers also took a few days to dry in the dehydrator.

Nice haul.
Cheers. G.

[harleysilo]

So four days in the blistering sun, and they are definately drying, but some parts of the peppers, mainly the areas that have been facing up for more than a day in a row are turning white, even on the red ones....

[Tomstrees]

I've been using a food dehydrator for my hots at the
end of the season. I then use a coffee grinder just
for hot peps and grind em into a fine powder for
a "chile" powder I make called "Toms Green Heat" ~

Has worked really well ...

~ Tom

[DeanRIowa]

I think I read somewhere that people dry peppers in their car on the dash. Anybody tried that?

I plan on using a small electric coffee grinder I got and do not use anymore to grind my peppers.

Dean

[Worth1]

I never dry peppers in the sun.
I hang them up and dry them in the house.
It is air conditioned (low humidity) and they will ripen to a nice red color without the bleaching effect of the sun.

Another method is to spread them on a cookie sheet and put the oven on warm with the door ajar.

Put in oven of course.

I have ten year or older dried peppers I use all of the time.

I grew 100 pepper plants one year.

Worth

[oldgaredneck]

These are a few of the peter peppers from just two plants.
Strung with a needle and thread, hung in front of a sunny window and just below an a/c vent.... Once they're completely dry, I'll remove and save the seeds, the skins will go into a container for seasoning....

[barkeater]

Harley, don't ever dry them out in the sun. They burn up as you found out when they turn white.

Thin walled cayenne types are easy inside, but thick walled jalapenos and habeneros need dry heat, and the insides exposed to dry to prevent a white mold growing inside.

A dehydrater is best. Or, if you're in a northern climate where the heat is on now at the same time you have to pick your hots to beat the frost, hang the cut off plant in the furnace room. Take a knife and make a slit in all the peppers. Even then, some will probably get filled with mold, unless you grind them as soon as they dry.

[louise]

I washed mine off, sliced them and put them in a dehydrator. Mine were the paprika peppers. When they were dry I ground them up in a food grinder, then put them back in to dry a little longer. I have pictures, but not sure how to put them on here.

[Suze]

Even though this thread is about drying, I thought I would just offer as a side note that most peppers freeze rather well.