Everyone has surely tasted chipotle. Now in the fall, when the chili harvest is good, it can be fun to try making your own chipotle. Generally speaking, chipotle means smoked chili pepper.
The choice of wood makes a big difference here, so have a look at our guide to smoke wood. If you have a lot of jalapeño left over after the harvest, you can also make pickled jalapeño.
About Chipotle
The Spanish word chipotle comes from the word chipotle in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. There, chil meant hot pepper and potle meant smoked. Originally the word was spelled pochilli. Other early spellings in Mexico are tzilpoctil, tzonchilli, and texochilli. The most common smoked chili is the jalapeño, which got its name from the city of Jolapa in the state of Veracruz. In Mexico jalapeños are also called cuaresmeños, or Lenten chili.
The smoked chili has its origins in the ancient civilization of Teotihuacán, north of present-day Mexico City. It was the largest city in Mesoamerica, and this was long before the time of the Aztecs.
Here I use jalapeños, Bhut Jolokia and Super Hot Chili F1.
What Matters When You Smoke Chili
There are a few important things to think about when you smoke your own chipotle: the quality of the chili, the type of wood you burn to create the smoke, the temperature of the smoke, and how long the chili is exposed to the smoke and heat.
Recommended woods are fruit tree wood, hickory, oak and pecan. Pecan is the most common wood for smoking chili in Mexico.
Wash the chilies thoroughly and remove any fruits with damage. From 1 lb 1¾ oz of fresh jalapeño you get about 1¾ oz of chipotle, in other words a tenth.
How to Smoke Chili
Strictly speaking, chili should be cold smoked, but hot smoking works fine too if you keep the temperature really low. Ideally it should not rise above 70 degrees Celsius. If you can hold 50 degrees Celsius, that’s good.
To do that, I use my big smoker to get a long distance between the firebox and the chili. It’s also easier to spread the chili out, so the smoke attacks from all directions.
The water pan is filled with cold water, and as my combustion method I use the snake method.
Fill the snake with lots of wood chips, since we want constant smoke. Between the snakes I put a pan filled with cold water. This lets you keep the temperature low for a long time, because you need to smoke for many hours here.
This also works in a kettle grill if you use the same method, but keep an eye on the temperature. Put a foil pan filled with water in the middle if you’re using your regular kettle grill.
The chili should be smoked for a long time. Check on it every now and then. When it’s dark and crispy dry, it’s done. In my case it took about 24 hours.
The nice thing about the snake method is that when the briquettes start to run out, you can easily extend the snake without having to light new briquettes.
Keep it as whole dried chili and use it in stews, or grind it down into chipotle powder. If you want to use the smoke flavor right away, chipotle also works great in Smokey Salsa Verde.
