Pepper Harvest

I don't know why these are called the "dog days"  of summer.  I wouldn't send my dog out into the heat of the afternoons we have been experiencing.  But what is not good for dogs--especially long-haired Cavaliers--is great for peppers.  The peppers (habaneros, poblanos, serranos) just keep coming and coming.  So I decided it was time to do something with the abundance.

Here is the harvest of a couple of days:

First, the peppers were picked--very carefully.  Most often I have to cut the fruits from the stems  so that I don't break off part of the stem with the pepper.  When I am dealing with this volume, by experience I have learned every step must be accomplished by wearing latex gloves.  Habaneros, especially, can linger on the hands for days.  They are that powerful.  The next step was to rinse the peppers, but in fact there is rarely any insect damage to the peppers.  Insects know not to bother them.

The next step--the drying process:

I added some wood chips to impart a smoky flavor and then set the grill to its lowest setting--200 degrees is ideal.  It took several hours, but here is the result:

Now these peppers are ready to flavor a winter's worth of chilis and stews.  It's a good thing I won't be entering the St. James's Chili Cook Off this year--they would have to retire the trophy!