Hi Sue - lots of discussions here about how to fry peppers and about various recommended dehydrators too although off hand I don't know of one where the spacing between racks would allow for any really big whole ones. The average ones would fit with no problem.

But for best results drying, cutting them up some works better anyway and is advised as drying whole tends to develop moldy insides before they get fry enough. And if you are going to powder them the cutting up poses no problems. Large ones can be sliced lengthwise or into quarters with no problem.

Can't help with the convection oven question - never tried it - but regular oven drying is done by some - just an expensive methods given all the energy used.

Of course you can always string them and then sun dry them too.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Drying Chili Peppers 101

People in Hot Peppers forum do it by dehydrating like in Nesco make dehydrators. You have to do it fast and with air flow to prevent mold.

Thanks, I usually use whole dried peppers. The recipe calls for one whole Ancho pepper, a certain number of whole peppers of each variety that goes into it, so getting the ratios right is just easier with whole peppers. Maybe I should just stick to buying them. I inquired a year or two ago and think I was told most dehydrators like the Nesco require you to cut them up to fit. I can't remember where I saw it but I saw a mention somewhere on the internet that they can be dried in the oven, and that if you have a convection oven that is even better. But I never saw specific instructions. I could buy a dehydrator, but this is all I would really use it for. I could just cut them in half and that would still be easy to just take out 2 halves to to make it. Not sure how long the repay would be in pepper savings to recover the cost of the dehydrator. Now that I think about it, Anchos are dried poblanos, not anaheims. Still large peppers.

This post was edited by sue_ct on Sun, Aug 24, 14 at 21:30

The link I posted above explains how to do them in a regular oven or a convection oven. As I said, many do it that way and the only issue is the energy used to run the oven that long.

Dave

Thanks Dave, that may have been the post I saw. I guess I was hoping for more of an idea of how long this will take for various peppers. I am not going to bother if it means keeping the oven going for 2-3 days. If it several hours then it would be doable. I would not feel comfortable I don't think leaving my oven going for days when I am not home to monitor it.