I dry everything into a paprika type powder.

I havest in the fall. freeze the peppers. then thaw out in the winter and most of the moisture falls out. I grind up the mush and then I put the mush on top of the furnace or other hot spot and turn the mess as often as possible until it drys well. then I put back into the blender and grind them up again. and dry some more.

I thn take the dry paprika and put into sealed glass jars and put into the freezer for longer storage.

Petula9,

Unless you live in a low humidity area it's pretty hard to air dry them w/o getting mold. Not saying impossible, but I've never been successful here in Missouri with that large a pod.

I would suggest using your oven at the very lowest possible setting with the door cracked open slightly. Some years back I remember someone used a microwave to partially remove moisture. Lowest setting and for a very short time repeated over and over so as to not cook the pods. Poke the whole pods a few times so air and moisture can escape from the inside.

I'm assuming you want them whole so can reconstitute and perhaps stuff them (rellenos) later?

jt