Pam: I've never used them, but I would imagine they could be used like many of the other large, dried chiles such as Guajillo, Ancho, California et al.

I guess it's a pretty rare pepper. Maybe a trade later in the season? I'll have to admit, reading your posts over the years, you seem to grow a LOT more diversified that I do. SO, I don't know if I'd have anything special for you.

Kevin

I dry them for mixes-Rubs,Mops and finishing sauces.

Pam,

I grow Chilhuacle Negros - they remind me somewhat of a small bell - about 2 inches wide, but with some heat (not overbearing). They are good to dry as Mike stated and used as a rub....

Sandy

They aren't that big but my plant put out a lot of them.
Very thick flesh.
I like their taste by itself and as a blending agent for other peppers and spices.

Very thick flesh? hmmm, that's weird, mine were not thick at all, in fact they were very leathery. Maybe I left them on the plant too long. They seemed to me to be skin and next to no flesh... that's strange.
Pam

Hi Pam,

I've grown Chilhuacle Negro on and off over the past few years, a nice pepper.

Like Smoke I've dried and powdered it. I've also dried it whole and have used it fresh. I use it for Mole and Mexican style sauces.

I find, when ripe, the skin resembles leather but the flesh underneath if fairly thick. Thicker than your average Bell pepper.

Here's the description I have for it in my inventory spreadsheet: A Beautiful dark brown Heirloom chile. Complex, hot flavour. Looks like little leather bell peppers. Grown in Mexico's Oaxaca region, this dried chile ranges in color from chocolate brown to deep purple. It's used for "Mole Negro de Oaxaca". It's moderately hot and has a rich, fruity flavor..

I'm growing it again this year. Here's a shot of my current plant:

FWIW,

Bill

This post was edited by ottawapepper on Tue, Jul 30, 13 at 19:44

Description of these from chileplants.com says they have thin flesh. No opinions on the peppers, other than they sound tasty!

Thanks Bill, pic looks a lot like mine. They seem pretty prolific. Can't wait to try them, I'm drying a bunch now. I might have left them on the plant too long, I guess that could be why the flesh seems so thin. I'm definitely going to have to look up "Mole Negro de Oaxaca". ;-)

MadCat..... hmmmm, nothing like conflicting information. :-) I'll pick one green and see if the flesh is thicker than the dark brown ones.

Pam

Mine grow so thick fleshed that there is little space between the flesh and Placenta.

My seeds are from Peppermania (years ago).

I have a few green ones outside now.

IF I remember I'll post some pod porn.

Thin skinned sounds totally different than what I grew/grow.
Beths seed sources ,I think were from Mexico IF I remember right.

Mine are more like a semi scotch bonnet in shape or squash pepper.

Flat up top with a semi pointed bottom.

I get no pod variations like I see in google pics.

Mine have always been uniform in shape and size.
Might be a landrace thing.
I don't know.

I doubt I have seeds that aren't pure.
I've grown them for years...With the same plants and pods as a result.
Might be a Landrace thing,depending on the seed source.

My cameras are out of action right now,no pics.

This post was edited by smokemaster_2007 on Wed, Jul 31, 13 at 0:06

ok, I took some pics of mine. I am starting to wonder about them. After I took the pics I took a bite. Yuck. It tasted nasty, a bit bitter, and it was like taking a bite off of a sheet of plastic paper, it was all skin. maybe I don't have true seeds, I have to go back through my records to see where I got them, but I'm not happy. Here's the first pic. (they do look like Bill's)

Here's #2.

I'm growing the same pepper. Was waiting for them to turn brown, hope I don't have the same results, will let you know.

John

I grew this for the first time last year and I was thrilled with the results. These are very rare peppers that you can't easily find outside of Oaxaca in Mexico. The few online vendors of the dried pepper sell them for an exorbitant price (over $100 a pound).

They are not good fresh. Keep them on the plant until they are a deep brown and then dry them. I use a Nesco vegetable dryer. When thoroughly dry the are leathery and thin skinned.

I have used them for mole only, but have produced the best mole I've ever had outside of Mexico. They have a full, smooth flavor that can't be beat. I am sure that you can use them for other sauces and powder them for dry rubs, but this will not bring out their full potential. They are not good raw.

Both Rick Bayless of Frontera fame and the gringa doyenne of Mexican cooking Diana Kennedy have good recipes. The best that I have tried is the mole negro recipe in Kennedy's Oaxaca al Gusto - an English language cookbook, though it doesn't sound it.

I am sure that there are only a handful of people growing and drying these in the US. My wife teases me and says that I should become the tycoon of locally-sourced chilhuacle pepper when I retire from my job as middle school principal. Now if I could only find a way to grow huitlacoche, one of my other Mexican culinary obsessions...