The recent discussion around smoking chile peppers has me intrigued, and I'd like to try it for myself. From recent posts I have a pretty good idea how to do it. What I'd like to know is, what are your favorite chiles for smoking? Are there any chiles you feel should not be smoked? And also, what's your favorite wood, and are there any types of wood you feel should be avoided when smoking chiles?

I understand that a lot of this is a matter of taste, I'm interested in learning what you guys think and getting some recommendations.

Alex

I find smoking any pepper gives it a new pleasant flavour dimension. My favorite are Chipotles aka smoked Jalapenos.

Bill

Actually I think more varieties are probably better smoke than fresh or dried.Assuming you don't over smoke them or use a strong wood etc.
I've heard about OVER smoked peppers but never that smoking ruined a pepper.
Different people preferre different woods for smoking.
But if you use any specific one you need to use it properly.
For example Mesquite is strong.Use it in moderation to get good results or it just gets nasty on you.
I prefere Hickory and oak in general.
Oak is a more dry smoke while hickory is sweeter.
A lot of times it's not the pepper but the smoke that makes the difference.

Chipotle is waaayyyy more complicated than that.,

A dried cayenne might be interesting... What to stuff it with, though? tobacco?

I know other chile varieties are smoked as Chipotle but my understanding is the thick skinned Jalapeno is the most often used. Short of being in the Veracruz region and cold smoke drying local Jalapenos, the closest us northern gringos can get is to hot or cold (preferred) smoke and dry our own crop. At least we don't have to settle for the standard morita variety generally sold in Canada and the US.

What am I missing? I'm genuinely interested in getting as close to the real deal as I can.

Bill

He made a fire in a pit in the ground with a long stove pipe that came up under a box with chiles in it. He lit a fire and poured water on the stove pipe to control temperature. The fire was not continuous. I'm pretty sure he was using mesquite as there was a pile in his yard. He was really drying the chiles, not smoking them; the smoke temp was 95-100F max.

When you've had real chipotle, smoked Xalapa is pale by comparison.

Longer than 2 weeks to complete the drying! I'm not dedicated enough to dig a pit, run a stove pipe and pour water over it for two+ weeks ;-)

I guess I'll resign myself to cold smoking with hickory or pecan in my Bradley smoker and using a dehydrator to finish them off.

Thanks again,

Bill