How to string and hang dry jalapeno peppers

January 23, 2018 The Provident Princess 0 Comments

How to string and hang dry jalapeno peppers

Are you wondering how to use extra jalapeno peppers or how to make your own crushed red pepper flakes? This summer I grew 6 plants of jalapeno peppers and 6 anaheim peppers so even after making all my salsa, apricot jalapeno jelly and enchilada sauce, I still had about a gazillion peppers I needed to find a way to preserve. You can cut them up and dehydrate your peppers (see my post about dehydrating bell peppers). But I was already using my dehydrator on some eggplants so I decided to do it the old fashioned way.

All you need is a needle and some strong thread. Wash all your peppers first, then after you thread your needle, tie a knot at the bottom of your thread tail which will act as an anchor for the rest of your peppers. Grab your 2nd pepper and poke the needle not through just the stem or it will break when it dries. You need to poke it through the green base just under stem so you have a thick, solid foundation. Now pull the needle and slide the pepper all the way down to the one that you tied around the knot. It works best if you alternate which direction it is facing, left/right, front/back. And follow all the way up the string. You don't want too many. They are heavy at first. I think 20-25 worked great. Once done find a well ventilated area and hang for a few weeks.

After your jalapenos are dried, you can leave them on the string in your kitchen. They really are so pretty. Or you can take them off and put them in a plastic bag still whole. Or what I think is the best is to make your own crushed red pepper flakes out of your dried jalapeno peppers. Normally crushed red pepper flakes have cayenne peppers in them which makes it pretty hot. Using just jalapenos tames it a bit which is nice if your family is like me and can't really appreciate a lot of heat. Homemade crushed red pepper flakes can be used in anything that just needs a little kick

FYI- you can see in the picture I was experimenting by using some green jalapenos that hadn't turned yet. I was trying to see if they would dry more mild if they were green but they all ended up turning red anyway.