Drying chili peppers is a great way to use them for spice and sauce making, cooking and also the best way to store them for the long term. After caring for your peppers, watching them grow, it'll be a shame to waste any of those freshly picked peppers from your recent harvest.
Here are a few ways to dry them so they don’t go to waste.
1. The Basic Method For Drying Chili Peppers
Wash your chili peppers thoroughly after picking to remove any dirt, then dry.
Place on a plate or a wire rack in a dry, well ventilated room. You can also string the chilies up on string or thread and hang to dry. Within several weeks, you will have dried chili peppers and you can grind them up or use them as ornaments as desired.
2. Oven Drying instructions
Wash your chili peppers thoroughly after picking to remove any dirt.
Cut them in half, lengthwise to expose the pepper innards.
Place the chili peppers over a baking sheet.
Bake at low heat, about 100 to 135 degrees.
There is no set time to bake the chili peppers for drying. Keep an eye on them, turning every few minutes or so. You can leave the oven door cracked for some air flow. It will take several hours with this method. Keep in the oven until the moisture has been baked out of them.
3. Air Drying
Wash your chili peppers after picking them, remove any dirt.
String them together on some strong thread with a few inches between each pepper.
Hang the chili peppers in direct sunlight. Be sure it is dry and warm.
It can take several weeks for the peppers to completely dry with this method, but it’ll be worth it! And if your not in a hurry to use your dried Chili's - this is a great way to get it done.
Last but not least, you can also consider a food dehydrator, which is a more fool proof method of drying chili peppers.
4. Drying Chili Peppers with a Dehydrator
A dehydrator is probably the easiest method for drying chili peppers. A dehydrator encloses the chili peppers and dries them overnight in soft heat. Slice them up before dehydrating for faster dehydration. You can find dehydrators in stores or online.
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH YOUR DRIED CHILI PEPPERS?
Grind them up to make your own chili powder, which is like cayenne powder, or keep them whole and use them as you might use a sun dried tomato. They can be re-hydrated with hot water and go great with many recipes!
