If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! – Mike H. Oh yeah! I grew a variety of cayenne pepper this year with the specific intention of making Homemade Cayenne Pepper Sauce as well as cayenne powder, and here we are, making it! Cayenne peppers a GREAT because they have a good heat level, but not insanely crazy hot, as well as having great flavor, and the color is so vibrant red. They make for outstanding powders and powder blends. Learn more about the cayenne pepper here.
How to Dehydrate Chili Peppers and Make Chili Powders and Blends Homemade Cajun Seasoning Blend
But! The biggest reason is the freshness. You just won’t get fresher, more vibrant powder. All you really need to make your own homemade cayenne powder is a dehydrator and some cayenne peppers, of course. Let’s talk about how we make it, shall we? Remove the stems and slice them open lengthwise. I recommend wearing gloves when handling spicy peppers. The oils can get onto your skin and cause a burning sensation. Next, set the cayenne peppers onto dehydrator trays. You can de-seed them if you’d like. I usually do not, as most of the seeds wind up falling out anyway after they are dried. Some people find the seeds bitter, which can be amplified when grinding, so scoop them out if you’d like, either before or after drying. See the notes below on this. Dehydrate the cayenne peppers at 135 degrees F for at least 5 hours, or until they are completely dried through. It could take up to 8 hours or longer. Just follow the recommendations of your dehydrator. You can speed up the drying process by chopping them into smaller pieces before dehydrating. Once the cayenne peppers are completely dried, remove the seeds if you haven’t done so already (if desired), then grind them down in a mortar with a pestle, or add them to a spice grinder and grind them to either a powder or a coarse grain. I use this: Magic Bullet MBR-1701 17-Piece Express Mixing Set (affiliate link). The cayenne peppers will break down into a find powder. Sift that powder out and process any remaining chunks until only powder remains. You may have a tiny bit left to discard, but most of it will easily turn into powder. Store your freshly made cayenne pepper powder in airtight spice containers. Use it as you would use any spice. I have made powder both ways, both with and without the seeds and enjoy them both. However, if you note a bitterness in the seeds, remove them before grinding. It is extra work but can be worth it for your resulting powder. Some people do not enjoy the bitterness. I’ve used my dehydrator to make all sorts of interesting seasoning blends from peppers and other ingredients I grew in my own garden, but one of the most interesting things I’ve begun to do is to make spicy homemade seasoning blends from discarded items. I recently posted an article on How to Make Seasonings from Hot Sauce Pulp, and got a good reaction from it. Basically, if you strain the solids out of a homemade hot sauce recipe of yours to thin out the hot sauce, you might normally throw that pulp away. However, that pulp still have a lot of life and flavor left to it. Dehydrate it and turn it into a wonderful seasoning blend. It will very likely take longer than 5 hours, but much depends on the thickness of the pepper walls and how many peppers you’re working with. I personally turn mine on when I go to bed and check it in the morning. The peppers are usually dried by morning, but if not, just leave them in longer until they are dried. Need help? How to Stop the Chili Pepper Burn On Your Skin. Also, the powders are quite fine and may get into the air if you are not working in a well ventilated room, so you may want to wear a mask and goggles. After drying and grinding, my yield was .75 ounces, or 3 tablespoons, of finished cayenne pepper powder, a but under the 4 to 1 ratio of fresh to dried, likely because of the thin walls. Your results may vary. These are the products that I use to dehydrate chili peppers and make blends, and I personally recommend them. They are affiliate links - just an FYI. If you use them, let me know if you have any questions and I can help. Email me anytime. The Nesco is a smaller dehydrator that is perfect for general home use: Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator, White The Excalibur is a larger 9-tray dehydrator that is ideal for larger batches: Excalibur 3926TB Food Dehydrator, Black I use and highly recommend both of these.
Try Some of My Other Popular Homemade Spice Blends
Homemade Spicy Chili Powder Homemade Cajun Seasonings Homemade Rib Rub Homemade Steak Seasoning Mix Citrus Lemon-Lime Salt Homemade Taco Seasonings Homemade Spice Blend Recipes Homemade Ghost Pepper Powder Chipotle Powder
