Using Up Your Habaneros

Saturday, October 15, 2011

The first threat of frost usually has pepper growers praying—or at least fervently hoping—that the bumper crop of peppers will turn red or orange soon. Whether it’s bell peppers or chile peppers, no one wants to leave food in the garden when fall turns into winter.

My husband wanted to grow habanero peppers this year, something I was confused about because he’s not a fan of spicy food. If you’ve never bitten into a habanero, they’re fairly fiery. An orange habanero ranges from 130,000 to 325,000 on the Scoville scale (the scale that measures chile heat). As a point of reference, the trinidad scorpion pepper is at the top of the scale—900,000 to 1,463,700—while a cherry pepper comes in at 0 to 500. I like spicy foods, but I must admit I’m somewhat nervous of cooking with vegetables so hot I have to wear latex gloves to avoid a capsaicin burn.

You can pick green habaneros, but they will be slightly less spicy (possibly a good thing, all things considered). You can also force green habaneros to ripen to orange by putting them in a paper bag and letting them sit for a few days—of course, it doesn’t make them any hotter.

One of the things I came up with for using habaneros is to make butter sauce, which is fantastic over roasted chicken. Yes, it’s spicy. My husband tried it and immediately ran for a glass of water.

10 orange habanero peppers, seeded and halved
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and halved
zest from one orange
4 Tbsp. of white wine
2 Tbsp. of salt
1 glove garlic, smashed
1 c. of white wine, apple cider, or champagne vinegar
2 tsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. butter, softened

Toss chiles, bell pepper, orange zest, 2 Tbsp. wine, 1 Tbsp. of salt, and the garlic clove in a blender and puree; let it sit in the blender at room temperature for at least 4 hours but up to 12 hours. When you’re ready to continue add vinegar and remaining wine and 1 Tbsp. of salt to the blender and puree until smooth. Place a mesh strainer over a saucepan, and transfer the contents of the blender to the saucepan. Press the solids with the back of a spoon to get as much liquid out as possible; discard the solids (add them to your compost pile). Heat the liquid in the saucepan to a simmer over medium heat. Place the cornstarch in a small bowl and mix with 2 tsp. of water to form a slurry. Pour slurry into saucepan and whisk until the mixture thickens, around 3 minutes. Whisk in butter and season with salt.

This makes a cup or two of butter sauce. Use it to spice up any dish.

Other interesting ideas for using your habanero peppers:

• Habanero brownies
• Orange Habanero Vinaigrette
• Habanero Salt Water Taffy
• Habanero Cashew Brittle
• White Chocolate Habanero Ice Cream
• Spicy Grapefruit Margarita
• Garlic Habanero Chicken Meatballs With Kale Polenta
• Cranberry Habanero Jelly
• Pickled Habanero Peppers

What’s your favorite way to use up your late-season habanero peppers?