How to dry Guajillo Peppers

recruiterg · December 6, 2013

I grew some Guajillo peppers this year. I like these dried and I use them in Mexican dishes and chili. I tried drying some and they wound up getting moldy rather than drying like the ones you buy in the store. Do you have to apply heat in order to get them to dry properly. Any suggestions? Brokenbar???

Darren Abbey · December 6, 2013

The traditional way to dry them is spread on rocks in the hot, dry sun... which we don't get in Minnesota. Around here, we'd have to simulate the drying conditions with a dehydrator.

bower · December 8, 2013

The method we use for mushrooms without a dehydrator is to spread them out on paper to dry. That seems to wick away excess moisture, while they would stay wet and simply rot on a plate. If they're very damp, I turn them after a day or so to make sure there's no moisture lurking underneath them. After they have mostly dried, I discard any that show signs of rot and put the good ones in a paper bag and hang it up by a twist tie to finish drying completely.
I did dry some peppers on a plate this year, but I lost some to rot as well, so I think paper might have helped.
I also experimented with a dehydrator this year and I think it's a useful appliance for the moister items that might be at risk of rotting. It did a great job on golden chanterelles which spoil easily and are very lossy to dry otherwise. The heat from the appliance is enough to kill any mold spores or bacteria wanting to do the job on your food.

Father'sDaughter · December 8, 2013

I had the same problem trying to dry peppers spread out on cardboard - they got squishy and moldy. Last year I used the dehydrator and that worked okay, but took a long time if I didn't stem and core them first. This year I decided to try tying them up in a ristra after watching a video Brokenbar posted a link to in another thread -

http://youtu.be/iSBNMj334pc

I started it off with about three layers, and just kept adding to it as the peppers ripened and were picked. I don't know why, but it does work and they all dried beautifully without any moldy or squishy spots. Maybe it's because they aren't laying on their sides which allows the outside walls to collapsed against the core?

RayR · December 8, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by recruiterg

I grew some Guajillo peppers this year. I like these dried and I use them in Mexican dishes and chili. I tried drying some and they wound up getting moldy rather than drying like the ones you buy in the store. Do you have to apply heat in order to get them to dry properly. Any suggestions? Brokenbar???

Guajillo peppers are dried Mirasol peppers, is that the variety that you have?
I grow Mirasol peppers, they have thin wall and dry very easily by just hanging them up.

bower · December 8, 2013

RayR, Guajillo is not the same pepper as Mirasol. I grew both of them this year, Mirasol points up, Guajillo hangs down, and of course they taste different.
My Mirasols also dried really easily. I froze the Guajillos that didn't get eaten fresh, so I can't really compare the drying of the two, but I think Guajillo is a bit fleshier as well as bigger. A great tasting pepper.

noinwi · December 9, 2013

When we lived in NW Wisconsin I had one of those 3-tiered mesh baskets hanging in the kitchen. I grew a few Gujaillo plants in containers, so didn't have a lot at once to dry, but would pick a few and insert/hook the stem into the mesh of the baskets. There was enough air flow through the kitchen that they dried nicely. Some other peppers that I had more of, like Cayenne or Lemon Drop, I would thread through the stems with an upholstery needle and thread and string them across the opening between the kitchen and living room up high near the ceiling. When they were crispy dry I would store them in glass jars until it was time to grind them for powder.

ChilliJez · December 11, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by bower

RayR, Guajillo is not the same pepper as Mirasol. I grew both of them this year, Mirasol points up, Guajillo hangs down, and of course they taste different.
My Mirasols also dried really easily. I froze the Guajillos that didn't get eaten fresh, so I can't really compare the drying of the two, but I think Guajillo is a bit fleshier as well as bigger. A great tasting pepper.

bower, if you put "mirasol guajillo" into google you get numerous sites stating that a guajillo is a dried mirasol. I have no idea who is correct . I haven't grown either, respect your experience but understand where RayR is coming from.

bower · December 11, 2013

ChiliJez, I know what you're talking about, because when I got the Guajillo and Mirasol and many other pepper seeds as bonus in Heather's swap last year, I could not figure out too much about them on the internet! A lot of confusing information.

I'm no expert, for sure. It just happened that I grew those two this year so the difference became clear.

Mirasol was quite late - latest of all the peppers this year - and really a beautiful plant with many clusters of small peppers pointed at the sky. Guajillo was early and a larger pepper hanging downward as singles not clusters, with a superb flavour when red ripe and just the right heat throughout. The flavour of Mirasol was actually similar but the heat all concentrated at the stem end, and not quite as sweet. I can see that a dried Mirasol might be used in the same way as Guajillo, honestly, as when they are crushed or soaked in cooking the overall taste effect may be close to it. Maybe that's why they call it what they do!

Doug9345 · December 20, 2013

To add even more confusion, the best I can tell mirasol also is used to describe the trait of peppers facing upward or sun word.

lemurian · December 31, 2013

I had a bumper crop of Guajillos one year and allowed them to ripen and dry on the plant for as long as possible, then placed them on a cookie sheet and roasted them in the oven on the lowest setting (170 degress on mine) for an hour or two, until they were thoroughly dried. When they were cool I piled them into gallon freezer bags and popped them into the freezer. I still have some left!! They are fantastic... toasted a little in a dry pan then ground, crumbled or put whole in a pot of sauce or soup.

Good luck!

December 6, 2013	#1
recruiterg Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Edina, MN (Zone 4) Posts: 945	How to dry Guajillo Peppers I grew some Guajillo peppers this year. I like these dried and I use them in Mexican dishes and chili. I tried drying some and they wound up getting moldy rather than drying like the ones you buy in the store. Do you have to apply heat in order to get them to dry properly. Any suggestions? Brokenbar???

December 6, 2013	#2
Darren Abbey Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 586	The traditional way to dry them is spread on rocks in the hot, dry sun... which we don't get in Minnesota. Around here, we'd have to simulate the drying conditions with a dehydrator.

December 8, 2013	#3
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,793	The method we use for mushrooms without a dehydrator is to spread them out on paper to dry. That seems to wick away excess moisture, while they would stay wet and simply rot on a plate. If they're very damp, I turn them after a day or so to make sure there's no moisture lurking underneath them. After they have mostly dried, I discard any that show signs of rot and put the good ones in a paper bag and hang it up by a twist tie to finish drying completely. I did dry some peppers on a plate this year, but I lost some to rot as well, so I think paper might have helped. I also experimented with a dehydrator this year and I think it's a useful appliance for the moister items that might be at risk of rotting. It did a great job on golden chanterelles which spoil easily and are very lossy to dry otherwise. The heat from the appliance is enough to kill any mold spores or bacteria wanting to do the job on your food.

December 8, 2013	#4
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,917	I had the same problem trying to dry peppers spread out on cardboard - they got squishy and moldy. Last year I used the dehydrator and that worked okay, but took a long time if I didn't stem and core them first. This year I decided to try tying them up in a ristra after watching a video Brokenbar posted a link to in another thread - http://youtu.be/iSBNMj334pc I started it off with about three layers, and just kept adding to it as the peppers ripened and were picked. I don't know why, but it does work and they all dried beautifully without any moldy or squishy spots. Maybe it's because they aren't laying on their sides which allows the outside walls to collapsed against the core?

December 9, 2013	#7
noinwi Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: PNW Posts: 486	When we lived in NW Wisconsin I had one of those 3-tiered mesh baskets hanging in the kitchen. I grew a few Gujaillo plants in containers, so didn't have a lot at once to dry, but would pick a few and insert/hook the stem into the mesh of the baskets. There was enough air flow through the kitchen that they dried nicely. Some other peppers that I had more of, like Cayenne or Lemon Drop, I would thread through the stems with an upholstery needle and thread and string them across the opening between the kitchen and living room up high near the ceiling. When they were crispy dry I would store them in glass jars until it was time to grind them for powder.

December 11, 2013	#9
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,793	ChiliJez, I know what you're talking about, because when I got the Guajillo and Mirasol and many other pepper seeds as bonus in Heather's swap last year, I could not figure out too much about them on the internet! A lot of confusing information. I'm no expert, for sure. It just happened that I grew those two this year so the difference became clear. Mirasol was quite late - latest of all the peppers this year - and really a beautiful plant with many clusters of small peppers pointed at the sky. Guajillo was early and a larger pepper hanging downward as singles not clusters, with a superb flavour when red ripe and just the right heat throughout. The flavour of Mirasol was actually similar but the heat all concentrated at the stem end, and not quite as sweet. I can see that a dried Mirasol might be used in the same way as Guajillo, honestly, as when they are crushed or soaked in cooking the overall taste effect may be close to it. Maybe that's why they call it what they do!

December 20, 2013	#10
Doug9345 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Durhamville,NY Posts: 2,706	To add even more confusion, the best I can tell mirasol also is used to describe the trait of peppers facing upward or sun word.

December 31, 2013	#11
lemurian Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Ida Grove, IA Posts: 55	I had a bumper crop of Guajillos one year and allowed them to ripen and dry on the plant for as long as possible, then placed them on a cookie sheet and roasted them in the oven on the lowest setting (170 degress on mine) for an hour or two, until they were thoroughly dried. When they were cool I piled them into gallon freezer bags and popped them into the freezer. I still have some left!! They are fantastic... toasted a little in a dry pan then ground, crumbled or put whole in a pot of sauce or soup. Good luck!