Freezing Chile For Preservation

[kirra]

Freezing Chile For Preservation

Freezing:

Freezing peppers is probably the second easiest way to preserve them, and is the best way if you want them to be as fresh as possible.

Before freezing peppers, wash them thoroughly and steam blanch them using a tall pot, about 1/3 full of boiling water, and a metal strainer. Put the peppers in the strainer, set the strainer in the pot, and set the lid of the pot on top of the strainer to hold in most of the steam. After six minutes of steaming, dunk the peppers in a pot of ice water and stir them around until they are thoroughly chilled. Once the peppers are well chilled, drain them, dry them off, put them in a plastic freezer-weight bag, and freeze them.

This sounds like a good bit of work, but it is a lot faster and easier than canning. The reason for blanching the peppers is to keep the flavor of the peppers from deteriorating, and my results are generally good.

The scalding and subsequent cooling also provide the added benefit of collapsing the peppers, so that you can fit more of them in your freezer

Roasting & Freezing:

A Reader was kind enough to send me a detailed description of a very easy and convenient way to roast and freeze chiles, and has allowed me to share her method. (Thanks, Sue!)
Roasting chiles on a charcoal grill after our "meat" is done and the coals were hot is a great way to get the job done. Simply place the chile on the grill and gradually turn it, until the chile is the color of grey/green and sometimes the peal will be black and popping.

When your chiles are done, wrap them in a wet newspaper or plastic bag for a while, which will help to loose the peal.

To freeze, use a long piece of plastic wrap, laying one of two chiles and rolling it a turn or two in the paper and then laying another couple of chiles until all the plastic is used. Place that in a piece of foil and freeze.

When you are ready to use, simply take out of freezer, run hot water over the chiles, and take off whatever you want by loosening your roll of chiles with the hot water. The hot water not only thaws, but also helps to peal the chile. You can then take off the stem, slit the side to take out the seeds, stuff or use in a casserole.