Saturday, November 26, 2011

Texas Style Food: Chile Piquin Jelly

Years ago, my friend Steven told me about this tiny little wild pepper that his mother, Margaret, would use to make homemade salsa. I have been growing these little hot as hellfire little peppers for the past three seasons in containers on my patio.  On a whim, because I have never made jelly before this, I just decided to try to make them into jelly.  This is the odyssey - photos and all.

Start by sterilizing the jars - no nasty bacteria for this jelly!


I boiled them for 15 minutes and then let them stay on simmer to keep the jars warm. Jars should be hot when you fill them with the recently cooked jelly to avoid cracking.







These are the Chile Piquins I picked from my backyard. Don't let their tiny size fool you. These babies are HOT!


They are so small, it's impossible to open and get the seeds out which the recipe called for, so I left them whole. 




I finely chopped (1) red bell pepper and added the Chile Piquins (1/2c) in a small food processor and ground them to a paste. That got added to the sugar (5c) and apple cider(3c) vinegar. EDIT: I also used one pouch of store bought liquid pectin so that it would set up properly.  I omitted that from my first post!

It all gets barely boiled together to produce the most amazing, aromatic, deliciously sweet-hot flavor you have ever had!




I strained the jelly as it went into the jars, so no seeds made it in - with the exception of the last jar where I put all the seeds and pulp and processed it.  It should prove to be the hottest 6oz. of pure hellfire ever and was presented to my friend Steven because he was the inspiration for my jelly making afternoon.

Once its done, and after its been processed in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, when you take the jars out and they sit on the counter... they have a little "PING!" as they seal.  And you know, you just KNOW, later that freshness is going to be ready for you to enjoy.


On a piece of rare red meat... used as a glaze on a roasted chicken... on a piece of roasted pork... paired with creme fraiche on pita chips... DELICIOUS. Have a very cold, very dry vodka martini, settle back... and enjoy it.

15 comments:

  1. How much chili puquins would you recommend for two cups of juice for jelly. A few tablespoons, whole chilis. I would rather not have it excruciatingly hot.

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    1. They are pretty hot and outside my own recipe here I can't imagine. Be careful! They're HOT! Maybe a Tablespoon?

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  4. Replies
    1. I did. In fact I used one pouch of Pectin. This was among my first posts years ago and please forgive me for the omission. Follow the directions on the pouch and it comes out great. I actually use it when I grill meats. I microwave the jelly for a few seconds to get it to a liquid state and brush it on chicken and chops.. its really wonderful. I am making this again this Summer so I will post a new recipe and photos/directions.

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  5. i just love everything you do, it's all just so quirky and makes me smile! so glad you shared :)

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  6. my pequins are no where near this large. I would still use a 1/2 cup of them? That seems like so many.

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    1. I would use the 1/2 C. Small or larger I think a 1/2 Cup is a half cup, right? Enjoy.

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  7. We don't have fresh available. Can dried be used

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    1. I wouldn't. Its just a basic jelly recipe so yu could use another kind of pepper. I did it a few months ago with Habaneros and it was great!

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  8. How many jars does it make, what size

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  9. Best I can remember it made 6 8oz jars.

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  10. Have you made with fresh (green) or only ripe peppers

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    1. I have only made it with Chili Piquins that were on the bush and had turned red. I just never harvested them prior to that. I don't know the taste of the green ones. I have also used Habaneros, Thai Chilis, all kinds of available peppers.

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