How to work with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce?

In my last post, I raved about my new favourite ingredient: chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  For those who aren’t familiar with this ingredient, this post will give you an idea what is it all about (or what to expect when you decided to get one). 😉

I bought the chipotle peppers from Harris Farm Markets (Orange, NSW).  It comes in can form (sorry for stating the obvious, see above) and it contains several jalapeños soaked in adobo sauce. These jalapeños have already been dried via the smoking process which resulted in the dark, and unique smoky flavour which is usually found in Mexican cuisines.  Based on the ingredient list, the adobo sauce is a tomato based sauce with paprika and other seasonings which also has a hint of smokiness to it.

{I used Goya brand Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce}

Whilst they aren’t tougue-numbing-blow-your-head-off spicy, they still need to be handle with care and it is important not to get carried away with the amount. I am not “brave” enough to handle chilli directly, regardless whether they are the spicy kind or not.  So for me, same rule applies to how I handle chipotle peppers. I would use a pair of chopsticks (or fork and spoon) as my “handler” to avoid direct contact.  This is especially important for those who wear contact lenses!

It’s a well known fact that the seeds will add more spiciness to a dish. If your tolerance towards chillies is low, then I’d suggest you scrape out the seeds.

Finely chop the chillies before adding to your cooking. Ideally until paste-like.

So how much is too much?

It depends on how much you cook really.  To give you an idea, based on the ingredients on my recent post on kale and bean chili recipe, you can taste the heat with 2 chipotle chillies (borderline tougue burning for those who have low tolerance with chilli). If you just want purely for flavouring minus the heat, I think half a chipotle chilli is a good start. Work your way up towards the end of cooking if you think can handle more spiciness, like adding salt.

What to do with the remaining chipotle peppers?

As I use it fairly often, and I’m now on to my second can, I keep the leftover in a Pyrex glass container and store it in the fridge.  If your usage is less frequent than mine, this site  provides a very good tip on how you can store it in the freezer using an ice cube tray. A genius idea, I must say!

If you have any questions in relation to this, feel free to post in the comment box below. 🙂  If you like some inspirations on what you can make with chipotle peppers, do check out the following posts:-

• Kale & Bean Chili
• Open-Faced Cheese Melt with Smoked Chicken, Kale & Adobo Sauce Mayo
• Vegetarian Nachos

 

This is not a sponsored post.