Pequin Chiles

Not too long ago, during some discussion on the origins of Chili and the obvious role played by the great state of Texas, I expressed an interest in trying to grow some native Texas chiles. A generous fellow who goes by the name CropDuster graciously offered to send me some pequins that he had grown and dried, and I was happy to accept. He dropped them in the mail, and when I received them I was impressed:

 

Pequin (or Piquin) pepper (pronunciation: pee/puh-KEEN) is a hot chile pepper cultivar commonly used as a spice. Taxonomically, it is classified within variety glabriusculum of the species Capsicum annuum. Pequin has a compact habit growing typically 0.3 - 0.6 meters tall, with bright green, ovate leaves and small fruits that rarely exceed 2 cm in length. Like most chiles, fruits start out green, ripening to brilliant red at maturity. Pequin peppers are very hot, often 13-40 times hotter than jalapeños on the Scoville scale (100,000-140,000 units). Flavor is described as citrusy, smoky (if dried with wood smoke), and nutty. Common uses include pickling, salsas and sauces, soups, and vinegars. The popular Cholula brand hot sauce lists piquin peppers and arbol peppers among its ingredients.

The same Wikipedia article informed me that pequins and tepins are often confused, but there were some differences:

If a tepin pepper is dried, it appears quite round even if it was slightly ellipsoidal when fresh.... This stands in contrast to the domesticated 'Pequin' cultivar, which is the same size as the wild tepin, but is oval-shaped....

Armed with this information, I took a look at what I had:

Since the peppers I had were quite oval-shaped, I reasoned (correct me if I am wrong!) that they must be pequins.

Here's a closer shot of the fully-mature, red ones:

And here are the slightly-younger green ones:

I tried one of each, and both were scorching hot - this is no exaggeration! They had a very interesting heat that must be experienced. It came up and really smacked me, then eventually backed off to something that was much more comfortable, even enjoyable, since they had such a wonderful, fruity-nutty flavour beneath the heat that was really unique. True to my experiences with "milder' peppers, the green ones were much different than the red ones, having a bit of something unique to them that I can only describe as "greener."

CropDuster also included a dried/crushed mix of assorted peppers:

I found these also to be pretty spicy, and am looking forward to using them in my Tex-Mex cooking.

My impression of all of these peppers - red, green and assorted - was very positive. I had never really encountered such fragrant chiles that had such a fruity (for lack of a better term) ambience to them. Make no mistake: they are all hot - VERY hot, and I am not much of a chilehead; but in this case, as I said above, I was able to ride the heat, and even enjoy it, because of the other properties of the chiles.

I don't have much luck gardening, especially with chiles, but I am looking forward to trying a few of these next spring; I might even start them indoors over the winter, so they have a head start, and grow them in a large vessel such as a 5-gallon bucket.

Another fine Texan, LaVaca, has offered to collect some for me on his next trip down south, and this will be good, giving me a supply to "play with" where cooking is concerned, and also to share with anyone who might be interested. I did send some to BoilerMaker, since he is a primo chilehead, and also a very good gardener, and we will see if he can get some to grow.

Regarding options for using pequins in cooking, Chili con carne is an obvious first choice, but if anyone has any other ideas on what can be done with them, please let me know. One other thing I was considering was a pequin version of pepper jelly that I had very good luck with a couple-three years ago using jalapeños:

http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/jalapeno-jelly-inspired-by-got14u_topic63.html

I am sure that there are dozens, if not hundreds of uses - salsas, picante sauces etc., as well as opportunities to use them in many dishes as well, and am looking forward to some experimenting. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

My thanks again to CropDuster for such a generous gift - it is much appreciated, my friend!

 

Fanstastic Thread ... gorgeous photography ... Informative and totally mind  capturing ... Thank you so much for posting.

 

BASILICATA, ITALIAN CHILI PEPPERS: Basilicata in southeastern Italy, is the major chili pepper producer in Italy ... This province with its 13 kilometre coast, is land locked on three sides and totally mountainous, with a pastoral historical culture of milk fed baby lamb and charcuterie. It is also a large olive oil producer, and stunning vegetables are still hand picked.

 

PIMIENTOS PADRÓN CHILI PEPPERS: These green small jalapeño looking Galician, Iberian Peppers, are served as Tapas, throughout Spain and its islands. They are from a small town called Padrón  close to  La Coruña. They resemble a jalapeño physically, however, they are sautéed in Olive Oil and sprinkled with Sea Salt ... They are not used as a condiment or spice in Galicia, Spain.

 

PIQUILLOS VASCOS: The Piquillo Red Pepper, though sweet and lacking a piquant heat, the Basques prize their gorgeous sweet red peppers, and serve them stuffed with tuna in olive oil, fresh or salt cod and even stuff them with Basque raised Beef and Veal. ANOTHER Basque Red Pepper, is the BASQUE RED CHILI PEPPER, which is grown both on the Spanish side of Spain and in The French Basque Country and these, are a red chili pepper, and they are sun dried, possessing a piquant heat and are used as red pepper flakes in many Basque Tapas and dishes.

 

I shall seed if I can obtain some seeds when I return to Madrid on 3rd September.

 

Have a lovely August.

Margi.