Dehydrating peppers

[reed1285]

So i ordered my first ever dehydrator from Amazon a few days ago. I got a pretty decent one, it has a 4.5 star review rating out of over 1000 reviews, its no Excalibur, or anything along those lines, but i figured it would work for what i need.

Feeling motivated to get some hot peppers dried out before a frost comes in, i put what MAY be my last batch of hot peppers in it yesterday morning around 9:30. Im drying habaneros and cayennes. Well the stupid thing has been running for 24hrs now, and the peppers still arent done! They are wrinkled up, but still have a good bit of squishiness to them.

Is that right? Should it be taking over 24hrs to dry a batch of peppers. Will it hurt my brand new dehydrator running that long? I cut a slit in the habaneros, cause they are bigger and i thought that would help the drying process. Getting kind of aggravated, i was expecting 8-10 hrs. NOT 24+ hours. What did i do wrong?

Oh i set the temp at the recommended temp in the manual for drying fruits/vegetables....140 degrees.

[reed1285]

[DaveS]

When I dry whole peppers as you're doing, I just string them up and hang them to dry. When I dry them in my dehydrator I slice them. I've never done whole peppers in it before. Keep us posted! Check your vents and see how they are set. They may not be getting enough air circulation.

 

DaveS

Edited October 11, 2013 by DaveS

[reed1285]

Dave, I dont THINK mine has adjustable vents. Ill look into it. Thanks

[JWC]

When I dry whole peppers as you're doing, I just string them up and hang them to dry. When I dry them in my dehydrator I slice them. I've never done whole peppers in it before. Keep us posted! Check your vents and see how they are set. They may not be getting enough air circulation.

DaveS

When I dry whole peppers I just pull the whole plant up right before frost and hang it by the roots in my garage until they're dried.

24 hrs in a dehydrator seems like a long time. I believe in my dehydrator they'd be dry by now. Edited October 11, 2013 by JWC

[enfield]

I dry half-inch thick slices of sweet potato in my dehydrator in 12-14 hours.  I run it at 165 degrees.  I've never tried peppers, but I have sun-dried them on an old window screen.  Sun-drying worked fine.

[seez52]

I've always wanted one of those.

[maroonandwhite]

I am thinking that is too long but it may be because of the skin. Jerky normally take 6-8 hrs for me but it doesn't have that outer skin on it. I'd just let it go and see what happens. I don't think you'll hurt the dehydrator.

[dralarms]

Thats the same one I have abd I split my peppers and dry them on the 1/2 shell.

[JWC]

I dry half-inch thick slices of sweet potato in my dehydrator in 12-14 hours. I run it at 165 degrees. I've never tried peppers, but I have sun-dried them on an old window screen. Sun-drying worked fine.

What do you do with the sweet tater slices?

[Jonnin]

we cut most things to dry it, and even sliced thin some things (not sure about peppers specifically) take the better part of a day to completely dry, at least 6+ hours (we really go the distance, most of the dried stuff is about 1/10 original size after).    I could easily see it taking much longer if you try to do them whole.  I would strongly advise cutting in half or at least slitting them if you want to speed it up -- just a cut across one side would do wonders I think.

[DaveS]

When I dry whole peppers I just pull the whole plant up right before frost and hang it by the roots in my garage until they're dried.

24 hrs in a dehydrator seems like a long time. I believe in my dehydrator they'd be dry by now.

That works too!

 

DaveS

[tercel89]

I have been in Tennessee my whole life and all I know and have delt with were people and my Gandma hanging peppers from a string that has been ran though the peppers and the hung up on a hook from the ceiling in our house. We always let them dry all out until they were plastic feeling . Then we used them or grinded them . 

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

they will not dry right in the dehydrator because they  have a protective covering..ie skin..string em up and hang them outside ..take them inside when frost is in the forecast..the sun will dry them so much better than the dehydrator...

[JAB]

Some peppers will not dry as well using the 'string and hang' method as others.  They begin molding/mildewing/rotting before they can get dry.  Some peppers do work out very well dried this way, however.  Cayennes - which I believe are the peppers that most of the old folks dried using the string method - work very well using that method.  Habaneros are hit and miss using that method.  I tried it one year when I had a huge crop of habaneros.  Some dried okay but many of them molded, turned black and so on well before they dried so I ended up with a lot of waste.  Those were hanging right next to a string of cayennes that did very well so it wasn't the conditions in which they were drying it was just that habaneros don't work well drying them that way.  I wouldn't recommend that method for habaneros.  I also wouldn't recommend it for jalapenos.  Cayennes dry so easily that, like a poster mentioned above, one year I just pulled up the plants and stashed them in a dry place (didn't even hang them up) and the cayennes on them dried quite well.

 

I actually like to start at least some of my peppers drying on my smoker and then transfer to the dehydrator to finish.  Many dried peppers you might see in a Mexican grocery, etc. are dried to kind of a leathery stage - sort of like a fruit roll-up or something.  I prefer to go to a brittle stage so I can crush/grind them into powder to use as an ingredient for cooking or for adding to spice blends and dry rubs - and the dehydrator works great for that.  My dehydrator is just a cheapo Oster from Walmart, btw.

 

I think Sour Kraut is on the right track about them having a protective covering.  Just feel of the outer skin of a chile pepper - it is generally slick, thick and kind of waxy.  It is my theory that there is a good reason for this.  Think about it - such peppers generally come from hot, dry regions - it would make sense that their skins would help them retain moisture (thereby defeating or at least slowing the dehydrating process.)  There is an easy way to overcome that, however, and speed up the dehydrating process.  Simply split them from top to bottom.  I often leave my connected at the very top and sometimes only split one side.  This allows the moisture to escape more easily and will speed the drying process.  I have noticed that, with some pepper types, it can still take a good amount of time for them to dry but they will dry much faster this way.

Edited October 11, 2013 by JAB

[bersaguy]

I have always just hung up my peppers and had great success with them. Once they are dried out completely we will take a meat mallet , put the peppers in a plastic bag and beat them gently till they are ground up quite well and then bottle them in glass bottles and put them up. I have a 10 tray dehydrator that I use to use to make jerky with but cannot afford the Brisket any more to make it with but will be making a bunch up this fall. Going in a 2 partners with and buying 1800 lb heifer to have processed. Bought the cow last Spring and farmer has been fattening her on only corn silage and pasture grass of alfalfa with clover. Will be making some Jerky this year. We are also getting two hogs to have processed each one about 350 lbs. All being corn fed and no chemicals. Have known the farmer for about 25 years and these guys have been buying from him for last 10 years.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

Not to derail this .. but does anyone have any peter pepper seeds? :whistle:  Will pay for them , of course.. I know I can  buy them off the net but rather pay someone on here to send me some..

[reed1285]

well, to update, i just threw the peppers out. had been running constantly for a day and a half, and the habanero's, for whatever reason, just would not dry out. At the rate I was going it wouldve been 3 days before/if they dried out. IDK what the deal was with them. Maybe habanero's just dont do well in a dehydrator?

 

Anyways, my next plan of action is going to my local butcher and buying a top round or eye of round roast to make some jerky! Cant wait to give that a try.

[Cherokee Slim]

I was thinking about getting a dehydrator to make jerky, but after watching Duck Dynasty this past week I'm nor sure I want to.  It's also possible the meat was bad to begin with.

Keep posting.  I may get one yet.

Cherokee Slim

[enfield]

What do you do with the sweet tater slices?

 

They're doggie treats.

[enfield]

I also make jerky in my dehydrator.  Don't know what trouble the Duck Commander boys had, but mine always comes out good.  I eat it until my teeth hurt.

[Tncobra]

I have a small electric smoker. A few hours at about 220. Out and into a grinder.

[frankmako]

i do apples and beef jerky in my dehydrator.  been doing apples for the past two weeks.  did some pears and they were great.  everybody in the house eat them, did not get to put any up.  

[Jason in TN]

I have lots of supper hot peppers right now tricities area. Dehydrate a bunch and make powders out of them.
I cut them in half save seeds I want and then they hit the dehydrator. Love growing hot peppers and love the heat on all kinds of food.

Jason

[Jason in TN]

To answer your first question cut them in half. Run mine on low heat as low as it will go in the 90s let them run several days never have had a problem. I do mostly supper hots jolokias marugas Carolina reapers but have some habanaros too.

Jason