make your own … Chili Powder

 

I like my chili with some heat. In reading a lot of chili powder labels at the grocery store, I noticed that most contain the following: paprika, cumin, cayenne, oregano, salt and garlic and/or onion powders. Though paprika is legitimately a chile, I don’t think of it as a chili powder chile. Is that a legit statement? Who knows but for me, paprika is in paprikash, Spanish tapas dishes and sprinkled on top of twice baked potatoes. I don’t know that I want it making up the bulk of my go-to chili powder. Where are the actual chilies? I’ve always been fascinated by the bags in Hispanic grocery stores – the ancho, the pasilla, the guajillo chilies. Why aren’t those in most chili powders? They’re rather inexpensive so I can’t imagine it’s a cost issue. The only thing I can come up with is that paprika is rather mild so it appeals to a larger audience. Also, with only one chile, it makes for easy production. It also makes it boring, with no complex layering of flavors. Why make it interesting when you don’t have to? BAH.

Not long ago I worked on a large “Day of the Dead” photoshoot with a centerpiece “feast table”, heaped with food. It was gorgeous. I bought a lot of chilies, both fresh and dried, to fill out the table and add some visual interest. It looked fantastic but when it was over, I had a lot of food leftover including a large amount of dried chilies. Oh what to do, what to do. My thoughts turned to chili powder. That could be interesting. How hard could it be? So I did a little research.

First up, I needed to learn more about the endless varieties of dried chilies and what might be good in a homemade chili powder. Turns out, there’s a lot of information available. Oh internet. I put together a list (see below) with some key characteristics of each. This is by no means a comprehensive list, rather a compendium of those chile varieties that are easily available and the ones I like best. Are there others? Of course! Try them as it’s the only way to figure out what you might like.

Its important to understand how chile heat varies and is measured, which is by a scientific measuring system called the Scoville Unit system. I’ve noted the Scoville units for each chile below but notice that the scale varies widely for each one. This is due variances in nature. Chilies are grown, not factory manufactured, so their heat will vary by season, by location, even by individual chile on the same plant. The listings below are a sort of general guideline, which is why it’s always important to taste your finished product.

Dried Chile Varieties:

• Pasilla – 250-4,000 Scoville units. Known as the “little raisin”, pasillas have a nice fruity flavor with a little bit of heat. Great with foods that are compatible with fruity flavors particularly duck and lamb.
• Ancho – 1,000-2,000 Scoville units. Along with pasilla and guajillo, anchos make up the “holy trinity” of chilies in many mole sauces. A flavorful though not overly hot chile, it’s a good for a base for most chili powders. Anchos are simply dried poblano peppers.
• Cascabel – 1,000-3,000 Scoville units. Well rounded and complex with a good punch of heat.
• Guajillo – 2,500-5,000 Scoville units. A classic chile that’s not overly hot but very flavorful with berry overtones.
• Chipotle/Morita/Mora – 2,500-8,000 Scoville units. Simply a ripe, smoked dried jalapeno. Can be rather fiery but adds a lovely smoky, earthy flavor. You may see another variety of jalapeno called the Morita or Mora, which are cheaper and more readily available than the traditional chipotles though the flavor and signature heat is fairly similar.
• Puya/Pulla – 5,000-8,000 Scoville units. Similar to guajillo but slightly hotter. Nice fruity flavor.
• Chilies de Arbol – 15,000-30,000 Scoville units. Similar in flavor to cayenne but a bit brighter. Medium to fiery heat. This is the ground chile you often see sprinkled on fruit in Mexico. A favorite chef friend of mine grinds these in house, for the chile flakes in his Italian restaurant. I now do too as they beat purchased chile flakes by a mile. Lightly toast in a 375°F oven then discard stems and save the seeds in a separate bowl. Grind the flesh into rough flakes and mix back with the reserved seeds. Voila.

Other flavorings/seasonings:

• Cumin seeds – a must that adds a warm toasty flavor to the mix. I prefer to toast whole seeds and grind fresh for a better flavor rather than use pre-ground, which loses flavor over time.
• Coriander – the dried seeds of a cilantro plant, coriander adds herbal notes reminiscent of lemon, sage, and caraway.
• Oregano – a common addition in chili powders that add a grassy note with hints of sweet, spicy and bitter flavors. Many prefer Mexican oregano, which is a bit milder than the traditional Italian oregano we typically find in stores.
• Garlic powder – though you can certainly add fresh chopped garlic to your recipe, a little garlic powder adds flavor and depth as is a bit easier if it’s blended in from the start. Note garlic powder and garlic salt are very I greatly prefer the powder to salt so I can control the salt levels separately.
• Onion powder – like garlic powder, onion powder adds a nice depth of flavor though I tend to skip it in favor of fresh onions in my recipes. See note above regarding onion powder versus onion salt.
• Cinnamon – an interesting addition that adds a warm backnote but take care – too much and the baking spice flavor overwhelms. Cinnamon is a common ingredient in Cincinnati style chile as well as some traditional mole sauces.
• Paprika – adds a smoky, slightly musty backnote as well as a vibrant color. While I don’t consider it part of the chile mix, it can be considered a flavoring element.
• Salt – salt adds flavor, no question though I prefer to control the amount of salt in a recipe by adding it later, rather than directly in the chili powder. If you’re going to add salt, add kosher or even sea salt rather than idionized.
• Black pepper – always a nice addition, pepper adds a warm punch.
• Other additions: some people like to mix in coffee, cocoa or other additions to add subtle variations to their chili powders. The only thing I can say, is play around and see what you like. Then own it.

So you’ve got an idea of the mix of chilies you might like. Now what? Now you toast those chilies, add some flavorings and grind everything up to a fine powder. It’s a very odd combination of something incredibly easy and something kind of pain in the butt. Could you just go to a spice merchant, like The Spice House, and buy ground chilies and mix them together? Of course! But if, like me, you have a penchant for buying things that catch your eye (hello giant bags of dried chilies!) or have a stockpile that needs to be used, try this. I have a basic technique for building the base below, some chile combination suggestions and my favorite chili powder recipe as well as one from Alton Brown because, well, he’s Alton Brown.

STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: LIGHT MY FIRE. C’mon. You’re making CHILI POWDER. The first question is probably … why? I’ll tell you why. Grocery store chili powders taste like dust. They’re terrible. Start messing around with your blend and you’ll be hooked, adding this or tweaking that. Your wintertime bowl of chili will never be the same, and that’s a really good thing. I made a pot of chili last weekend and was bowled over by how flavorful and delicious it was. Warm, full flavored with a touch of heat and a beautiful brick red color, it was wonderful. So do this, and just in time for Super Bowl too. While we’re on the topic, are these things called chile or chili? I never know.

My favorite chili recipe
Seven years ago: Khachpuri
Six years ago: Simple Jam Tart, Waffled Aloo Parantha
Five years ago: Rosemary Shortbread
Four years ago: Homemade Potstickers for Chinese New Year
Three years ago: Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Spicy Peanut Brittle
Two years ago: Cassoulet Sunday
Last year: Flourless Chocolate Cookies

Basic Chili Powder Technique:

• Stem and seed all chilies – I’d recommend wearing rubber gloves for this part. Discard stems and seeds.
• Tear or cut the chile flesh into smaller 1” pieces.
• Place all of the chilies pieces (and any seeds like cumin, coriander, etc.) in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
• Toast, moving the pan around constantly and stirring, flipping the pieces as needed, until you begin to smell the toasting, approximately 4-5 minutes.
• Set aside and cool completely.
• Once cool, place the toasted chilies and seeds into a spice grinder or high-powered blender along with any ground spices (oregano, garlic powder, etc.) If using a spice grinder (which I prefer), you’ll have to do this in batches.
• Process until a fine powder is formed.
• Wait a minute (to literally allow the dust to settle) then remove the lid and pour into a storage jar. Store at room temperature up to 6 months.

Base Recipe: Though chilies vary greatly in size, in general, a ¼ ounce whole chili (before stemming and seeding) will yield approximately 1 ½ Tablespoons ground powder. A simple but good basic chili powder could be made by blending toasted ancho chilies with cumin and oregano.

Mild Chile Powder Mix:
Ancho, pasilla, guajillo

Hot Chile Powder Mix:
Ancho, chipotle, cascabel

My Favorite Chili Powder Mix:
Makes about a scant ¾ cup
3 cascabel chilies, stemmed, seeded and torn in 1″ pieces
3 pasilla chilies, stemmed, seeded and torn in 1″ pieces
3 ancho chilies, stemmed, seeded and torn in 1″ pieces
3 pulla chilies, stemmed, seeded and torn in 1″ pieces
3 guajillo chilies, stemmed, seeded and torn in 1″ pieces
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 Tablespoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Alton Brown’s Chili Powder Mix:
makes ¾ cup
3 ancho chilies, stemmed, seeded and torn in 1″ pieces
3 pasilla chilies, stemmed, seeded and torn in 1″ pieces
3 cascabel chilies, stemmed, seeded and torn in 1″ pieces
2 chipotle chilies, stemmed, seeded and torn in 1″ pieces
2 Tablespoons whole cumin seeds
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

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