Recipe Junction

Our Favorite Recipes'

Smoky-flavored chipotles are showing up everywhere

What a life the jalapeño has. It's put on a routine of smoking, lying out in the sun and getting sauced. And, after the reverse spa treatment, it turns into one of the trendiest items on the food scene – the chipotle chili.

These wrinkly, crinkly pods result when jalapeños are ripened to a deep red on the plant and then smoke-dried using a process that dates at least as far back as the Aztecs. The pods are sold dried or canned in vinegary adobo sauce.

Now they are showing up in tortillas and wraps, soups and salad dressings, salsas and barbecue sauces, mustards and marinades, bisques and chowders, salmon burgers, meatballs, beers, cheeses and even stuffed olives called “Olives in Pain.”

The single best word to describe the chipotle's unique flavor is smoky. But fans also laud its rich, dusky, slightly chocolaty, dried fruity, brown sugary taste.

Oh, yes, “hot” is another apt adjective. The chipotle (pronounced chih-POHT-lay) registers somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 Scoville Units, which puts it at about a 7 on the heat scale (where a fresh jalapeño registers a 5 and a habanero a blistering 10).

Grilled skirt steak slathered with chipotle honey glaze is quintessential summer barbecue fare.

Chipotle does for shrimp what Oscar de la Renta does for society ladies: dresses them up in style.

Mashed potatoes are like a blank canvas. Create a work of art with chipotles, cream, butter and a balsamic-glazed pork porterhouse on the side.

Blackberry Chipotle & BBQ Sauce: A delicious glaze for roasted pork tenderloin and grilled sweet-onion halves.

Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce: The best of the best for topping grilled chicken breasts.

Roasted Mango Chipotle Sauce: The ultimate fish taco: grilled mahi mahi, cilantro sprigs and a big gob of this fruity potion in a couple of warm corn tortillas.

Maple Chipotle Grille Sauce: Dump a bottle in a pressure cooker with a pork shoulder for some of the best pulled-pork sandwiches ever.

Chipotle Crazzberry Fiesta Chipotle Sauce: What more can a turkey sandwich or wrap.

How to use Chipotles

Whole: Remove the stem and discard; chop or grind the chile. Store the chiles in a zip-lock bag in a cool, dry place.

Canned: Rinse the chipotles if you don't want the tomato-vinegar taste of the adobo sauce. Chop, dice or puree the chilis. Store them in a resealable bag in the freezer.

Prior | Submit your recipe | Next

Add to Your Social Bookmarks: Del.icio.us Digg Furl Reddit Simpy Spurl Y! MyWeb - StumbleUpon