Grilled Jalapenos!!!

These little devils are a delightful addition to your Summer menus and will add heat and depth to many dishes. The combination of grilling and steaming allows heat from the seeds to transfer over to the pepper meat while also imparting a subtle smoky flavor. I don't generally cook with so much fire but I couldn't resist the dramatic affect of a blazing grill loaded with chicken, sausage and hot peppers. Besides, my arm hair will grow back eventually. The high heat for the peppers is essential to charring the skin but not cooking the jalapeno flesh too much, otherwise your end result will be a bit mushy.

 So just pre-heat your grill to maximum and toss the peppers directly onto the hot surface. Turn frequently since you don't actually want to burn the peppers. Once they are uniformly blistered they can be transferred to a small bowl and covered tightly with plastic wrap for 40-60 minutes. This step will steam the blistered skin away from the pepper flesh and allow for easy cleaning. Once the peppers have enjoyed their little steam room for the allotted period of time they can be cleaned under running water to remove the skin, seeds, stem and membrane. At this stage they are ready to use, just strain and chop or if you are feeling crafty you cant make a small incision to remove the seeds and stuff them for a bangin' little appy.
These peppers will keep for up to a week in a covered container in your fridge but they generally don't last that long since they are so delicous. Use them as your secret weapon in your Summer cook-outs. We will be featuring them in our next blog post including the items being charred on the grill above.