Burning Question

June 3, 2019 5:29 PM

What do I do with a bunch of Carolina reapers?

My MiL and I both like really spicy food and that makes us unique in our respective families. So we've bonded over hot sauces and chilies on pizza and all that good fun. Right?

Well, for reasons I can't begin to fathom she gave me a box full of Carolina Reapers. Reapers! I tried one and yes, they are what they claim to be and I lost an afternoon.

What do I do with these things? I can't ethically trick people into eating them and none of my friends have the time or the inclination to take a college kid dare. Sauces are nice, but most of the recipes I'm finding would have me making a gallon if not more with the few peppers I have.

Please hope me.

posted by East14thTaco to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

Best answer: Make them into reaper-infused salt?
posted by CrystalDave at 5:42 PM on June 3, 2019 [4 favorites]

whatever you do with them, wear gloves at all times while handling them oh my god

I know there is only so much sauce one can consume, but you can vary the bases, perhaps? One with mango, one with pineapple, one fermented, one with a strong vinegar base, one with lots of fruity gentle peppers to offset the Reaper, and so on? They keep for ages, and you could try them in a variety of applications, that way. And you could dry a few peppers and grind them into a spice rub.

I've had the Cherry Bomb Chicken from this oh-no-what-do-I-do-with-these-peppers list, and it's good. The infused vodka from that list was not real great, though: do not recommend.
posted by halation at 5:44 PM on June 3, 2019 [5 favorites]

Throw them away.
posted by the Real Dan at 5:56 PM on June 3, 2019 [8 favorites]

If you're on Facebook you can offer to give them away to a local friend. You can freeze a few to use as needed in the future. You can throw the rest away.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:48 PM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Your house will become a toxic zone if you do this, but... have you considered de-seeding, drying, and pulverizing them into a sprinkle? I have done this and the work is considerable (and I am not kidding about the fumes in the house), but the result was excellent, just a few small jars instead of a bunch of Reapers.

OR you could take the seeds out of the peppers, dry them, and put them in packets to grow next summer, if you or your friends like to garden.

But honestly? I have grown Reapers from seed, made sauce, made a sprinkle...and have come to a place where I can toss most of them because they are Too Damned Dangerous for everyday use. Use part of a single pepper to infuse honey, give the jar to your MiL, and toss the rest in good conscience.
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:13 PM on June 3, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Carolina Reaper Jelly (sub Reapers for the specified chili as someone in the comments posts)

Roasted Reaper Salsa (freezes beautifully)
posted by erst at 8:03 PM on June 3, 2019

Make some basic hot sauce (more recipes abound online, but I do recommend adding another ingredient to mellow out the reapers) and give her a bottle or two. She'll appreciate the gesture, and you'll have versatile hot sauce on hand that's a little easier to deal with than full-on peppers.
posted by rhiannonstone at 8:14 PM on June 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

Fermented hot sauce. Cut the heat with plenty of onion, garlic, red capsicum, strawberries, whatever.
posted by turbid dahlia at 8:21 PM on June 3, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: So I put Carolina Reaper flakes on every savory thing I eat (have a jar at work too), so I vote to make some infused vodka, infused honey, and anything else that sounds appealing. That method means you aren't overly handling them, or creating toxic fumes at home, or things like that. Just pop them into something and leave them alone, and then you'll be able to titrate the spiciness at a later date when you combine them with other things.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 6:16 AM on June 4, 2019 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks guys! I'll probably make some honey and vodka and maybe some flakes if I can get the dog out of the house for a few days.
posted by East14thTaco at 8:34 AM on June 4, 2019