What Was He Thinking?

Yesterday, my son went to the local farmers market and came home with 18 yellow-orange habañero peppers and said "So, Dad, what should we do with them. They're ten times hotter than jalapeños". I am clueless here. Any suggestions?

Jerk marinade!

(Have jerk on the brain right now... just grabbed lunch from the Jamaican Dutchy food cart on 51st & 7th Ave, the jerk chicken was very, very good. NYC street food can be amazing )

You can cut the down to something akin to a jalapeno if you carefully remove all the seeds and veins. You are left with a pepper with a great citrus note and much less heat that you can use in anything calling for a hot pepper. I highly recommend gloves or some way to protect your hands when seeding and deveining.

Chili- if you like it hot.

Many Ethiopian or Yemeni lamb, kid or mutton based stews will do well with these peppers as they are even hotter than the local Berbere spice mixture. Indeed, however, use gloves, ideally disposable ones and take great care not to accidentally touch a gloved finger to your eyes.

Best
Rogov

A great use for habaneros that takes advantage of their citrusy character is to use them in a fruit-based salsa cruda. The fruits that I like best with them are mango and/or peach. The salsa is made by dicing the fruit, chopping a red or sweet yellow onion, finely mincing the habaneros and combining them all with lime juice and chopped cilantro. You can adjust proportions to taste and heat tolerance, but I'll generally use a whole Mexican mango with 2 habaneros and 1/2 of a large onion. This salsa is great as a topping for fish but also makes an interesting change for chips and salsa.

Have fun!
Mark Lipton

p.s. They freeze well, too, since the texture isn't central to most of their uses.

Thanks everyone. I'll keep you updated on what we do.

but I'll generally use a whole Mexican mango with 2 habaneros and 1/2 of a large onion.
Have fun!
Mark Lipton

Can we substitute an Indiana mango for the Mexican mango?

I'd dry them for later use in so many things. You could make a corn relish, salsas, or put into stews scrambled eggs, etc. This way you could use as little or as much as you want.

I like to add a dried half of a habanero to the rice pot. it adds flavor, and can be fished out when the rice is done.

Many Ethiopian or Yemeni lamb, kid or mutton based stews will do well with these peppers as they are even hotter than the local Berbere spice mixture. Indeed, however, use gloves, ideally disposable ones and take great care not to accidentally touch a gloved finger to your eyes.

Best
Rogov

or go to the bathroom before a long hands wash

Many Ethiopian or Yemeni lamb, kid or mutton based stews will do well with these peppers as they are even hotter than the local Berbere spice mixture. Indeed, however, use gloves, ideally disposable ones and take great care not to accidentally touch a gloved finger to your eyes.

Best
Rogov

In addition to gloves and goggles, you should be careful to not inhale the fumes of the pepper when cleaning/cutting unless you are fond of pepper spray. Don't lean over the pepper as you remove the seeds and cut out the ribs. I can tell you that chopping a jalapeno throws enough irritants into the air to cause coughing and tears....a habanero could be much worse. Of course, if you need your sinuses cleared.....

Jamaican jerk marinade would be my suggestion, too. Or a habanero/mango/mustard hot sauce such as Inner Beauty Hot Sauce (you can google the Internet for the recipe).

DEFINITELY use disposable rubber gloves when handling these chiles. And even if using gloves, wash your hands thoroughly in lots of soap and hot water. And don't unconsciously rub your face or especially your eyes.

If you are cooking or roasting them, beware of the fumes. An entire shopping mall was evacuated because a cook at a Thai restaurant was roasting bird chiles, the pan got out of control, and he left it outside to air out. Unfortunately he left the pan under the main ventilation intake for the shopping mall. And bird chiles are only 1/2 as potent as habaneros.

-Paul W.