A hile back was in Produce Junction (sort of a chain, no-frills produce place). Bought a 2-3 lb bag of jalapenos cuz decided to make chili and they were dirt cheap. Well, I don't really enjoy spicy food?!? After mincing 1-2 super fine for a crock-pot full of chili, still had a LOT left over that I knew woud just go bad before I ever used them all. I knew I could freeze, but even that would just take up valuable freezer space and they'd hang around forever.

I have a very inexpensive dehydrator... like $9.99 at Rite Aid of all places. I Cut stems off and split length-wise. Then just let them dehydrate will "crispy". Tossed into food processor and got nice amount of ground jalapenos. Made a nice difference in home-made "lemon pepper" or recipe I found for Emeril's "BAM".

Word of warning! If you grind them up (in food processor or even blender), DO NOT immediately lift off lid! That fine, dry powder wafted all around kitchen and I coughed and sneezed for a LONG time. Lucky I didn't get it in my eyes!

I agree, dehydrate them. Or put one in a bottle of oil and let it "infuse", then use the oil sparingly when you want just a bit of flavor.

I've also soaked them in water and made a spray to keep horses and dogs from removing bandages, it's what's in WrapLast, LOL.

They can also be pickled, and then used on sandwiches, which moderates them a bit.

Annie

Make sure to remove all the seeds and white(ish) pithy stuff before using... that will cut down on the heat significantly.

You can probably use them in homemade hot sauce.

Homemade chili sauce is pretty easy. I made some w/ habaneros - just pierce & destem the peppers, then simmer in some vinegar w/ a bit of salt until soft , then puree in the blender - but be careful of fumes! A little goes a long way & you could freeze excess for future use, but it keeps in the fridge seemingly indefinitely.

Wear gloves when handling hot chiles & don't touch anything else until you take them off = J

In case you're not familiar, here's how to remove disposable gloves safely:

http://www.des.umd.edu/os/ppe/glove/

What variety of pepper?

You can check the hot pepper forum for chili recipes. Also, when handling chilies, I put olive oil on my left hand and try to avoid touching the cut side of the chilies. As soon as I am done, I wash the oil from my left hand (the right hand holds the knife only), and that removes almost all of the chili residue. I find gloves to be too clumsy and have stopped using them, even for Habanero chilies. This year I am growing Chocolate Habanero chilies, which can be twice as hot has regular Habanero chilies, and so I will have to be especially careful with those and will probably only process them outdoors. I also wear a swim mask and snorkel when cutting large quantities of Habaneros.

To make the hot sauce less hot, I add a large quantity of red bell peppers, which I grill over mesquite with the Habaneros and some garlic. I posted my method here a year or so ago, but I have no otherwise written down my recipe, and it has evolved since then. I'm using more flavorful vinegar in the sauce now, for one thing.