Homemade Chili Powder
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 5 mins
Shelf Life: 6 months
A few months ago, I bought a few bags of dried Chilis from my local Mexican Grocery store. I was making a batch of Chili Oil (you can check the recipe below). Unfortunately they don’t sell small bags of dried chilis..so I had to settle for about a gallon sized bag. After making my oil I had about 80% of the chilies left over. I put them in a zip-lock freezer bag and stashed them in the freezer. Every time I open the freezer I see that big bag of peppers just sitting there, daring me to do something. From time to time, I take one or two out and add to soups, sometimes I will add one to the pan when I roast a chicken….I really make an effort to put these damn things to use, but I kept looking for a true recipe to help me get some of these peppers off my hands.
Enter my new favorite thing…..Homemade Chili Powder. This is not ….repeat..not just dried crushed red pepper like you would get at a pizza place. This is a spice blend similar to what you buy in your local store…for tacos…and chili……(but with a ton more flavor and lots of personality).
Of all the recipes that we have done in the past, I would say that this is one of the top 5 easiest to master. It just asks you to heat a few things up for a minute, blend them into a powder, and go on with your day. That ‘s it.
Before we begin, I am using two kinds of peppers here, you can mix different dried peppers, and that is ok, but be careful. Peppers have drastically different flavors and heat levels. Some peppers are smoky (Chipotle and Guajillo), some are mild and almost fruity (like Ancho, Mulato, and Pasilla). Some are mild and semi-hot (Anaheim, California, or Colorado). I would suggest sticking with two kinds of peppers that are similar in taste (like ancho and arbol are similar…that is a good mix…cascabel chilis are in this family too). If you are in doubt….taste them and make the call. It is not the end of the world if someone tells you it is too spicy……too bad for them. Anyway, here is how we do this… (this makes enough for 2-3 small “shaker” jars of powder, just half the recipe or break it into thirds for a smaller batch):
- 20 dried chilis (one kind or a mixture)
- 6 tablespoons of whole cumin seeds (you can get these at wallmart…….)
- 8 tablespoons of garlic powder (not garlic salt)
- 3 tablespoons of oregano
- 2 ½ teaspoons of smoked paprika
Rinse chilies under cold water and dry with a towel (they need to be dry…real dry). Use scissors and cut the stem, cut a line down the pepper, and remove the seeds. I find that the seeds can be bitter in some peppers so I feel it is best to just scrape them out. (Pro-tip here….if you scrape the seeds out with your fingers….don’t touch your eyes…or go to the bathroom without washing your hands…and wash them thoroughly…..you will only make this mistake once…….once…..) Next, take your scissors and cut each pepper in half inch pieces. Warm a non-stick sauté pan (or cast iron) over medium heat until hot. Put all the chilies and the cumin seeds into the pan and toast the peppers and seeds. Don’t walk away here, you want to keep the pan moving, keep stirring, don’t let the peppers get scorched…they will get super bitter. Those cumin seeds can burn too…keep the pan moving and shaking! You want to smell the peppers and cumin toasting, it should take about 3-4 mins (maybe 5) depending on how hot the pan is.
When we are toasted, set the pan aside and let it cool (make sure the residual heat will not burn your peppers!! Make sure it is cool before you let it sit). And now the easy part, dump everything into a blender (don’t forget to put the top on) and blend\pulse until you get a nice powder. When you are happy with the consistency of the powder, let the lid sit on the blender for a minute or so before you take it off…trust me on this…you don’t want all that chili dust choking you out of your kitchen. Sometimes I use a mortar and pestel here to get a more consistent mixture…my current blender kind of sucks….so just keep that option in mind…
Put your powder into little shaker bottles\jars, get your artistic side going with a few labels, and store for up to 6 months. Ok……that is it. I use this Chili Powder for all of my BBQ rubs, in marinades, soups, on grilled or roasted veggies, salsas, tacos, salad dressings, I mean…I forgot to mention…in CHILI…we could go on all day here.
I hope you had a great time making this, hopefully there is enough to give to your friends\family…..And if you want to amaze your friends and family, here are a few facts…..this homemade chili powder will rev up your metabolism….burn fat….build your immune system…heal infections….help with injuries…..and is also an antioxidant….so put that in your pipe and smoke it (but don’t smoke this chili powder….)
Thanks for reading
~C