Peppers · Dried Jalapeño
Chipotle
Smoky and chocolaty with a tobacco-like sweetness, in America's Test Kitchen's description.
5,000 to 10,000 SHU, per Fiery Foods (Stines). Log scale against the hottest chile in this guide.
A chipotle is a jalapeño that has been smoked until dry and stiff. It carries the jalapeño's heat with a deep, woody smoke. Many reach the pot canned in adobo sauce.
The Chile Pepper Institute defines the chipotle simply as a smoke-dried red jalapeño. Dave DeWitt estimates that about a fifth of Mexico's jalapeño crop goes to make chipotles. Mike Stines, writing for Fiery Foods, says it takes about ten pounds of fresh jalapeños to make one pound of chipotles, and that pecan is the traditional wood.
Stines describes two main kinds. Chile ahumado, also called típico, has a strong smoke and is considered the classic. Mora, or morita, is a smoked red jalapeño or serrano that stays pliable. The Chile Pepper Institute notes that the tomato-based adobo sauce in the familiar cans is how chipotles are packed.
Whole dried chipotles need a soak in hot water before they will blend. Canned ones can be chopped straight into a pot.
Sources
- Chile Terminology (Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University)
- Making Chipotles at Home (Mike Stines, Fiery Foods & Barbecue Central)
- Pepper Profile: Jalapeño (Dave DeWitt, Fiery Foods & Barbecue Central)
- Glossary of Chile Pepper Terms (Fiery Foods & Barbecue Central)
- All About Common Dried Chiles (America's Test Kitchen)