Pickled Chipotle Peppers
1 pounds ripe, red jalapeños (~50 of them)
1 cups red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
2 bay leaves
olive oil
Smoking the peppers
1. Prepare a bbq grill for smoking. Once smoking is prepared, lightly coat the jalapenos in olive oil and slow smoke them for about 30-40 minutes. Turn them periodically.
2. Peeling/seeding. WERE LATEX GLOVES! The capsaicin will seep into your fingers otherwise and you'll have burning fingers for hours. Peel all the peppers and remove the stems. Remove the seeds and slice them into strips. Do this all over a large plate and try to save as much pepper juice/oil as you can. This should all go into the jars and has a lot of flavor.
3. Pour vinegar and honey into a saucepan, add the garlic, peppercorns, herbs, bay leaves, and salt. Bring to a light boil. Add the peppers and stir around, letting the pickling mixture saturate the peppers. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Ladel the peppers and pickle solution to sterilized jars, leaving 3/4 inch head space. Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil into each jar, which will float on top of the syrup in a thin film. Wipe the rims clean with a paper towel moistened with vinegar. Seal.
5. Process in a hot-water bath of 180-185 degrees for 30 minutes.
