Morita Chipotle Chile Peppers (Dried)

The name “chipotle” originates from the Aztec word for them, “chilpoctli,” which is simply: “smoked chile.”  The process to preserve them was created by Mezoamerican peoples long before the Aztec. Columbus definitely came across smoky dried peppers, because today’s Spanish paprika, and other paprikas of Europe, originated in the Native American drying process. Today, they are still largely a staple of Mexican cooking, although migration, and chefs popularized them in TexMex, New Mexican, and Californian/New American cuisines.

In Central, and Southern, Mexico, fully ripened red jalapeños are cold-smoked in large pits, atop racks constructed of wood, traditionally, or metal, commercially. The fire is in a nearby pit, traditionally, or smoke box, commercially. A connecting tunnel, or tube, vents the smoke from the firebox into the base of the chile racks, bathing the ripened red jalapeõs in smoke, and gently drying them out.