Hottest pepper you've cooked with

[longlegged]

I'm a bit of a pepper head. I love the smell of dried chilis of all kinds, and love the citricy crunch they add to when added fresh to a dish.

The hottest I've cooked with thus far have been habaneros as they are the most freely available at my local markets.

I'm curious if anyone has ever cooked with hotter? How was the flavor? Did the heat overpower any possibility to bring out the flavor?

[stev0]

I feel like scotch bonnets are the most consistently hot peppers that I've cooked with. I totally agree with you about peppers adding a citrusy crunch and beautiful bright colors to boot.

However, I do find that the heat sometimes easily does away with flavor. Scotch bonnets, habaneros, and jalapenos are probably the three hottest ones I cook with. I realize that the jalapeno seems like it doesn't belong there and this anectodal rating doesn't jive with the scoville scale, but I once had a group of friends running madly around the house fighting over faucets and spilling milk all over the place all thanks to some stuffed and grilled jalapenos. Normally I eat them raw, but once in a while you get some that make you regret having handled them without gloves - burns for days. Bird's eye or "thai chili" can be quite spicy as well.

[steve garro]

Try Chilitepin!
A crisp fruity flavour with a nice "leave"
crush them on food, throw a few in soups, add to salsas.
If you are into dried chilis I also suggest Arbol - my main chili for red salsas.
Also Chilipequin, less hot the Chilitepin, but with a smoky Chipotle flavour - Chipotles are smoked, cured Jalapenos........
- Garro.

[steveo]

I've cooked with Habeneros. I've also had a beer brewed with Ghost Chilis, which definitely overpowered the flavor....

[edoz]

Her name was Rachel...

[rydesteel]

Her name was Rachel...

first rule is... never date anyone crazier than you, no matter how much fun it sounds like...you will get burned...or worse.

[RIHans]

Chilis...

Scotch Bonnets. Very hot, hot, hot to much

[Scott]

I love cooking with hot peppers. Reminds me of a habenero/carrot/onion hot sauce I made once. Highly recommended, it is amazing and easy to make.

[WadePatton]

I grew Caribbean Red Habeneros (450k Scoville) last year, but i don't think mine made that much heat. i ate them fresh mostly.

Sometimes i can sneak a little bit of something like that into a chili, BUT then most people won't eat it. I have to make two batches or split the batch when i start adding the gusto.

Hope to have a lot of TX Bird peppers this year. Their heat profile is funny. Big hit up front, but no lasting burn.

[Octave]

Bhut jolokia (aka Ghost-pepper). Ghost bloody-mary. Ghost-pizza. Ghost-chili. Use sparingly, build up a tolerance, and they actually have a lovely flavor. I've got two plants growing in my raised bed at the moment, grown from last year's seeds. Easy to germinate, easy to grow, easy to cook with if you have gloves and follow all of the basic pepper rules (i.e. wash your hands before touching anything; or, basically the same rules as applying embro: don't touch your face, use your other hand to apply chamois cream).

[Brandon White]

Bhut jolokia (aka Ghost-pepper). Ghost bloody-mary. Ghost-pizza. Ghost-chili. Use sparingly, build up a tolerance, and they actually have a lovely flavor. I've got two plants growing in my raised bed at the moment, grown from last year's seeds. Easy to germinate, easy to grow, easy to cook with if you have gloves and follow all of the basic pepper rules (i.e. wash your hands before touching anything; or, basically the same rules as applying embro: don't touch your face, use your other hand to apply chamois cream).

Had a hot sauce recently made with ghost peppers at a permanent food truck in Fort Lauderdale. We talked about peppers for 5 minutes and he offered us all some to take home and cook with (if we cooked) - he said the little bag he bought was enough for a few lifetimes. The sauce was very very tasty too.

[WadePatton]

heat is only one aspect and

just like leg conditioning--when your local peppers aren't hot enough (hills aren't long enough), just lay off for a spell and see if your perceptions don't change.

there's also the matter of _how_ they are prepared-condensing vs. dilution. I posted a bunch of scoville info up here a while back.

tuning the heat to the crowd is the ticket...then have a little kicker* for the "contest mentality" heat seekers.

*paste made of seeds only (nevermind the variety).

also never forget that the pain is tricking the body into an endorphin response - that there is never any _damage_ done by capsaicin. it's a cardiovascular tonic yo.

[airedale]

These guys are a bunch of tools. Every now and then they fire (intended) one another up to eat some hot chilis. The results are pretty funny.....