Monday, August 6, 2007

Fire-roasting Peppers – Beauty is way more than skin deep!

Today’s clip is a very basic kitchen technique on roasting and dicing a bell pepper. While you may have seen it done on TV before, I want to make sure you understand that you should be doing much more than simple burning off the skin. Every time I see this demonstrated, the chef simple blackens the pepper and removes the skin, either by rinsing or scraping. The problem, as I’ll explain in the video recipe, is that the skin blackens fairly quickly, while the pepper is still uncooked. I believe that you not only want to remove the skin, but you also want to roast the pepper over the fire to soften the texture and sweeten the flesh. Also, the little trick I show you at the end on how to get “diamonds” instead of the boring old squares is a nice technique to add to your rapidly expanding repertoire.

Now a special message for all my fans that have electric stoves…I’m Sorry. You can’t do this on an electric burner. You can sort of do it under the electric broiler, but it’s not as easy. You’ll just have to go outside and fire up the old grill. If you’re just doing one or two, you could use your Crème Brulee torch. Or, the next time your visiting your friend with the gas range you can bring along a bag of peppers. I’m sure they won’t mind at all. Finally, if you get my Bobby Flay joke in the middle of this video, then you watch way too much FoodTV. Enjoy!


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

thanks, i love your explainations. and, yes I got the bobby flay joke!he uses Chipotle in EVERYTHING! But, i like him anyway.

Chef John said...

actually,as much as I hate to admit it, i dont mind him that much. He is talented, with the ego to match. But, Chefs and large egos are nothing new. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Man...I think I have an electric stove!!! :( I got the joke too, and i agree with the other viewer he ALWAYS put that stuff in there! That would be really funny if he was on Iron Chef, and they didn't have Chipotle peppers. Has anyone seen the original Iron Chef episodes? They are wayyyyyy
better!

Chef John said...

yes, you cant beat the original "chairman" ...no one bits a pepper like that dude!

Chef John said...

oops, i meant "bites" sorry Chairman

childsdish said...

A little Red Hot Chili Peppers for background ? And, isn't a small paper sack a better choice - for lots of (eco and healthy) reasons?

Chef John said...

Thats funny I was thinking of using some Chili Peppers in the background, but alas, my budget doesnt include expenditures for Royalty payments to Flea and the boys.

As far as a paper bag instead, paper is too porous, and while the skin would still come off, the pepper wouldnt steam and continue to "roast" as it would in the air tight ziplock bag.

With all due respect, as far as health and eco concerns, there are plenty of blogs that cover these debates, this is not one of them.

I'm a ziplock bag junkie, and will continue to use them liberally. Sorry Earth. BTW, no further paper vs. plastic debate comments will be posted here. They will just get in the way of all the tastier foodie comments. Thanks!

Matthew G. said...

Ha ha, did you use the music from the YouTube channel ChefTips?

Unknown said...

Chef John;
Didn't you have a sandwich with these fire-roasted peppers with goat cheese, caponata and arugula? I can't seem to find it...