Making your own chipotles Recipe

How to make it

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• Put smoke chips in a container and cover with water. Mound about one half the briquettes into the charcoal pan and light.
• Wash the chiles and cut a slit lengthwise in each one from just below the shoulder to about a half inch from the tip. Place the chiles in a single layer (slit side up) on a surface that will fit in the smoker and won't let the chiles fall through. When the briquettes are covered with grey ash, spread out into an even layer (if using a BBQ, spread the briquettes to the side leaving a bare spot in the center).
• Place some of the soaked smoke chips on the briquettes. Fill the water pan with 2 to 3 inches of water (if using a BBQ, use an aluminium foil pan that will fit in the bare spot in the center of the BBQ) and put in place over (or in the center of) the briquettes. Put smoker or BBQ rack in place, place the container of chiles on the rack over the pan of water, and cover the smoker or BBQ.
• The idea is to keep a low-heat, smouldering, smoky fire for several hours. Add briquettes, smoke chips, and the optional sprigs of fresh rosemary as needed to keep generating heat and smoke.
• After 6 or 7 hours, the chiles have probably absorbed as much smoke as they're going to. They should be a dark, brick-red colour and somewhat wrinkled but, they won't be totally dehydrated to a point where they would keep at room temperature. Remove them from the smoker and finish drying them in a warm oven or a dehydrator if needed.