What To Do With Cayenne Peppers After Picking Them

Cayenne peppers are a very popular pepper that is easy to grow in your backyard vegetable garden. The question is what to do with the cayenne peppers after picking them? 

Cayenne chili peppers have a variety of uses including seasonings, salsas, and even as a pain reliever. I have grown cayenne peppers for many years and love using the beautiful red pepper in many of my cooking recipes. 

Let’s go over different things you can do with this wonderful pepper once you have picked it.

1. Make Homemade Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1. You want to make sure the cayenne peppers are a bright red before you pick them for drying.
2. First, wash any dirt off the peppers with hot water using a colander bowl over the sink.
3. Put on a pair of rubber gloves so the pepper oils don’t get on your skin.
4. Cut the top of the stems off the peppers and place them in a dehydrator. I recommend using the Nesco Snack Master Dehydrator which can be found on Amazon here.
5. Let the peppers dehydrate for 24 to 48 hours.
6. Use a food processor to grind up the cayenne pepper into small pepper flakes. I recommend the Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Duo Plus found here on Amazon.
7. If you prefer a fine Cayenne powder to use as a seasoning in cooking you can use a coffee grinder. The Mr. Coffee Electric Coffee Grinder works well for this also found here on Amazon.
8. You then put the pepper flakes or pepper powder in some spice tins. I personally use these magnetic tins which work well that I purchased here on Amazon.

2. Make Your Own Homemade Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce

You can make your own cayenne pepper sauce and store in the refrigerator for long term use. Generally, the sauce can last up to a year or so.

A great pepper sauce recipe to use is the following one from Harvest Eating found here.

3. Use The Fresh Cayenne Peppers In A Stir-Fry or Chili

Wash and chop the peppers and add them to a stir-fry with your choice of vegetables and meat if you so choose. This will give the stir-fry a great spicy taste.

I also like to give my chili an extra kick by chopping up the cayenne peppers and throwing them in a crock pot.

4. Create A Condiment With The Cayenne Peppers 

1. Fill a clean jar with 25 to 30 washed fresh Cayenne peppers that have the stems cut off.
2. Add one cup of white vinegar, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
3. Mix the ingredients on a stainless steel saucepan and cook the mixture on medium heat until it begins to boil.
4. Place the peppers in a jar and pour a hot vinegar mixture over them.
5. Don’t fill to the very top. Make sure and leave a space of about 1 inch from the top of the jar. Remove all air bubbles by tilting the jar slightly.
6. Place the lid on the jar and tighten the ring. Allow the jar to cool and seal.
7. If the seal works the lid will not pop back and you can store the jar for up to a year in the pantry.
8.  If the lid pops then the seal did not work properly. You will need to put the jar in the refrigerator and use it over the next few months.
9. The peppers will need to sit in the vinegar for a few weeks. Then you can use it for a condiment on all types of green vegetables such as cabbage, turnips, and collard greens.

5. Use Cayenne Peppers for an Energy Boost

You can mix a teaspoon of cayenne powder in a cup of water as an energy-boosting coffee alternative.

You can put the pepper powder into empty capsules and take them with meals. They are thought to boost metabolism and have other health benefits listed here.

Can You Freeze Cayenne Peppers?

You can freeze cayenne peppers by placing them in a freezer bag and removing as much air as possible. Follow these steps below for the process.

1. Wash the peppers and make sure they are completely dried.
2. Remove the stems and slice the peppers or leave them whole if you wish.
3. Put the peppers in a freezer bag and remove excess air. 
4. Put the peppers in the freezer and take out as needed.

How Do You Dry Out Cayenne Peppers?

When drying the peppers in an oven spread them over a cookie sheet lined baking pan. Set the temperature to 125 degrees and bake for several hours checking the peppers every thirty minutes or so.

Rotate the peppers once per hour to keep them from burning and remove any that have dried faster than the others.

You can also use a dehydrator which is what I personally use and is much easier to work with.

How Do You Store Cayenne Peppers?

After you have washed peppers you can dehydrate them. Once they have dried out store them in zip lock bags until you are ready to turn them into a powder or red pepper flakes.

How Do You Know When Cayenne Peppers Are Ready To Pick?

You want to harvest your cayenne peppers when they are a bright red and the flesh is firm. If they have become soft then rot may have started to occur.

You can also harvest peppers that are green, but they taste much better dried when they are a bright red color.

Will Cayenne Peppers Ripen After Picking?

If you pick unripe cayenne peppers when they are green the cayenne peppers will not continue to ripen. This is the opposite of green tomatoes which continue the ripening process due to ethylene gas.

The ethylene gas has no such effect on chili peppers.

Conclusion

Cayenne peppers are some of my most favorite peppers to grow in my vegetable garden. They have great taste and just the right amount of heat. They are great fresh or dried and can be frozen.

I love using the cayenne pepper power in all sorts of recipes and dishes when cooking in the kitchen.