You Must Peel Dried Chili Peppers
Each pantry needs several varieties of dried chili. If you have a decent supply, you need a little more than adding them to some hot water in a blender to make a rich, flavorful sauce in an instant. The only downside is the skin, which never breaks down no matter how long you soak it, which means you have to squeeze it out. Or you?
To my complete delight, I recently learned that the entire straining process is unnecessary. You can simply peel soaked dried chili peppers like fresh, charred, or roasted. It’s not as easy as peeling fresh peppers – the rehydrated skin is slippery and brittle, making it difficult to remove in one nice bite, but it really isn’t that bad. Simply scrape off the softened flesh with a spoon or gently peel off the skin with your fingers. (I find sliding your finger underneath the skin helps loosen it over a wider area, which speeds up the process significantly.) It takes some effort, but you’ll be rewarded with a bunch of perfectly softened skinless chili peppers ready to season. according to any recipe.
There are several benefits to cleaning the chili instead of pureeing and straining. Both methods obviously serve the same purpose: keeping the fibrous skins from sauces and salsas out of the way so they are smooth and silky. Peeling simply removes it from the previous equation, eliminating the need to push the thick, fibrous paste through the filter, which is both annoying and quite wasteful. Of course, you may not be able to completely separate every last chunk of pepper flesh from the rind, but how much good is left in a hammered sieve? Even if the yield is pretty close, which seems likely, I would rather wash my hands than a strainer.
This trick works best for larger, softer dried chili like ancho, guajillo, chipotle, cascabel, and black chili. Just remember that even relatively mild varieties can retain heat, so if you’re especially sensitive to spices (or stain your fingertips), wear a pair of kitchen or nitrile gloves for protection. And whether you’re wearing a glove or not, don’t try to peel tiny super-hot chili peppers – the result isn’t worth the effort. Better to strain those skins, or save the edgy guys for recipes that will benefit from a little extra texture.