Tom - I received with thanks your powders today. You were very generous. Can't wait to try them.

Rick - you're a brave soul

I want to second how generous Tom is. "Two fluid ounces" looked more like three to me, and there were surprises.

>> Rick - you're a brave soul

Actually, "BS" (Before Scotch) I was afraid to open the little tubs without gloves and goggles and maybe a face mask. Sniffing the paper bags used for packing was a delight, but I backed away lest invisible things with claws should rip my eyes out.

"AS" (After Scotch), I was all like: "Yeah, how bad c'n it be, Tom sez there's no tissue damage ..."

I'd say that a few tiny dust-like grains are no problem. Enough to see easily without glasses ... work your way up to that!

Just when I thought I really liked hot peppers... I am a total wimp!!

Me, too ... before yesterday!

Now that I think about it, it wasn't Scotch, it was Irish Whiskey. John Jameson! They may call it "Dutch Courage", but I'm tellin' ya, ain't no whiskey like Irish whiskey.

My sister brought a college friend friend home for Christmas one year. We're Irish Catholic, perhaps with some emphasis on the "Irish". That Christmas break happened to include two Sundays plus Christmas mass, plus we went to church one other time for Confession. We also had heavy-drinkin' parties with every family extended family member in three states.

Barb's college friend said that she never prayed so much, or drank so much, in her life.

The Irish do know how to live (and drink).

My first thought for hot-pepper "cuisine" was to try again to make pertsovka (pepper vodka).

http://midwesternexposure.word...
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Oh, boy! Now I have an excuse for adding garlic! And ginger! And a way to use that fresh Primo pepper!!

Thank God I have both omeprazole and Zantac. Funny, this spell-checker saw "omeprazole" and thought I meant "flameproof"! And it also thought "Zantac" was "antacid" mis-spelled! Those can't be coincidences.

As I sit here, I can smell Tom's Bhut Jolokia powder, and that persovka I made 10-20 or years ago, with a little cinnamon liquor added to take some of the curse off. Time to go home and experiment.

Well, I'm proud of you Rick and I gave you a thumb up AND an acorn just for facing your fears and trying the powder plain. Instead of being afraid to try them in food, you now know how much, or how little you need to use to make any dish scorching hot, or just pleasantly spicy. You start talking to people about hot food and you will find out how many people really love this stuff, and you will also meet people who crave the most heat they can have and people who just like a little. The powder losses what I call the searing affect so it is easier to work with. If you want to learn about the searing affect, just try a small piece of the top part of that fresh Primo. If you try an 1/8 inch square piece, it won't be near enough to make your insides all upset, but you will get a small idea of what it is like to eat just a slice of one. Eating a whole one is something even I am not willing to do. Actually you just found out, but if you use it in vodka you will find that alcohol is a good organic solvent. The vodka will be hot, but instead of the heat lingering in the mouth and throat, the alcohol helps to wash down a lot of the heat, but it does feel real warm going down.
And of course, I know it is hard for me to remember when I get fresh pepper oil in my eye by accident, it isn't damaging any tissue. I'ts always a comforting thought
I would almost bet money that you may remember this day that you tried just a little. If you stick with the bhut, you will try a little more on some food, and then you might start using it more often. Then you find that you can use a little more on the right dish, and then 5 years later, you end up being like me. I personally don't really love the scorpions for taste, you mentioned a bit in your email along the same lines. Red Brain Strains and Primos taste better to me, but that may come later. The scorpions are twice the scovilles of the bhuts, but primos are 30% hotter than the scorpions. Mmmm Play with your bhut powder on some different things and if you start getting used to it let me know, and I'll send you up a small packet of the primo for free, like you got with the smoked bhut powder I sent you. You got try to some of that in some BBQ baked beans! Soon Franklin gets to tell us what he tried it on. I sent him regular and smoked bhut powder samples. Enjoy all. Tom

Tonight I will grill some salmon and I will add the smoked bhut powder to it. Should I add it before I cook it or after??

Rick, lucky for you that the powder "loses its searing effect" !!

>>We also had heavy-drinkin' parties with every extended family member in three states.
I think you're ready to live in the Michigan UP !

Although I've made my own vanilla extract with vodka, I've never thought to try making hot-pepper vodka... WHAT is the matter with me??

Frank, that's a good question; I would assume you would add it before cooking (I bet that powder would make one heck of a
blackening spice! -- in which case you would use it for a rub before cooking).

herbie43 said:Tonight I will grill some salmon and I will add the smoked bhut powder to it. Should I add it before I cook it or after??

Either way works fine. Unless your going to take the time to marinate the meat with powder included, it won't make a big difference. Weed whacker has a good idea though. Have fun, Tom

can't wait until dinner time

I just couldn't wait until dinner time so I took the smoked bhut packet and shook it up real good until all the powder went to one end. I carefully opened it up and stuck my pinkie into the top half and since I didn't see any red on it I stuck into my mouth. I felt the heat immediately and I can just imagine what heat there would be if I had actually seen any color on my finger. How the heck am I supposed to put the powder on the fish and how much do I put on. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

LOL, Frank -- that's why I think you would be best off to mix up a blend to apply as a rub!

This is the recipe I use for blackening spice:

1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon paprika

(as you can see, you can make whatever amount you want -- 1 of everything except 1/2 of salt). And with the Bhut powder, I'm pretty sure I would use considerably less than the cayenne called for here... Once you have the mixture made you just rub it on the fish (or chicken or whatever), then grill or pan fry.

Thank you. I was thinking of adding a bit of the powder to a tsp of oil and then rubbing it into the fish. What does blackening spice do anyway??

Mainly, makes the food spicy! And it also gives the outside a dark color, especially if you sear it off in a pan or on the grill at a fairly high temp.

As Rick mentioned, a few grains is all it takes just trying out my itself. I like WW's recipe for a rub. Just remember the math. Cayenne is 30,000 SHUs and Bhut Jolokia is 1,000,000 which means it is about 33 times hotter. That puts it at about 1/10 of 1 teaspoon to match the heat in that recipe. Blackened salmon is a big deal and if you like that kind of thing, it will be good. It would be killer on swordfish. Either way, the smoked bhut would be good in this application. Tom

WOW, WOW, WOW. That's all I can say. I used less than a pinch and I still felt it. Thank you again Tom.

WW - I copied tour blackening rub and I will give it a try. Thanks

Go kind of light with the rub on the fish, Frank - if you like it a lot you can always make it heavier the next time! And, as a side note, I usually only use about 2 teaspoons (2/3 of a tablespoon) instead of a full tablespoon of cayenne, when mixing up the seasonings.

LOL, your package of Bhut powder might last quite a while at that rate...

I'm going to substitute he Bhut for the cayenne but I will not use anywhere near what the recipe or your above post calls for. I won't have the fish until tomorrow night. I can use the rub on chicken can't I?? Making grill chicken thighs tomorrow

herbie43 said:I'm going to substitute he Bhut for the cayenne but I will not use anywhere near what the recipe or your above post calls for. I won't have the fish until tomorrow night. I can use the rub on chicken can't I?? Making grill chicken thighs tomorrow

Frank, you can absolutely use it on chicken, which is my main use for it! and if the bhut is 33 times hotter than cayenne... or, rounded down to 30 time hotter, that would be what? 1/16 of a teaspoon? That is a very small amount!!

This makes me remember why, once I had grown the habanero plants and harvested a gazillion peppers, I still had a gazillion minus 1 left after using them in everything I could think of...

can I put the rub on and put in fridge overnight??