Pequin Chiles

Not too long ago, during some discussion on the origins of Chili and the obvious role played by the great state of Texas, I expressed an interest in trying to grow some native Texas chiles. A generous fellow who goes by the name CropDuster graciously offered to send me some pequins that he had grown and dried, and I was happy to accept. He dropped them in the mail, and when I received them I was impressed:



The red peppers in the picture above are dried, fully-mature Pequin chiles; the green ones are at an earlier stage in their maturity, but still ripe. The vials with crushed peppers are a mixture of assorted dried and crushed peppers that CropDuster sent along.

Pequin chiles - which, as far as I can tell, translates to a "Texanized" form of "chiles pequeños " ("little peppers") - are common in south Texas, where they grow wild. They are also cultivated and used privately or sold.

Wikipedia has this information:

quote:

Pequin (or Piquin) pepper (pronunciation: pee/puh-KEEN) is a hot chile pepper cultivar commonly used as a spice. Taxonomically, it is classified within variety glabriusculum of the species Capsicum annuum.
Pequin has a compact habit growing typically 0.3 - 0.6 meters tall, with bright green, ovate leaves and small fruits that rarely exceed 2 cm in length. Like most chiles, fruits start out green, ripening to brilliant red at maturity. Pequin peppers are very hot, often 13-40 times hotter than jalapeños on the Scoville scale (100,000-140,000 units). Flavor is described as citrusy, smoky (if dried with wood smoke), and nutty.

Common uses include pickling, salsas and sauces, soups, and vinegars. The popular Cholula brand hot sauce lists piquin peppers and arbol peppers among its ingredients.

Another Wikipedia article states that pequins are related to the native, wild chile tepin, which is acknowledged as an "ancestor" to most varieties of chiles that have spread across the world:

quote:

Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum is a variety of Capsicum annuum that is native to southern North America and northern South America. Common names include chiltepin, chiltepe, and chile tepin, as well as turkey, bird’s eye, or simply bird peppers, due to their consumption and spread by wild birds. Tepin is derived from a Nahuatl word meaning "flea". This variety is the most likely progenitor of the domesticated C. annuum var. annuum. A cultivar 'Pequin' (also called 'Piquin') has been developed from it.

The same Wikipedia article informed me that pequins and tepins are often confused, but there were some differences:

quote:

If a tepin pepper is dried, it appears quite round even if it was slightly ellipsoidal when fresh.... This stands in contrast to the domesticated 'Pequin' cultivar, which is the same size as the wild tepin, but is oval-shaped....

Armed with this information, I took a look at what I had:



Since the peppers I had were quite oval-shaped, I reasoned (correct me if I am wrong!) that they must be pequins.

Here's a closer shot of the fully-mature, red ones:



And here are the slightly-younger green ones:



I tried one of each, and both were scorching hot - this is no exaggeration! They had a very interesting heat that must be experienced. It came up and really smacked me, then eventually backed off to something that was much more comfortable, even enjoyable, since they had such a wonderful, fruity-nutty flavour beneath the heat that was really unique. True to my experiences with "milder' peppers, the green ones were much different than the red ones, having a bit of something unique to them that I can only describe as "greener."

CropDuster also included a dried/crushed mix of assorted peppers:



I found these also to be pretty spicy, and am looking forward to using them in my Tex-Mex cooking.

My impression of all of these peppers - red, green and assorted - was very positive. I had never really encountered such fragrant chiles that had such a fruity (for lack of a better term) ambience to them. Make no mistake: they are all hot - VERY hot, and I am not much of a chilehead; but in this case, as I said above, I was able to ride the heat, and even enjoy it, because of the other properties of the chiles.

I don't have much luck gardening, especially with chiles, but I am looking forward to trying a few of these next spring; I might even start them indoors over the winter, so they have a head start, and grow them in a large vessel such as a 5-gallon bucket.

Another fine Texan, LaVaca, has offered to collect some for me on his next trip down south, and this will be good, giving me a supply to "play with" where cooking is concerned, and also to share with anyone who might be interested. I did send some to BoilerMaker, since he is a primo chilehead, and also a very good gardener, and we will see if he can get some to grow.

Regarding options for using pequins in cooking, Chili con carne is an obvious first choice, but if anyone has any other ideas on what can be done with them, please let me know. One other thing I was considering was a pequin version of pepper jelly that I had very good luck with a couple-three years ago using jalapeños:

http://foodsoftheworld.activeb...-got14u_topic63.html



With this jelly, using pequins, I would use red food colouring rather than green, or none at all, relying on the natural colours.
I am sure that there are dozens, if not hundreds of uses - salsas, picante sauces etc., as well as opportunities to use them in many dishes as well, and am looking forward to some experimenting. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.



My thanks again to CropDuster for such a generous gift - it is much appreciated, my friend!

A member of another forum called DiggingDogFarm has some information to add:

quote:

I would call most of what you have there, chiltepin, picture #2 I would call a pequin.
Both are just common names, there is no clear fully-agreed-upon official definition of either.
Both are capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum, chiltepins being more primative than the pequins which, it's said, descended from chiltepins.

I grow several, a couple that would do well where you are in the world because they're relatively short season are one I call Baby Pequin (it's a genetic dwarf) and a chiltepin McMahon's Texas Bird (small plant)

Baby Pequin:



McMahon's Texas Bird:

Great report Enjoy them I will put up extra for you next time if you want.

g'morning, CD -

quote:

I will put up extra for you next time if you want.

this would indeed be appreciated - those little devils are truly something special, and there's nothing quite like them up here ~

thanks again!

ron

Chile piquin would also be an acceptable way to call them....

Piquin means pointy, spicy, or something that is sharp

I have numerous bushes here as well.Several years ago an old man I was doing work for had some bushes in his back yard.He ripped a couple out of the ground.He got his back in the30's working on a WPA project + they came back every year.Mine have as well. There is a rumor that they need to pass through birds to actually sprout but I have found that to be not totally correct.

A long long time ago...I had a plant of Piri piri from Africa or the Bird's eye chili...since all peppers come from the Americas...this one is similar...Man they are hard to germinate and my seeds are dead and wont germinate...BUT damned those are hot!

Went down to South Texas but due to the drought, could not find any plants. Hopefully, we will get some rain soon.

quote:

Piri piri

I have some in the best seed started I know and will see....takes 14 days minimum to start them...they are always week...have them under lights as well to keep temp up.

I have a good friend that lives in Laredo and he hasn't found any this year as well. If anyone has a few seeds you could spare, would love to have some more, mine plants did not come up this year. Let me know and thanks.

Oh, Lordy Lordy, I remember my first encounter with those mean little buggers. May have been the gateway pepper, that got me hooked on rrrrrrealy hot stuff. I like using habaneros on occassion, but I,ve still got a healthy respect for those ornery little buggers. At 14-15, my Dad had made some soup, with one of those buggers in it. Had to ask what it was. Looking back, the friendly warning" Don,t eat that, its too hot for you.", may have been all the bait required to have a young smart ass out on the porch deeply regretting a decision to eat that pepper.