I have a recipe that calls for 4 dry red peppers to be bagged during cooking & taken out when finished. Instead of using those, how much ground red pepper should I use?
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1What are you cooking? What are the peppers supposed to be bagged in?– GdDNov 21, 2016 at 21:47
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2Anyway “red pepper” is hardly well-specified – those come in quite a spectrum of different spiciness grades, regardless of whole vs ground.– leftaroundaboutNov 21, 2016 at 23:07
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1This will be different in flavour too....– rackandbonemanNov 22, 2016 at 10:39
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1 Answer
I'm not sure if this works for cooking, but I use this method for oil or vinegar infusions: Get empty tea bags at the local tea or kitchen supply outlet. If the peppers are cayennes, put 1/2 teaspoon of ground cayenne per pepper into the bag(s), tie off securely, and use in your dish. Fish the bag(s) out at the appropriate time. Yes, grinding a pepper produces more than 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, but ground pepper has much more surface area than whole peppers, so you need to scale your ground pepper back to account for that. If the peppers are hotter than cayennes (habaneros, ghosts or reapers), cut back the powdered amount more. If they are mild, such as bell peppers or sweet pimentos, use 3/4 to 1 tsp of powder per pepper.
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An interesting idea. Does any of the powder escape the bag? I could see using a tea infuser ball for crushed pepper (which wouldn't work for powders), but I've never tried the bags. I know I see bits of tea in my cup when using tea bags.– JoeFeb 18, 2017 at 11:55
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You need to use finely textured, high-quality tea bags. (To be honest, I didn't realize they made a type that allows tea to escape into the liquid.) Also, to prevent the top from coming open during cooking, use a thin but durable, slightly rough twine, such as the type used to bind poultry for roasting, so the knot cannot slip.– ShalrynFeb 19, 2017 at 18:26
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I was talking about pre-bagged teas, which can contain rather fine bits of tea. (the few times I've used loose tea, it was in a tea ball ... which has even larger holes).– JoeFeb 19, 2017 at 18:38