# How do you cook with scotch bonnets and how much should I use?



## amazondebs (May 8, 2013)

I'm cooking a friend a thank you meal and he loves spicy Caribbean food.  I'm going to cook pulled pork with spicy coleslaw and Caribbean style  salad. 

I normally cook the pork  for an hour with Jerk seasoning and plenty of water covered with foil  and then in the last ten minutes pour out the water, take the foil off  and put on some BBQ sauce and cook for ten more minutes. He loves scotch  bonnets so I thought I would try and incorporate them into this meal.  Any thoughts or ideas how to cook with them or when should I add them? Should I try and cook  the pork with them or add them at the end? Do they go well with the BBQ sauce  or is there a way to incorporate them into the coleslaw or something?  Thanks in advance. Debs


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## Cheezy (May 8, 2013)

Wear gloves.


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## GotGarlic (May 8, 2013)

Hi, and welcome to DC  

You can cut one in half and include it in the water when you cook it the first time. Depending on how hot you want it, you can remove the seeds and membranes first. Until you have some experience with them, I wouldn't use more than one. They're very hot.


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## jennyema (May 8, 2013)

You cook pulled pork in 1 hour?  
Most recipes take 6 hours or more.

But anyway....

I'd just toss one in the cooking liquid.

I do that all the time when I'm making chili, etc.  Sometimes I use 2 or 3.

Leaving them intact and cooking them helps temper their heat.


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## Addie (May 8, 2013)

Defintely wear gloves and make sure you don't touch your face or eyes. Not even your lips. Even if you are used to hot spicey food. Scotch Bonnets and way up there on the Scovil Scale for heat.


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## jennyema (May 8, 2013)

You don't have to take precautions if you use whole peppers.

You do if you slice into them.


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## buckytom (May 9, 2013)

what jenny said.

btw, i'm impressed jenny; 2 or 3? must be the korean influence. you must eat goju like candy.

but yeah, what do you mean by pulled pork in an hour, deb ?

traditional pulled pork comes from a pork shoulder: either a butt or shank portion,  or whole (both cuts together.) for pulled pork, the butt, or the upper, skinless cut of the front shoulder is preffered.

since it is tough and has a lot of fat and sinewy muscle and connective tissue, it requires a long time to cook to render it soft and juicy.

an hour does not sufffce, even in a pressure cooker in death valley. 

can you explain more about your cut of pork, and your method?


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## medtran49 (May 9, 2013)

If you can get hold of one of Norman Van Aken's cookbooks at a decent price (they tend to be pretty expensive), he uses scotch bonnets and other chiles a lot.  His recipes are usually pretty intensive ingredient and/or time wise, though everything we've ever made out of the one book we have has been great.  Latin and Caribbean food is his forte.


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## acerbicacid (May 11, 2013)

Hi amazondebs, I made a goat curry last week using about ¾ kilo of meat and I just used one chopped scotch bonnet, I don't like my food too spicy hot and this was hot enough for me, though I did put a whole one in the rice and peas.     As jennyema said if they are used whole you just get the flavour really not the heat.


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## jennyema (May 11, 2013)

Flavor is key with fruity peppers like scotch bonnets and Haberneros.

Leaving them whole and taking them out works best for me.


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