# How to store fire roasted peppers?



## JoeV (Nov 29, 2008)

I went to the West Side Market in Cleveland this morning, and found a smashing deal on red bell peppers...3 for $1. WOWZA! I don't have anything planned for them today, but I fire roasted them according to a You-Tube Video I found, but the video said nothing about storing them until I need them in the next week or so. The chef was apparently using them right away for a recipe. I _THINK_ if I just put them in some EVOO and keep them in the fridge they should be fine, but since this is the first time I've done this, I prefer to get the advice of people who have done this before. Right now they are coming to room temp after roasting, so I have a bit of time before it's time to store them. Thanks in advance! Oh,I also thought about putting some fresh garlic in the oil as well. Any problem with that?

JoeV


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## Andy M. (Nov 29, 2008)

Store them in oil for no more than a week to 10 days.  After that, you run the risk of botulism growing and killing people.  

You could just freeze them.


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## pacanis (Nov 29, 2008)

Wasn't there something said here about keeping garlic in oil, too? That the same thing can happen? 

Maybe you should have held off roasting them for a few days.

And "sweet" deal, Joe. I didn't know they sold peppers in thrift shops, too....


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## GotGarlic (Nov 29, 2008)

You can freeze them under a thin layer of oil and they will keep well. I would not add garlic now. You can use garlic-infused oil when you use the peppers in a recipe.


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## sattie (Nov 29, 2008)

Agree with GG... I bought a batch of roasted hatch peppers and I spread them out on a cookie sheet and froze.  Then dumped them all in a container for later use.  

Thawing some out now for a batch of bummus!


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## JoeV (Nov 29, 2008)

Thanks everyone. I'll coat them liberally with EVOO and freeze them individually in freezer bags. If I get back to the market next Saturday, I'll stock up on them at that price (if they still have that price).

Hey Fred, I went to the MARKET, not the Thrift Store.


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## BreezyCooking (Nov 29, 2008)

DON'T store them in oil.  As others here have stated, that ends up with a trip to the emergency room or the morgue.


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## JoeV (Nov 29, 2008)

> GotGarlic... 	 You can freeze them under a thin layer of oil and they will keep well. I would not add garlic now. You can use garlic-infused oil when you use the peppers in a recipe



OK, now I'm thoroughly confused. GG says freeze under a layer of oil and BreezyCooking says it will potentially get me sick. I need Bourbon...lots of Bourbon.

I'm just going to clean them up and find something to put them into tomorrow and be done with it. For $1.99 for a 24 oz bottle in the store, it's not worth the effort trying to do this from scratch. I'm going back to bread where I can eat my mistakes and it ain't gonna kill me.


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## sattie (Nov 29, 2008)

Joe, I did not coat mine with oil, I just froze and containerized them.  I don't know if it is neccessary, but my hatch peppers are just fine.


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## BreezyCooking (Nov 29, 2008)

Sorry Joe - I meant don't store them in oil in the fridge - which is what a lot folks want to do.  Coating them in oil & freezing them should be just fine.  Totally different thing.

Again - sorry.  I should have been more specific.


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## GotGarlic (Nov 29, 2008)

JoeV said:


> OK, now I'm thoroughly confused. GG says freeze under a layer of oil and BreezyCooking says it will potentially get me sick. I need Bourbon...lots of Bourbon.
> 
> I'm just going to clean them up and find something to put them into tomorrow and be done with it. For $1.99 for a 24 oz bottle in the store, it's not worth the effort trying to do this from scratch. I'm going back to bread where I can eat my mistakes and it ain't gonna kill me.



In case you come upon a deal like this again, I just came across a printout from a state extension service I found over the summer when I was trying to figure out how to preserve my abundance of bell and hot peppers. You can remove the stems and seeds, then quarter, slice or dice them however you want, raw. Then lay them out, not touching, on a cookie sheet and freeze like that - no water, oil or anything. When they're frozen, place in a plastic freezer bag or other container and they'll keep like that for several weeks. HTH.


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## JoeV (Nov 29, 2008)

BreezyCooking said:


> Sorry Joe - I meant don't store them in oil in the fridge - which is what a lot folks want to do.  Coating them in oil & freezing them should be just fine.  Totally different thing.
> 
> Again - sorry.  I should have been more specific.



Thanks for the clarification. My head was swimming for few minutes, but it's OK now thanks to Bourbon.

JoeV


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## BreezyCooking (Nov 29, 2008)

Actually, I don't even do that with my hot peppers.  I just rinse, dry, & freeze them whole.

For Bells I seed & either slice &/or chop, & then freeze.  

For either - no oil, no nothing.  I've had peppers come out of the freezer top quality after nearly a year of being in the freezer.


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## GotGarlic (Nov 29, 2008)

BreezyCooking said:


> Actually, I don't even do that with my hot peppers.  I just rinse, dry, & freeze them whole.
> 
> For Bells I seed & either slice &/or chop, & then freeze.
> 
> For either - no oil, no nothing.  I've had peppers come out of the freezer top quality after nearly a year of being in the freezer.



Yep, I wasn't very clear, either   I cut the bells, but freeze the smaller hot peppers whole. 

ETA: Whole and raw.


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## JoeV (Nov 29, 2008)

BreezyCooking said:


> Actually, I don't even do that with my hot peppers.  I just rinse, dry, & freeze them whole.
> 
> For Bells I seed & either slice &/or chop, & then freeze.
> 
> For either - no oil, no nothing.  I've had peppers come out of the freezer top quality after nearly a year of being in the freezer.



You do this AFTER fire roasting?


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## JoeV (Nov 29, 2008)

I try to be a good student in the kitchen, and I documented my steps along the way.

Getting started on the stove...:







Almost done roasting...:






Bagged and bringing down to room temp. This is where I sought advice...:






Peeled the skin off them. Note remnants of Bourbon in glass...: 






Deveined...






Packaged and ready for the freezer. Note that Bourbon is now gone, and I'm a happy guy. 






Thanks for the roller coaster ride. You guys are great!

JoeV


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## BreezyCooking (Nov 29, 2008)

No Joe - I freeze my hot peppers & my bells fresh from the garden.  No roasting.

But you can certainly do the same after roasting.  I mean, all you're doing is removing the skin.


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## pacanis (Nov 29, 2008)

This is an interesting thread. From other posts here long ago, I was under the impression you had to blanch any veggie that is going to be frozen before cooking it.

Does someone have a list of the veggies that need blanched and the ones that don't? Heck, if I only need to seed a bell pepper to freeze it, and can have it coming out fresh and ready for a salad, I'm _definitely_ planting a garden next year.


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## pacanis (Nov 29, 2008)

And Joe, you need to get you a grill, man  ;^)


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## BreezyCooking (Nov 29, 2008)

Pacanis - I don't think anyone here said that frozen peppers come out "fresh & ready for a salad".  They come out soft & ready for cooking.


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## pacanis (Nov 29, 2008)

BreezyCooking said:


> Actually, I don't even do that with my hot peppers. I just rinse, dry, & freeze them whole.
> 
> *For Bells I seed & either slice &/or chop, & then freeze. *
> 
> *For either - no oil, no nothing. I've had peppers come out of the freezer top quality after nearly a year of being in the freezer*.


 
I guess I misunderstood this. I thought by "top quality" you meant top quality.


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## BreezyCooking (Nov 29, 2008)

Um - I DID mean TOP QUALITY.  For a frozen vegetable.  What's your problem?

If you want crisp salad-quality vegetables, then don't freeze them.  Salad-quality fresh vegetables wasn't the question originally asked here.  Geez.


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## PieSusan (Nov 29, 2008)

Fred, this link will lead you to the West Side Market. It is a Cleveland landmark. See The West Side Market: Cleveland's oldest publicly owned market

I like to go best during the spring and summer months.


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## pacanis (Nov 30, 2008)

Breezy, apparently my problem was in questioning something you posted. I should have known better. Why are you always so antagonistic when someone asks you to clarify something you posted???
I will now go back to my original thinking that freezing raw vegetables produces thawed ones that are suitable for cooking, or cooking quality. Certainly not what I thought top quality meant. And as long as we're referring back to the OP, the OP was talking about keeping _roasted_ peppers, you were the one who brought up freezing raw peppers. And that's all I have to say on that.

Thanks for the link Susan.


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## Jeekinz (Nov 30, 2008)




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## BreezyCooking (Nov 30, 2008)

I apologize Pacanis.  I truly thought that you were the one being sarcastic re: my definition of "top quality", which I meant as "top quality for a frozen vegetable", as in no off-taste, freezer burn, or unpleasantly mushy texture.


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## Jeekinz (Nov 30, 2008)

.......anyway, back to the topic:

My jar of roasted peppers are stored in water, salt and citric acid.  A few minutes of Googling and you should find a means to jar them like the commercial ones.  Most likely you'll have to sterilize the container and/or follow canning and preserving instructions.

If you freeze them, layer wax or parchment paper between the panels so you save on those bags.  Also, a large bowl sealed with plastic wrap works great as a vessel to steam off the skins....again, rather than going through all those plastic bags.


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## pacanis (Nov 30, 2008)

BreezyCooking said:


> I apologize Pacanis. I truly thought that you were the one being sarcastic re: my definition of "top quality", which I meant as "top quality for a frozen vegetable", as in no off-taste, freezer burn, or unpleasantly mushy texture.


 
OK, It's cool. I honestly thought I had stumbled upon a way to keep fresh veggies for any and all uses. Top quality for a frozen veggie explains things nicely. I took the original term too literally cuz I just didn't know.

So anyway, back to our original programming


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## JoeV (Nov 30, 2008)

Jeekinz said:


> Also, a large bowl sealed with plastic wrap works great as a vessel to steam off the skins....again, rather than going through all those plastic bags.



Steaming off the skins would not impart the flavor of roasting them, and storing them in air-tight bags to continue the cooking process also allows the flavor to get into the flesh. They have a subtle smokey flavor that is not overwhelming, and are exactly what I expected from them. 

I'm going to include one of the peppers in the potatoes that will go with my Panko crusted walleye dinner.


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## Jeekinz (Nov 30, 2008)

JoeV said:


> Steaming off the skins would not impart the flavor of roasting them, and storing them in air-tight bags to continue the cooking process also allows the flavor to get into the flesh. They have a subtle smokey flavor that is not overwhelming, and are exactly what I expected from them.
> 
> I'm going to include one of the peppers in the potatoes that will go with my Panko crusted walleye dinner.


 
We're saying the same thing.  I'm only telling you that an _alternative_ to using the bags is to use a large bowl covered with plastic wrap.  Six to one, half a dozen the other.  I roast my own bell and chili peppers all the time and use the bowl method to steam/rest the peppers.


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