# Reconstituting Ancho Chilies?



## Mylegsbig (Feb 27, 2006)

Im gonna put some of these dried chilies in my Chili today.

Some places i saw said reconstiute them in hot water, then scrape out the pulp with a spoon and discard skin

some places said reconstitute them and just put them in a blender and puree

which should i do?  some said that the skins are bitter that is why you discard.

also how long and what method is best to reconstitute them in hot water?


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## corazon (Feb 27, 2006)

These are ancho chile pods?
If so, what my husband does is chops them up, seeds & all, boils them a little while in chicken broth and blends it all up until it's smooth.


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## jennyema (Feb 27, 2006)

I have done it both ways. I usually just throw the whole thing (no stem) into the food processor with a bit of the soaking water. Once in a while the skin stays tough even after soaking, so that's when i scrape the insides out and discard skin. I haven't noticed the skin being bitter.

Rinse the pepper off. Poke a hole or 2 in it and put in a bowl. Cover with very hot water. 15 min usually does the trick. Turn it around some in the water as it soaks.

Bobby Flay and Rick Baylesss toast theirs in a cast iron skillet before they reconstute. This gives a nice flavor.


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## Andy M. (Feb 27, 2006)

Soak them in hot water for 30 minutes.  Remove the skin if you prefer.  That way, you get little bits of tough pepper skin.  The pulp is what you want for flavor. 

You can puree if you like a smoother consistency or chop it up if you want a little more texture.


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## Mylegsbig (Feb 27, 2006)

thanks guys.


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## Mylegsbig (Feb 27, 2006)

question would it be better to use Fresh ancho chilies?


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## Andy M. (Feb 27, 2006)

Mylegsbig said:
			
		

> question would it be better to use Fresh ancho chilies?


 
MLB:

Anchos are dried poblanos. So there is no fresh option. Check out the link below for more info on dried chiles.


http://www.foodsubs.com/Chiledry.html


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