Chipotle is a ripe red jalapeño that has been smoked and dried, giving a medium-hot chilli with deep woodsmoke flavour, sold whole, ground or canned in adobo sauce.
What it is¶
Chipotle is a jalapeño left to ripen red on the plant, then dried slowly over wood smoke. Drying a thick-walled chilli like the jalapeño in the sun tends to fail (it rots before it dries), so smoking is both a method of preservation and a source of flavour.
Two main types are sold:
- Morita ("little blackberry"): dark red-purple, smaller, softer and fruitier, smoked for a shorter time. Most chipotle sold abroad, including almost all canned chipotle, is morita.
- Meco: tan to grey-brown, leathery and wrinkled like a cigar stub, smoked longer, with deeper smoke. More common within Mexico.
The heat is roughly that of a jalapeño, though smoke and concentration can make it seem hotter.
Origins and history¶
The name comes from the Nahuatl chilpoctli, "smoked chilli". Smoking chillies to preserve them predates the Spanish conquest; the Aztec capital's markets sold smoked chillies. Chipotles were long associated with central and southern Mexico, especially Veracruz and Puebla, where chipotles en adobo (chillies stewed in a sweet-sour tomato, vinegar and spice sauce) were a traditional way of keeping them.
In the 1990s chipotle became fashionable in the United States, appearing on restaurant menus, in mayonnaises and barbecue sauces, and eventually as the name of a restaurant chain. Much of the world's chipotle is now produced in northern Mexico, especially Chihuahua, where the jalapeño crop is large.
Flavour and aroma¶
Smoke is the first and last impression: woody, sweet, sometimes like bacon or barbecue. Underneath is the fruit of a ripe red jalapeño, with tobacco, leather and cocoa notes from drying. Moritas are sweeter and fruitier; mecos drier and smokier. Canned chipotles in adobo add tang, sweetness and a vinegary, spiced sauce.
In the kitchen¶
Chipotle adds smoke and warmth to anything it touches; one or two chillies usually suffice.
- Chipotles en adobo: the most useful form. Chop one or two, with a spoonful of sauce, into beans, stews, chilli con carne, marinades, soups or mayonnaise.
- Salsas: salsa de chile chipotle, with toasted tomatoes, garlic and onion; salsa taquera.
- Tinga: shredded chicken or pork stewed with tomato, onion and chipotle, served on tostadas; a Puebla classic.
- Rubs: ground chipotle with cumin, garlic, sugar and salt for barbecue; see dry rubs and marinades.
- Mexican sauces: soaked whole chipotles go into adobos and some moles.
To use whole dried chipotles, toast them lightly, then simmer or soak in hot water 20–30 minutes until soft; they are tougher than anchos. See rehydrating dried chillies.
💡 A tin goes a long way
Once opened, blend a tin of chipotles in adobo to a smooth paste and keep it in a jar in the fridge for a month, or freeze teaspoonfuls on a tray and bag them up. A teaspoon of paste warms a whole pot of beans.
Buying and storing¶
Whole dried chipotles should be leathery and smell smoky, not musty. Store airtight in a cool, dark place for up to a year. Ground chipotle loses its aroma faster; use within six months. Opened canned chipotles should be decanted into a jar and refrigerated (up to a month) or frozen.
Substitutes¶
- Smoked paprika (hot or bittersweet): smoke and colour; add a pinch of cayenne for heat.
- Ancho powder plus smoked paprika for a milder, sweeter version.
- Pasilla de Oaxaca, a smoked chilli, if you can find it.
- A dash of liquid smoke and chilli flakes in an emergency.
Pairs well with¶
Tomato, lime, garlic, onion, honey, brown sugar, cumin, oregano, chocolate, black beans, pork, chicken, beef, sweet potato and mayonnaise.
Growing your own¶
Chipotle comes from the jalapeño plant; see jalapeno for growing. To make your own, let pods ripen fully red on the plant, then smoke them in a barbecue or smoker at a low temperature (roughly 60–90°C) over fruitwood or oak for many hours, turning occasionally, until leathery and dry. A final spell in a low oven finishes them. It takes patience, but home chipotle is excellent. See growing chillies.