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chilli. You can marinade with this drizzle but don’t cook the pork on a high heat and keep it away from the flame until the very end for a light char. Burnt cayenne chilli just ain’t the same!
AJI
There are over 70 varieties of Aji chilli but there is one stand-out pepper in this family for us and that’s the Aji Lemon. When in season (Aug-Nov), you may be able to buy this chilli fresh from some suppliers and, when out of season, dried & powdered versions should be available. As its name suggests, this chilli has a massive citrus punch. It genuinely tastes like semi-sweet lemon but it also carries a fiery punch. For us, it’s a marriage for chicken. We love it finely chopped andmixed with butter, fresh thyme, lemon zest and black pepper. Don’t melt the butter, just cream it together and then stuff it under the skin of your favourite cut. We’re no expert on smoking woods but for us, we would want something light so not to override the simple yet lively, zesty flavours that have melted through the meat.
JAMAICAN RED
Related to the ubiquitous Scotch Bonnet, this pepper is a touch milder, sweeter and less perfumed. It’s brilliant with jerk seasoning and our ‘go to’ chilli when being creative with Caribbean cookery. Allspice, nutmeg, salt, lots of black pepper, cinnamon, thyme….all great spices to work with your jerk seasoning and Jamaican Red chilli. If you ever cook a pot of something on your BBQ (stew, beans etc) then consider using this chilli like a bay leaf – pop it in whole and take it out before serving. Your dish will be infused with the great flavour of this pepper without making you reach for the milk every other bite!
Habanero
This chilli doesn’t muck about when it comes to heat. It’s a hot pepper with a slight stone fruit and citrus edge. Some major supermarkets stock these peppers now so getting your hands on a few may not be too difficult, especially when in season. Due to the stone fruit flavours, we like to use this pepper with other stone fruits such as apricots. This then leads us to think about lamb, a strong, fatty meat that loves fruit. Our favourite way is to use this chilli with apricot in a stuffing for rolled lamb shoulder or butterfly leg. Mix the habanero with finely diced apricot, pine nuts, lime juice, bread crumbs, garlic, sauté onion, seasoning, fresh parsley and a splash of water for a stunning, fiery & tasty centrepiece to lamb. Feeling naughty? Add some crumbled black pudding in to the stuffing too!
There are hundreds of varieties of chillies and we could write all day about each one but that’s more for a book than a magazine article! However, we are always happy to answer questions on chillies and you can easily contact us through our website www.cliftonchilliclub.com where we also have more information about our favourite fruit and massive obsession!