Abacos peppers question

[SamFamAustin]

Folks have asked about us sending recipes for the forum (which is quite nice) but I wanted to ask about peppers on the Abacos. From what I gather, the bird peppers are the main thing - and the locals use them sometimes in their cooking. So I was going to turn it around and ask about the peppers of the Abacos and how the locals prepare them to eat.

Call me a pepper nut! I go to Hatch chili roastings, grow jalapenos (getting older, Texas A&M "mild"), and even messed with Habaneros and Scotch Bonnets (more pretty then useful). But the hottest pepper I've heard of it the bird pepper, those little tiny red things the birds eat, also called chile petin in Mexico. According to my research, all peppers evolved from this New World plant.

Thanks for any information, as I really do want to learn about the topic.

[patw]

We use bird peppers in everything. Egg Salad, Cheese spread, Chicken Souse, and on and on. My husband smashes them with a spoon and gets rid of most of the skin and mixes it with sour to add to souse, on fish, everything! But he says to tell you that they will, "make your bungie burn!" ;)

[SusieAndAl]

Hi Sam,

This is a true story (I wasn't there, but this was told to me by many locals I trust).

After Floyd devastated the island, there was no electricity and very little food for a long, long time. A lady in Marsh Harbour had a bunch of peppers that somehow survived. She concocted a pepper sauce and bottled them in baby food jars (the only thing available) and gave them to all her neighbors so they could at least spice up a bit of the meager, bland staples that were left. She called it Boongie Sauce. One drop is enough to kill a small village!

It was so popular that when things got back to normal she started selling it. Next time you're down here, buy a bottle, use one drop with sour and enjoy your grilled fish!

Anyway, it became so popular that it is now sold throughout Abaco

[PELLUCID]

Here's the link to the story:
http://go-abacos.com/news/conian/8-15-2/boongie-pepper-sauce.html

Barefoot Man, Leftover Salmon, and others have done the song "Who Put the Pepper in the Vaseline?" Scroll down to the bottom of this page for a brief audio clip from a live performance by Vince Herman:
http://alchemyaudio.net/samples.htm

[CR]

Sam,

We too are pepper freaks - and use pepper in everything.
Bird Peppers are similar to Scotch Bonnets in heat, but have a much better flavor.
Abaco Bird Peppers are not round, they are shapped like a tiny Jalapeno
about 1 inch long - green or red.
Try dehydrating your Scotch Bonnet Peppers in a smoker, then crush / chop them. We then use the crushed pepper in chili, soups, and on steaks.
The smoking gives them a great flavor - but they still HOT!

R.

[SamFamAustin]

Gosh, I had absolutely no idea ... what a great thread!
Thanks so much for making my cloudy, drab day sunny.
Goat peppers - I'm clueless on that one though. Help?
Sam

[Abacoparrott]

As most of you boat owners know, we have to pull our boat about once a year (if you're on the coast) to apply bottom paint. The shrimpers around the Holden beach area of NC have been known to add cayenne pepper to their bottom paint before applying. They swear by it. Keeps the critters off of the bottom of their boat.......now I wonder what would happen if they added crushed bird peppers?.........hmmmm.......Ken

[DaGoose]

Forgive my ignorance but what is sour?

Can't wait to try the bird peppers when we're there in 13 days!

Tina

[AbacoPeach]

They look like oranges but they are called "Sours". They are used in conch salad and such.

[SamFamAustin]

Oh, is that what my mother was sneaking into her rum thangs? I was wondering about those curious fruits. I must say they were quite delish!

[CR]

Good day,

"Sour" is the local term for sour Oranges, when not available we mix Lime juice with regular Orange juice.
This is used on most fish dishes, as well as in Conch salad, and Souse.
Regards,

R.

[Sandalman]

Sam, sorry I caught this thread so late!I have grown jalapeno,chile,cherry,banana,hungerian wax,pepperoncini,cayenne and all colors of habernero peppers with red being the hottest grandaddy of them all!But I have never heard of bird peppers before.I would love to know where I might order seeds from.Can they be dried after picked and save for later?I mostly grow cayenne and habernero now because I can remove the seeds,cut and sun dry them for later winter use.It's easier than the extra step of pickling them.Pat,are they too fleshy to dry easily?I am definitely going to sample some on the next trip to Guana.I love the heat!:eek:

[SamFamAustin]

You know any pepper you can stick one in your pocket and take it home as long as the USDA and Customs folks don't get wise. What I told my mom was to core a few and dry the seeds on an old newspaper, in open air. Then scrunch up the dried page of newsprint and take it on the airplane in the luggage. I had some glorious Thai peppers that way, although some fairly large nematodes seemed to hitch a ride with the seeds.

Anyway, it turns out there are at least three kinds of "bird peppers." There are African, Carribe, Mexican, and native US wild kinds. The wild ones I've seen are only about a quarter inch round. The birds scatter the seeds and sometimes I have some in the backyard, which I delicately mow around. Some of the Carribe ones such as found in the Abacos are about an inch or less, more pointy. All are equally hot, although varying by how much sun and rain they get. And I mean hot-hot-hot, especially the old red ones.

Please take the time to save a few pepper seeds because those hybrids you buy in the store are only good for Texas A&M jalapenos, a nice mild fruit but one that does not reproduce from seed very well because of genetic hybridization. The wild bird peppers go nuts! Start them before the planting season in spring 2007. You can start some now but they seem to not do as well as in the spring. The "newspaper" drying method works fairly well for storing them as long as humidity stays low and they don't rot.

Again, please save the local wild peppers.

Oh, as a postscript, you probably know that pepper plants can cross pollinate very easily. I made the mistake of growing Bonnets next to jalapenos and ended up with smooth Habanero and wrinkle-fruit jalapeno. Too funny. Looked bad, tasted great ... hey I'm still learning too!
/Sam