Making your own chili oil is super easy and mind-blowingly delicious! So you can make a fiery hot oil from chilies and here's what you need to watch out for.
One chili plant is too few. To be on the safe side, 4-5 plants. And then you stand there in the fall. Each plant has developed magnificently. But what do you do now with all the chili peppers?
To preserve them, you can either use them dry and as a powder, or even better, make your own chili oil.
Chili oil is increasingly finding its way into our kitchens. From Italy, France to Greece and Asia, the spicy oil has long been very popular.
It can give dishes a slight or a rather blatant spiciness. In many countries, the spicy oil is on the table as a matter of course, just like salt and pepper here.
Table of contents
- Why should I make chili oil myself?
- What do I need to consider with homemade chili oil?
- Can fresh chilies mold in the oil?
- How to pickle fresh chili peppers in oil
- How long must infuse chili oil?
- Make classic chili oil yourself
- Quick chili oil make yourself
- How you can refine homemade chili oil
- What types of chilies are best for homemade oil?
- How long does homemade chili oil keep?
- With what dishes goes DIY chili oil?
Why should I make chili oil myself?
The homemade chili oil is a great gift for friends, family and acquaintances. Bottled in small bottles you have a cost-effective Bring along for celebrations of all kinds. Nicely packaged with a little bow and a "Homemade" tag, you have the perfect gift for anyone who likes it spicy.
If, like me, you were very motivated and planted not just one chili plant, but 5, then making your own chili oil is also worth it. Even if I would eat spicy every day, I could never consume as many hot pods as grow back in the same course.
The spicy oil is quite wonderful suitable for cooking. Even a small sip of it is enough to add the necessary spice to stews, pasta sauces and soups. And if you like it very spicy, you can also put it over your salad.
The Production itself is very simply. You don't need anything other than chilies, oil and a bottle to fill. You pay a lot of money for hot oils in the supermarket, if you can buy really hot ones at all. Most supermarket chili oils are too mild for my taste.
The Ingredients are very favorable. You don't even have to buy the bottles - I collect small to medium sized bottles throughout the year for oils of all kinds.
In short, there is a lot to be said for making chili oil yourself.
Tip:
If you love to preserve vegetables, fruits and more, then I recommend the book. the preserving bible at Amazon* to view. You'll find 325 recipes and tricks for preserving, pickling and fermenting.
I have myself the preserving bible at Amazon* and have been using them since last year. I've already made lots of recipes with it, such as pickled gherkins, tomato sauce and baked apple spread. And this hot chili oil is also a tip from the preserving bible.
Better than bought: Make chili salt yourself
What do I need to consider with homemade chili oil?
Very roughly, you can distinguish two varieties of chili oil. The fast and the simple chili oils. Both can be bottled, artfully decorated and thus enhanced.
With the simple chili oil, the pods are usually only pickled in oil. However, this does not make it less tasty!
If it has to go fast, the oil is heated.
Important: Whichever method you choose, be sure to have well-sealed bottles or a jar available for filling! And work with gloves.
Which oil is best for this?
The taste of the chili oil is also determined by the carrier oil. It is the carrier of the spiciness and serves as a transmitter. Which oil is the best for making chili oil yourself? Basically, olive oil is used most often. If that has too much flavor of its own, you can also use sunflower oil or canola oil. Peanut oil is also used time and again.
Chilies combined with peanut oil go down really well, especially with Asian dishes. I like to use chili with canola oil for frying in the pan. The hot peppers in olive oil go on the pizza and pickled in sunflower oil they land on the salad.
Always look for good quality and make sure it is an extra cold pressed oil. My favorites are sunflower oil and olive oil. If you have mega many chili peppers at hand, you can also experiment a bit.
You see: I really love the fiery oil 😁
The only problem with the oil: it becomes rancid after time. Depending on storage, this happens after a few weeks. If you want to have something of the spicy taste longer, you can make from the fresh pods to make a chili paste.
Or you dry the chili peppers and put on a new oil again in the winter. This way you are fully flexible.
Never again tension with the DIY Chili Ointment!
Wear gloves
If you have a lot of fresh chili peppers in the garden or on the balcony, you can make your own chili oil from them. However, you really have to be careful with fresh pods.
It is best to wear gloves for processing! Otherwise the skin on the fingers and under the nails will burn. This can be very painful.
Depending on the variety, it may be necessary to put on gloves already during harvesting.
Very important: Make sure that you do not get any of it in your eyes. The knife and the cutting board are best cleaned in the dishwasher after making your own chili oil.
Wash your fingers and hands thoroughly despite wearing gloves. Use a soap for this. The spiciness of the pods sticks to everything you touch.
Good to know: Soap alone is not sufficient for very hot chili peppers to free the fingers from the spiciness. The capsaicinoids (hot substances of the chili) dissolved only with alcohol or fat. Therefore, use rather a cheap oil or a cheap liquor. Rub your hands with it a few times and then wash them with soap. To be on the safe side, keep your hands away from your face.
Can fresh chilies mold in the oil?
Yes, fresh chili peppers like to start to mold. The reason for this are spores and bacteria, on the surface of the chilies. Especially the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum causes fresh chilies to mold in the oil. For the mold to thrive, it does not need oxygen, so it can multiply rapidly in the oil.
What can be done about it?
It helps to keep the chilies whole wash thoroughly. Preferably with hot water. After that, you need to pat them dry with a clean cloth. However, there is no 100% guarantee that the pods will not start to ferment or mold anyway. If you want to be on the safe side dries the chilies first and then puts them in. From 50 degrees Celsius the germs and bacteria are killed.
How to pickle fresh chili peppers in oil
Anyone who has ever made their own chili oil knows that the pods can start to "ferment" whole in the bottle. There are two solutions for this:
1. make holes in the pods
You can counteract this by cutting the pods open. Or at least pierce the pods a few times with a knife.
This allows the oil to penetrate the pod as well. It is thereby preserved.
2. soak chili peppers in salt
Still, there can be bacteria on the chili peppers that quickly make the oil go bad. Here, too, there is a trick. One cores and quarters the chilies. Then cover them with salt for at least 24 hours.
Then rinse well and the "bubbling" in the oil is history.
Or you can just chop the peppers into small pieces. This also looks nice and you can be sure that the chili peppers will not go bad.
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How long must infuse chili oil?
If you want to make a simple chili oil yourself and use warm oil for it, you only need 10 minutes.
After preparation, the chili oil must rest a little to develop its full spiciness. For this, 15 minutes are usually enough.
A little more patience is required for cold extraction. When working with cold oil, it takes 2 to 3 weeks for the chili pepper to release its heat to the oil.
Make classic chili oil yourself
Ingredients
- 15 (Dried) Habanero chili peppers
- 1 l Olive oil Alternative: sunflower oil
Equipment
- Bottle with screw cap
- Funnel
Anleitung
For dried chilies
- With dry chilies, I'm sure you won't have a problem with mold. I now make the oil only with dried pods.
- Put the dried chili peppers in the bottle. If you like, you can chop them up or grind them in a food processor - be careful not to inhale chili dust after opening the machine.15 (Dried) Habanero Chili Peppers
- Fill up with olive oil. This works quite well with a funnel.1 l olive oil
- Your homemade chili oil is ready. Shake the bottle carefully and now off with it in the cellar or refrigerator.
- Shake again after 3 days.
- After 2-3 weeks, the chili oil itself is completed. Who wants can drain the pods so that the oil does not become even hotter.
For fresh chili peppers
- Attention: The risk of mold is high with fresh chilies! After you have washed the pods, you need to pat them dry. Make holes in the pods with a fork. Put them in a bottle.
- Take as many chilies as you like. Usually you take as many until the bottom is covered with 3 to 6 cm of chilies. But remember: the more the hotter!
- Now add the olive oil at room temperature on top.
- The pods now float on the surface. Therefore, it is important that the bottle is covered with oil to the top. Otherwise, the chilies will begin to mold.
- The pods in your homemade chili oil will now slowly sink to the bottom of the bottle. Again, it takes 2-3 weeks for the oil to reach its full level of spiciness.
An absolute classic in Asian cuisine is Szechuan chili oil. You can also make it yourself very easily. Yamyamfoods reveals how in this YouTube video:
Quick chili oil make yourself
For those who need a very quick gift and don't have time to wait, here's a great way to make quick chili oil yourself.
Instead of waiting several weeks for the chili peppers to release their heat, you're ready to go right away. You can immediately season and refine dishes with your DIY oil from chili peppers.
If you want to add herbs, make sure that the oil has cooled down completely.
For quick chili oil you need only two ingredients
- Fresh or dried chili peppers
- Olive oil
Quick chili oil make yourself
- Remove stem and seeds and cut chili peppers into small pieces
- Heat the oil in a pot. The oil must not start to smoke!
- Add the chili peppers to the pot and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes. Attention: The pods must not burn!
- Remove saucepan from heat and allow to cool
- The homemade chili oil is now ready and can be bottled.
How you can refine homemade chili oil
If that looks a little too boring for you, you can help it out a little visually and taste-wise.
Chili oil can be refined in many ways.
Refine chili oil with
- Peppercorns
- Allspice
- Oregano
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Garlic
For herbs, it's best to use fresh plants. This looks visually nicer. You can get inspiration here: "Make your own herb oil"
What types of chilies are best for homemade oil?
Mostly you take hot chili peppers like Ancho chilis, Habaneros, Cascabel Pimenton de la Vera or Cayenne. In general, you can use any kind of chili. You just need to do a little research on the heat level before you get started. Basically, the more chilies you use, the hotter the oil. Especially with oil that you let steep for a long time, the spiciness can be decent.
Whether you use dried chilies or fresh chilies is also a matter of taste. Tip: Make the oil with dried chilies and strain it when it is ready. Now add a few fresh chili peppers to the oil as decoration.
How long does homemade chili oil keep?
Stored in a dark bottle in a cool, dark place, chili oil will keep for about a year. Cold-pressed oils have a shorter shelf life compared to refined cooking oils.
The cooler and colder, the better. Ideally, you have a cold cellar for homemade oil. Otherwise, you can alternatively store it in the refrigerator.
It is very important that the oil is not exposed to light and especially not to direct sunlight. If you store the oil at room temperature, shake it every few days.
If you make your own spice oils, you should regularly check to see if the oil is cloudy or if streaks form. If the oil is no longer clear or the bottle is under pressure, then you should no longer use the oil. You can recognize this by the typical hissing sound when opening the bottle.
With what dishes goes DIY chili oil?
If you rely on chili oil to make your own, you can make a whole range of dishes tastier. The spicy oil goes very well with salads, pasta, pizza, curries, stews and in soups.
You can also use it for frying fish, meat and vegetables. Stir it into rice or pasta when cooking. It also goes perfectly with omelets. You can either leave the chili peppers in the oil or strain them and use the oil pure.
Even the dried and oil-sucked pods can still be used well for stews, chilis and goulash. In Asian cuisine, the spicy oil may be missing in almost any dish.
Our conclusion
Homemade chili oil refines many dishes and often makes that certain something. Making chili oil yourself is not even complicated. If you like it fast, heat the oil. If you have time, let the pods steep in cold oil.
Good luck and have fun making it!
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