May 23, 2005
HOW TO MAKE CHILE VINEGARS
In a recent article I discussed how to make chile oils. A similar cooking ingredient I like to keep around is chile vinegar. Chile oil and chile vinegar are prepared almost identically with one significant difference: because vinegar is a natural preservative you don't need to be so meticulous about sterilizing your bottles. Just wash, rinse, and air-dry your vinegar bottles.
Additionally, vinegars have a lot more flavor than oils. This provides all kinds of opportunities to marry the flavor of a vinegar with the flavor and heat of a particular type of chile. Play around with different combinations until you find your own personal favorites. And speaking of personal chile vinegar favorites, here are three of mine:
Chipotle Vinegar
3 chipotle chiles, stemmed and halved
2 cups Spanish sherry vinegar 
In a dry small pot, toast the chipotles over medium heat for two minutes, flipping them after one minute. Add the sherry vinegar and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer for three minutes. Remove from the heat into a covered non-plastic container (glass preferred). Store container for 7-10 days in a dark, cool location. Strain the mixture into your bottle(s) using either a fine sieve or, preferably, a wine strainer.
Thai Dragon Vinegar
4 Thai Dragon chiles, stemmed and coarsely chopped
2 cups rice wine vinegar
Add chiles and vinegar in a small pot. Simmer over a medium heat for three minutes. Remove from the heat into a covered non-plastic container (glass preferred). Store container for 7-10 days in a dark, cool location. Strain the mixture into your bottle(s) using either a fine sieve or, preferably, a wine strainer. Add two or three whole Thai Dragon chiles to the bottle for decoration.
Yellow Jellybean Vinegar
6 Yellow Jellybean chiles, stemmed and coarsely chopped
2 Cups Champagne vinegar 
Add chiles and vinegar in a small pot. Simmer over a medium heat for three minutes. Remove from the heat into a covered non-plastic container (glass preferred). Store container for 7-10 days in a dark, cool location. Strain the mixture into your bottle(s) using either a fine sieve or, preferably, a wine strainer.
After I posted the chile oil article several people asked me: "why use a wine strainer for bottling chile oil?". Essentially wine strainer is just a metal funnel with a removable fine sieve for catching wine sediment. Its IDEAL for making chile vinegars and oils because... well... its a funnel AND a sieve! They're also fairly inexpensive and, because they’re metal, easy to clean. One note of caution, though: if you're going to use one for making chile oils/vinegars use it only for that reason. Otherwise be very, very thorough in cleaning your wine strainer. That bottle of '85 Lafite-Rothschild really doesn’t need you to add any chipotle flavor to it...
So now you've got some chile vinegar. What next? Here's a simple chicken recipe that uses your latest kitchen ingredient:
CHIPOTLE VINEGAR CHICKEN
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
2 large garlic cloves, minced
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons Chipotle vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Chopped basil or cilantro (optional)
METHOD
Heat oil in heavy large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until just translucent, about four minutes.
Add chicken and cook until chicken is browned, stirring constantly, about three minutes.
Stir in chipotle vinegar and cumin. Continue cooking until chicken is tender and cooked through, stirring constantly for about three minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Top with chopped basil or chopped cilantro if desired.
Enjoy!
Scott@urbanChiles.com
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