“SOME-LIKE-IT-HOTT!”
"Some Like I Hott!" Smoked and Unsmoked Paprika's
“Some Like It Hott!” smoked and unsmoked pepper products were inspired by my Transylvanian heritage and a love for the regional cuisine which features paprika (a common spice made from dried red peppers), the predominate spice of our region, Port Townsend, Washington.
While many are familiar with the sweet paprika varieties commonly exported throughout the world, we process hot chili varieties for the discriminating palate, we specialize in a sweet, alder-smoked paprika.
The traditional preservation process of drying and grinding into powder, preserves our product for your table.
REVIEWS
Review #001
Yes, I still believe that good things come in small packages as evidenced when I opened the tiny red packet of Some Like It Hott! Red Jalapeno 3. The smoky aroma was such an alluring pick me up that I couldn’t put it down until I read the full description and recipes inside and out of the packet. I had already made Mediterranean Deviled Eggs so I knew that the ‘paprika with a kick’ might cheer up my traditional after-holiday turkey salad. I had great plans for Southwest Turkey Salad after inhaling the pleasantly pungent paprika.
While reading the AlderSmoked.com website, its simplicity clarified details about its pedigree. Paired with chile facts, I was ready to tackle a new dish. Remember: a little goes a long way with this spice…and the aroma never fades. I anticipate a new kick to my dishes in the New Year. Thumbs up from me.
SOUTHWEST TURKEY SALAD
Ingredients:
6 Cups chopped cooked turkey
1 C. chopped sweet yellow, orange and red peppers
1 C. chopped celery
½ C. chopped pecans
½ C. seeded cucumber
1 can sweet yellow corn (not creamed)
½ C. Greek yogurt (plain not flavored)
2 C. mayonnaise
Salt & pepper to taste
“SOME LIKE IT HOTT!” Alder Smoked Paprika, to taste (I used ½ teaspoon)
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients and let the crowd dig in with your favorite corn chips.
Review by Leigh Cort, Founder and CEO, Leigh Cort Publicity
Review #002
Intrigued by the promise that Charlie’s Chilies will put the devil back into deviled eggs, I ordered a sachet of Alder Smoked Poblano 1* to experiment with this fine product in some of my disappointingly less-than-fiery recipes. I played cautious at first and ordered the mildest paprika, said to have the richest flavour. I was frankly wary of just how hot these products could be. As it turns out my fears were groundless and the mildest ground chili pepper is certainly suitable for any palate.
Hot is a relative term and after cooking with the mildest 1* poblano paprika from Some Like It Hott! I am happily going to leap up to 3* for my next order, which I am confident will add a bite to my cooking without being painfully hot. (The strengths range from a mild 1* to 7* for real hotheads!)
My first taste of this artisan smoked paprika was in a simple deviled egg mixture. I gingerly added a small amount of the power on the end of a spoon handle and tasted the result. Nothing! I added three or four more small amounts with care, mixing and tasting to reassess. After a good teaspoonful I begin to get a nice smoky undertone to the egg mixture with a slight afterburn. That’s exactly what I was looking for.
If you like a rich smoky taste to your meat, cheese and fish, this product will certainly deliver the goods. Opening the packet gave me a nice aroma reminiscent of an old-fashioned smoker, but adding the taste from a packet is a whole lot less bother! Charlie’s Chilies add the satisfying flavour of alder woodsmoke with a chili kick as strong or as mild as you choose.
I like the idea of supporting small cottage industries and this successful hobby-turned-family-business is run on a smallholding in Port Townsend, Washington State. The basics of the smoking techniques were learnt from the Makah Indians and the paprika is produced slowly in small batches. That individual attention makes a big difference to the finished product.
I was intrigued by the health claims of this product too. The chilies are organically grown and contain three times the amount of vitamin C than citrus fruit.
If you like your pork smokin’ and tasty, try sautéing thick slices of pork tenderloin with garlic salt and alder smoked paprika. When it’s cooked, reduce the pan juices, add red wine and reduce again before stirring in heavy cream and serving it over the pork. Now that’s flavorsome! And if you like creamy Hungarian goulash, try stirring in some of the fiery 7* Alder Smoked Paprika for a creamy sauce with the kick of a mule and an interesting smoky tang. Life is just never going to be the same once you discover just how good real food can taste with these products.
Must away to send in my next order to Some Like It Hott! post haste for some of that 3* smoked paprika, and while I’m at it I’ll try the liquid smoke chile sweat. It sounds like an easy way to add taste to any dish. And while you’re at it Charlie, send me some of your new Chile Garlic Shake – I hear it’s great on popcorn!
Review by food and travel writer, Gillian Birch
Review #003
What was smokin’ hot about reviewing this product – besides the incredible aromas, flavors and colors – was researching much misunderstood paprika. Armed with a few new facts, I quizzed friends in the food world, including The Best Cook in the World – my mother – about paprika’s origin, role in food preparation, and its flavor and color profiles. Their knowledge clearly indicated Some Like it Hott’s product is definitely not “your grandmother’s paprika”!
A little background, before my personal cooking experience with these spicy firebrands:
SLIH Paprika is a cousin to chili powder. The comparison is evident when considering the heat levels of most of the offerings. Where chili powder is usually a blend of peppers and other spices, like cumin, oregano, garlic, salt, and maybe cayenne, pure paprika is generally 100% ground chili peppers. Some SLIH Paprikas are smoked using alderwood. Alderwood smoking gives the paprika a sweeter profile than smoking with oak, which most Americans are familiar with, or mesquite smoking, used in Mexican chipotle. Peppers used include green jalapenos, poblanos, a jalapeno/habanero hybrid, red jalapenos, serranos, fatalii, and piment d’Espelete, producing products significantly hotter than traditional paprika – and that’s exactly their attraction for cooks looking for new ways to zip up their creations. Even the color palette of SLIH Paprikas, cinnamon, Wheat Thins, dried oregano, and rusty browns, differs from the traditional vibrant, deep red.
My first foray into this new world of paprika was with an au gratin potato casserole. I used one teaspoon of the SLIH Paprika Verde (non smoked), but failed to notice the 6-star heat rating, focusing instead on my love of the taste of raw green peppers. The garbage disposal nearly melted as I said goodbye to this learning experience.
Roasted root vegetables including carrots, rutabagas, turnips, parsnips and butternut squash fared much better with only ¼ teaspoon of the Red Jalapeno Paprika (smoked). I’d never experienced the enhanced, “purer” flavor of these vegetables, using traditional spices. Success!
Fascinated with this research project, my daughter-in-law, born in Bratislava, Slovakia, threw on an apron and joined in. A “POP-ri-kah” junky, and excellent cook, Andrea prepared Francuske Zemiaky, or, as her family calls it, “the Sausage-Potato-Egg-Onion-Mushroom Casserole Thing”. Here, two types of POP-ri-kah were used: the 3-star, unsmoked Serrano Chile Paprika in the casserole, and the 3-star, smoked Red Jalapeno. Another fan!
All in all, high marks for Some Like it Hott Paprika. Just remember, “less is more” with these flavorful products, each packing more heat than an on-duty sheriff.
Review by Ray Pearson, Travel Journalist and Scotch Whisky Expert
Review #004
These dishes were conceived in less than five minutes standing in the produce section of our neighborhood grocery. I had seven types of paprika, very little time, a low budget, and a handful of vegetarians meeting on my stoop in less than 15. Our creations were a total shot in the dark—a Hail Mary, if you will. And all four of them were absolutely, unequivocally, earth-shatteringly amazing.
The Paprikas: Piment D’Espelette, Alder Smoked Poblano Paprika, Alder Smoked Paprika 7*, Non-Smoked Fuszerpaprika
Note: To some, this paprika is quite spicy, and others, not so much. Taste a dab on your finger before adding to a dish to get a feel for the spice level. Additionally, I am not an organized chef and don’t follow recipes, so I have listed just the components. As for measurements, they are included where possible, but otherwise, you will have to use your best judgment.
The Dishes:
Slices of Green Tomato with Cat Cora’s Organic Olive Oil, Crushed Sea Salt, and Piment D’Espelette.
Simple. Slice, drizzle, dust, enjoy.
Roasted Cauliflower with Non-Smoked Fuszerpaprika (Photo by Stefanie Payne)
Roasted Cauliflower with Non-Smoked Fuszerpaprika
There is something sinfully delicious about well-seasoned, simple roasted vegetables. Just toss the cauliflower in olive oil, salt, black pepper and paprika and slow roast in the oven at 400° F for 40 minutes. Serve. Eat. Oh My Gosh—Enjoy.
White Bean Dip with Garlic and Non-Smoked Paprika Verde
In a food processor, add canned (or dried, soaked and softened) white beans, juice of one lemon, salt, white pepper, and paprika to taste. Stream Avocado Oil (I like Ahuacatlan) in for an antioxidant rich binder.
Alder Smoked Paprika *7 Honey with simple Goat Cheese, Hard Salami, and Sliced Baguette.
Are you kidding me? This was the most decadent, delicious, [non]-guilty pleasure of them all! Mix honey in a small dish with alder smoked paprika and incorporate with a fork. Serve with goat cheese, hard salami and baguette. The tangy, soft quality of the goat cheese with the spicy, sweet, mixture of the honey played off one another perfectly. And for a hearty punch of salty fat, top with a piece of salami on a slice of baguette. Ridiculous! (In a good way.)
Review by Stefanie Payne, Executive Editor at CityRoom and Oenologist.com.
Review #005
“Some Like it Hott” is what the packaging states. Starting in 2005 with a 600 square foot cold frame, Charlie Bodony a local Port Townsend Washington native, grows some delicious chilies for his alder smoked paprika line. Using organic soil, liquid seaweed (kelp) and home made compost you’ll definitely taste the difference. After 9 months the chilies are picked then they are roasted and/or smoked over low heat (below 105F) so they are considered a “live” food. This process also preserves the volatile essential oils that give the chilies that deep flavor, and the smoking over Alder wood only adds to the magic. Smoked paprika used to be an exotic ingredient, and hard to find. But then the big spice companies got into the game and now you can find it almost anywhere, but when you make thousands of pounds of the stuff along comes the problem of quality control and consistency. Charlie makes only small batches, and watches over every step of the process. I tried the 7 star heat rated Alder smoked paprika over some line caught salmon in a club sandwich. I chose salmon because alder smoke and salmon have been a staple of the native Indian tribes in the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years, it’s the perfect marriage of flavors. Having the spices prepared made this such an easy recipe, I just decided to do it. Here’s how:
Alder Smoked Paprika Salmon and Dip (Photo by Kurt Winner)
Alder Smoked Paprika Salmon and Dip
1 lb fresh wild salmon filet skin on rinsed with water then patted dry, sprinkle with alder seasoning and rub into the filet. Do this at least one hour before cooking so the spices can be absorbed by the fish.
¼ cup water
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 Tbs Alder smoked paprika
2 Tbs mayonnaise-see note
1 sliced tomato
2-3 slices crispy bacon
4 butter lettuce leaves
Optional thinly sliced Walla Walla onion, or any other type of sweet onion, and sliced avocado
4 slices lightly toasted high quality bread artisan is best, it makes all the difference
Instructions
Heat a pan with the olive oil on medium heat, add the water. Slide the filet into the pan reduce heat to medium low and cover with a tight fitting lid. Meanwhile assemble your sandwich. Lightly toast the bread, spread with a thin layer of mayonnaise, place the tomatoes on top and then the butter lettuce and finally the bacon and other toppings if you so choose. After 15-20 minutes, check the fish, it should be tender and flake with a fork. Remove from the pan and flip it over. Now you can remove the skin and any gray flesh if you wish. Place a portion of the filet on the lettuce, then the bread and you’re ready to go.
Note: For extra heat if you prefer, mix 1 Tbs of the paprika with the mayonnaise blend thoroughly and use this on the sandwich too.
Another quick recipe you can try is to mix any one of the spice mixes(to your taste) that you like with a combination of sour cream and mayonnaise or you can use Greek yogurt for something a bit lighter with less fat. Another variation is to use ranch dressing with the Poblano or Jalapeno to make a dip with both the heat and coolness of the ranch. These makes a great dips with some interesting flavor contrasts, perfect with your favorite beer.
Alder smoked carries a full line of smoked paprikas, including: Jalapeno, red Jalapeno, Poblano and Piment D’Espelette. For the latest offerings please go to www.aldersmoked.com.
Review by Food and Travel Journalist, Kurt Winner
