I had almost given up Jalapeños. They had burned me one too many times… literally! Every time I ate them in any fashion my mouth would be on fire and my stomach would hurt. I just couldn’t handle the heat (go ahead, call me a wimp).

My husband loves jalapeño poppers. He would promise me they were not hot, yet sure enough, I would eat half a popper and my mouth would be on fire again! He finally figured out how to prep jalapeños so they would NEVER be spicy! Now, even my kids love his jalapeño poppers.

I must stress that you always wear gloves while prepping jalapeños.

Step one is to cut the jalapeños in half.

Step two is to remove everything from inside the jalapeño. Disclaimer on the picture: My husband was holding and posing for this picture. When actually using a knife to score the inside perimeter of the pepper PLEASE place it on the cutting board, do not hold it. The knife could easily go all the way through the pepper and cut your hand. 

Score the inside perimeter of the pepper with a knife.

Use a spoon to scrape out the white part (did you know the white part is called the pith?) Be sure to scrape out all the membrane and seeds.

This is just a lovely picture of what the inside of jalapeños looks like.

Here is a comparison picture. The pepper on the left is not prepped enough, because there are still seeds and pith left inside. The pepper on the right is what you want! A perfectly clean little boat.

Once you have all your jalapeños cleaned out it is time for the most important step to remove all the heat:

Rinse them well with water! This gets all oil off the pepper and makes them taste nice and mild!

Now they are ready for any recipe!

Hint: If you are grilling jalapeños coat them with olive oil to prevent them from sticking to your grill and from burning.

What is your favorite jalapeño recipe?
Anna

If you love jalapenos be sure to check out these salsa posts!