Hot Red Chili Peppers

I've come across a lot of recipes over the years that call for hot red chili peppers, often fresh, but don't designate which kind. And yet, aside from the occasional Thai pepper, I've rarely come across what I would consider a hot red chili pepper in the store. Orange, yellow, green, sure, but red? Not often! So if there's no specification, what default hot red chili pepper do cookbook authors typically have in mind? (Was perusing Hazan's Italian Cooking book this morning, for example.) Cayenne? And (as someone who shops regularly at Pete's, Tony's, Jewel, Whole Foods etc. and hasn't regularly encountered hot red chili peppers, let alone fresh cayenne peppers) where do they sell them?

Just saying "red chili pepper" is definitely ambiguous and could pose a big problem given the range of heat within the category.

The best strategy is probably to let the rest of the recipe serve as a clue to what works best. For an Italian recipe, as you describe, I would look for Calabrian Chili Peppers. They're usually jarred in oil. I can't say they're available fresh at Fresh Farms, which has the best selection of anywhere I go. For Asian recipes, red Thai Chili's should work, you just have to moderate because they're much hotter than Calabrian's and most non-Habanero options. As you allude, figuring out the correct/best pepper is likely not as difficult as finding a store that carries it.

The real question is whether they're asking for fresh or dried.
For fresh red, you're probably limited to Fresno (pretty mild), ripe jalapeno (rare, but the places that carry them they seem to be less likely to be duds than most green jalas), Thai long (a good choice), Thai bird's eye (very hot but too small to add much flavor) and some variant on habanero/scotch bonnet (possibly too hot).

If it's dry, you'll have better chances finding something, I'd aim at guajillo (more flesh and flavor) or arbol (more heat).

Yeah, my default for dried is arbol, if given such a vague description--I'm assuming a pepper wanted mostly for heat; for fresh it's usually thai bird's-eye peppers for the type of cooking I do, though during the summer, I'll just put in whatever is ripe from the backyard (I usually have some cayennes and tabasco growing along with the birds-eyes and C. chinense-type peppers back there, but I'm assuming you mean stuff you can normally get at the store.) Obviously, mileage varies depending on recipe. The local grocery here (Pete's) has red jalapeños every once in awhile, so I may use those as well (I'd say maybe 10% of the year you'll see them around.)

Red Chile peppers are just a state of further ripening.
Besides the already mentioned Thai Chiles, I purchase red Jalapenos from El Rey in Milwaukee. They usually have some good heat versus the now dumbed down TAM green varieties.-Richard

I curse Texas A&M for developing the lame-ass TAM jalapenos. You just can't trust what you find in a store anymore unless you sneak a taste. Sheesh.

Geo

Geo wrote:I curse Texas A&M for developing the lame-ass TAM jalapenos. You just can't trust what you find in a store anymore unless you sneak a taste. Sheesh.

Geo

I hadn't realized it was a deliberate breeding program. But I agree, I hate what I call jalayos (no pain).