How to Roast a Pepper

Roasting peppers does several things. First, it mellows out the pepper and allows the natural sweetness of the pepper to shine through. It also adds a smoky flavor to the pepper, which is great for many salsas and sauces. It helps reduce some of the acid and softens the capsaicin, which causes the spiciness in many chili peppers.


Roasting peppers is almost fool-proof. It can be done in an oven, over a grill or even on a gas stove top. Here are a few methods you can use:


In the oven:

1. Preheat oven to broil
2. Wash and dry your pepper
3. Cut pepper in half and remove seeds
4. Place cut-side down on cooking sheet and spray lightly with cooking oil
5. Broil until skin wrinkles and bubbles.
6. Allow pepper to cool, rinse under cold water to remove loose skin and slice

On grill

1. On gas grill, remove heat shield from one burner (you want the flames to char the skin of the pepper - the heat shield, if you have one, will prevent this). Preheat grill to high.
2. Over charcoal grill, prepare charcoal and let flames die down and coals to glow red.
3. Wash and dry pepper.
4. Place directly over hottest part of grill or directly over coals
5. Turn every few minutes, allowing the skin to develop black char marks evenly over the pepper
6. Remove from grill and let cool
7. Remove stem and run under cool water, removing seeds and charred skin
8. Slice

On a gas stove top:

1. Wash and dry your pepper. 
2. Turn on gas to medium heat. Flames should not be touching pepper.
3. For large peppers: Lay the pepper directly on the iron grill. Turn every few seconds with tongs until an even roasting has occurred. Skin will be bubbly and wrinkled with black char marks. For smaller peppers: skewer with metal skewer or fork. Hold over flame and rotate peppers every few seconds. Smaller peppers will roast faster than large ones.
4. Remove to plate and let cool.
5. Remove stem and run under cool water, removing seeds and charred skin
6. Slice