Chile, Cascabel, Whole

In Spanish, cascabel means rattle, which makes sense when you give these round little chiles a shake. Also known as the chile bola, Cascabel chiles are dark burgundy in color and smooth. They have thick flesh and a lingering medium heat, rating at about a 3-4 on a heat scale of 1-10. The flavor of this chile is rich and acidic with a slight smokiness. When toasted, Cascabels produce a wonderful nuttiness.

Try using these chiles in salsas, sauces, soups, and stews. Great for adding authentic chile flavor to taco and fajita dishes. When using dried chiles, you can opt to toast them first for added flavor and re-hydrate them by soaking in hot tap water for about 20 minutes. Don’t soak any longer or they can become bitter.