Gutter Butter: November 2007 Archives

Just last year, some mad hot pepper professor stumbled upon the Bhut Jholokia, now nicknamed the ghost chile. Subsequent lab tests have revealed that the little fucker is officially the hottest chile pepper in the world — nearly double the amount of "Scovile Heat Units" as the habanero. Apparently, the ghost chile is a naturally occurring species native to North Eastern India, where it's not unusual to use them as weapons. Armies in India and Myanmar use ghost chiles to make tear gas. It’s also not unusual to gnaw on one in between bites at the dinner table.

We think this is nuts. We know because we obtained a bag of the things and spent a recent Friday night passing a pepper around the room just barely licking it or, at the most, nibbling on it. (This is also about the time when we lamented the fact that “chile in my eye” was not an easily searchable phrase on the Internet).

So, after careful consideration, we came up with one simple recipe recommendation for you real chile heads out there: a ghost chile syrup that we’re calling Ghost Killah. Now you won’t find this pepper in your neighborhood store just yet, but don’t fret, you can order bags of them (we are being serious) from the Chile Pepper Institute: (505) 646-3028. But be prepared for the sting, they run more than $30 a pound!

Ghost Killah

2 cups agave nectar
1 ghost chile

1. Using latex gloves, slice open the chile and remove all seeds.
2. Put a small saucepan over medium heat and add agave nectar.
3. Toss in chile pieces and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
4. Fish out chile and serve with fresh fruit or baked goods.

Beverage: Port Brewing’s Hop 15
Soundtrack: Mogwai’s “Acid Food”