Spiced Pineapple Tequila
De Arbol (Capsicum Annuum) means tree like in Spanish. The plant has thick, upright, woody stems and the chile itself is narrow, curved and bright red in color. Believed to be closely related to the pequin, the De Arbol is thin fleshed, with tannic, smoky, grassy flavor and searing heat. This chile has a heat range of 7.5 on the heat scale of 1-10. De Arbol Chiles are comparable to a Cayenne Pepper. Scoville heat units 15,000 to 30,000.
Suggested Use:
De Arbol is a hot chile and a staple in Southwest kitchens. Add some heat to your next salsa or Mexican dish. Be adventurous and add them to your next stew or chili along with the other spices. Add some heat to your next salsa or Mexican dish.
Ingredients:
2 large just-ripe pineapple, trimmed, peeled, cored, cut into 2-inch chunks
2 (1-liter) bottles gold tequila
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 whole vanilla beans
2 chiles de arbol
Instructions:
Keep a large jar of this tequila working on your kitchen counter. It makes terrific margaritas. After the mixture has been topped with fresh tequila two or three times, you can finely dice the softened pineapple, warm it in butter with extra brown sugar to taste, and serve it as an ice cream topping.
n a large, decorative jar, combine the pineapple chunks and tequila. Add the sugar and vanilla beans. Drop in the chiles de arbol and cover. Let the tequila stand at room temperature, stirring it occasionally, for at least 1 week.