I did lots of planning on Friday night so I could get all the ingredients that we didn't already have on our Saturday shop. The gluten free Mexican list of meals to be made were, Empanadas, Chimichangas, Enchiladas and Quesadillas. We also decided on our always delicious Chicken Kebabs with a Mexican twist and Pupusas which are from El Salvador.
The weekend eats got off to an interesting start with the kebabs. We usually use a few chipotles as part of a rub for the chicken, but this time we thought that habeneros were more appropriate as we were in such a spicy foods mood.
As always my other half was on chilli chopping duty, with gloves. We established a while ago that not using gloves to deal with chilli peppers wasn't a good idea, I've never had the skin burn myself but well, if you're a man who has handled chilli peppers without wearing gloves, at some stage you are going to get the burn. In a very, very uncomfortable place.
I was busy prepping the vegetables and chicken for the kebabs and I don't actually recall the conversation about it but at some stage my OH told me he was chopping 3 habaneros for the rub. Now, if you know your chilli peppers you will possibly do a double take at that last sentence. Yes I did write 3. Three! If you don't know your chilli peppers you will have no idea why this was a ridiculously stupid thing to do.
For the non chilliheads - Habanero chillis measure 100,000 - 350,000 on the Scoville Scale (this is a list that shows hot a chilli pepper is), Cayenne Pepper measures at 30,000 - 50,000, Tabasco Sauce at 3500 - 8000. This should give you a good indication of just how hot a habanero chilli is. We seasoned our chicken with 3.
I don't know why I didn't question it, 3 habaneros, cool. I was looking forward to a lot of heat. The chicken was seasoned and everything was put onto the skewers, it was only when the kebabs needed turning on the George that the level of heat became apparent.
As I closed the top of the grill once I had turned the kebabs it hit me. The smell from the habaneros got me right at the back of the throat and I couldn't stop coughing. I can't describe the sensation but it was an overpowering tickle that burnt. This continued to happen each time I closed the grill after turning the kebabs, the entire apartment was like pepper spray had gone off in it.
Despite this, I was still really looking forward to eating them. We plated up and began to eat.
It was at the first bite that the heat set in, I'm used to hot sauces so I didn't shock me but the person responsible for the kebabs being seasoned with 3 habaneros did not enjoy his lunch. He ate them as fast as he could to get the ordeal over with. I usually only ever eat one kebab, on this occasion I ate two. Yeah, I'm hardcore. Or so I thought.
I seriously enjoyed those kebabs. Yes they were mad hot, but I liked the flavours. The sous chef said he could taste nothing but the chilli, but I could. What made the situation worse was that although the habanero was only in the rub for the chicken, I took a silicone brush and covered the vegetables with the rub that was leftover too.
So why was using 3 habanero chillis in the rub a ridiculously stupid if I enjoyed them? The hours of lower stomach pain, the bathroom visits and the burn where you really do not want to feel burning. If I'd had a rubber ring to hand on Saturday I would have promptly parked my bottom on it for some relief. It was an incredibly stupid thing to do, but give me the after effects of eating chillies any day over being glutened.
Surprisingly, the rest of the long weekend was unaffected. Proper Weekend Eats tomorrow.
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