chipotle powder
Dried, smoked jalapeno peppers ground into a powder, delivering heat with a distinctive smoky depth that fresh or plain dried chiles don't have. A little goes a long way -- both the smoke and the heat build fast.
Buying guidance
Look for a strongly aromatic, deep reddish-brown powder in a well-sealed jar; a faded, dusty-smelling one has lost most of its smoke along with its heat. Buy in a quantity usable within a year, since ground spices fade well before they become unsafe.
Substitutions
- Ground ancho chile plus a pinch of smoked paprika -- similar smoky-sweet depth with noticeably less heat.
- Cayenne pepper -- comparable heat but no smoke at all.
Tips & common mistakes
It isn't a substitute for chipotle peppers in adobo sauce -- the powder is dry and concentrated with none of the tangy, tomato-based sauce that canned chipotles come packed in, so swapping one for the other changes both the heat delivery and the liquid balance of a recipe.
Storage
Its smokiness is strong enough to carry into a shared spice jar or drawer over time -- keeping it in its own tightly sealed container, rather than loose alongside milder spices, keeps that smoke from tainting them.