This Trick Makes Cutting Jalapeños A Breeze
You'll need cut into a jalapeño to make the spicy jalapeño cucumber margarita that everybody's favorite heartthrob, George Clooney raves about. You'll need to take a knife to a jalapeño to give your chili the extra heat you've been craving. And, you'll definitely want to slice up a jalapeño if you plan on making any truly decent salsa to accompany your weekly nachos and Netflix night. (Is nachos and Netflix night not your thing? Make it one.) We digress.
If you're part of the 62 percent of us who voiced a preference for jalapeño peppers in 2017, you have no excuses (via Statista). You know, of course, to stay away from soft, bruised, and browning peppers, in search of the perfectly plump, smooth, firm-skinned ones (via The Spruce Eats). But cutting into a jalapeño is another story entirely. Slicing open your favorite, hot pepper is an art, and it's on you to master it. Anyone who has cut into a jalapeño only for its seeds to explode all over your kitchen counter knows what we mean.
How to cut jalapeños like a master chef
If you find yourself picking up tiny seeds from the floor for weeks, your jalapeño-cutting game needs some serious upping. Food Network celebrity chef Carla Hall revealed her secret recently and we are blown away.
She starts by cutting both of the ends off of the pepper, in such a way that the pepper can stand, skyscraper style, on your cutting board. Don't be shy about cutting off too much of the ends. You should be able to clearly identify the jalapeño's white core. All you've got to do next is to cut strips of the pepper from around the core, being careful to leave it — and the attached seeds — be. That's it. You're in the clear. You can now julienne or cube your jalapeño slices as you see fit.
If, on the other hand, you're aiming for jalapeño rings, follow The Kitchn's advice. Simply cut off the pepper's stem end, and core it with a paring knife. Then cut away!