Your Questions: Where to Find Chiles in Adobo?

Our latest Your Questions comes from reader Irene: 

Hey Guys, 

I keep seeing Chiles in Adobo pop up as ingredients in delicious-looking recipes that I would love to try.  Unfortunately, I can't seem to find them anywhere! Tragedy, I know. Am I walking right past them at the grocery store?  Please help! 

Many thanks,

~Irene

Irene is right. It seems like this ingredient, often listed as either "chipotle peppers in adobo" or "chiles in adobo," is popping up with increasing frequency in recipes.

So where do you find them? We typically find that chiles in adobo are hiding in the International aisle of the supermarket, along with other Latin ingredients. Less frequently, we've found them stocked with canned tomatoes. They usually come in short, 2-inch-tall (or so) cans, similar to the size of most tomato paste cans. 

So what do you do with them?  And if a recipe calls for only one pepper, what do you do with the rest of them?

Chiles in Adobo help add a smoky spiciness to many dishes. Adding one diced pepper to a dish can give you both heat and depth that simple adding spice, such as a jalapeño or Sriracha, can't. 

Want to try them?  Here are three dishes we absolutely loved that use chiles in adobo:

• Flank Steak with Tamarind Glaze and Orange Gremolata
• Chicken Chili -- one of our favorite dishes of 2010
• Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash

One drawback of using chiles in adobo is that recipes typically only call for one chile, leaving you with a nearly full can. Instead of chucking the remainder of the can, though, you can freeze the leftovers.

We've frozen them two ways: either literally dumping the remaining contents of the can into a releasable freezer bag, or wrapping up the peppers individually in plastic wrap and then dropping them all into a bag before freezing.

How else do you use chiles on adobo?  Leave your ideas in the comments!

And if you have a question, email us!