Hot Portugal Pepper

3Reviews
SKU: 0403
$3.95 to $33.08

Item Details

Offered in 1935 by Joseph Harris & Co. of Coldwater, NY, who reported, “If you want a large hot pepper, try the new Hot Portugal. The best hot pepper we know.” Sturdy upright plants produce very heavy yields early in the growing season. Glossy vivid red elongated fruits grow 6" or longer.


  • 65-75 days from transplant
  • ±3,800 seeds/oz
  • Conventional
  • Vivid, red fruits grow to 6 inches
  • Medium hot pepper
  • Short season, highly productive

This variety works for:

  • Fresh eating
  • Roasting
  • Salsa
  • Pickling
  • Drying


This pepper is: MEDIUM/HOT


Wear rubber gloves when processing hot peppers and do not touch your eyes. If you are sensitive to the heat, make sure to wear a mask over your mouth and nose and protect your eyes.


Try adding this pepper to salsa recipes. It has a citrus, spicy flavor that is best enjoyed when the immature peppers are less than 3 inches long.


You can also try making your own hot sauce with these peppers. Sauté them with olive oil, garlic, onion and salt, and after about 4 minutes add 2 cups of water. Heat the mixture for 20 minutes and then allow it to cool to room temperature before pureeing it in a food processor and adding vinegar.

Growing Instructions

Instructions - Sow seeds indoors ¼” deep. Peppers germinate best in warm soil, so gentle bottom heat may be helpful until seedlings emerge. Wait to transplant outdoors until soil is warm.

  • Start Indoors: 8 weeks before last frost
  • Germination: 14 Days
  • Plant Outdoors: 12-24” Apart
  • Light: Full Sun

Ratings & Reviews

3 reviews

  • 4 stars
  • 0 reviews
  • 2 stars
  • 0 reviews
  • 1 star
  • 0 reviews

Worth Growing

by

Second year with these, maybe three's a charm (next year). Good taste and productivity.

I like these a lot.

by

At first I wasn't sure what to do with these, but they make a very good fermented table sauce as well as a vinegar/water/pepper sauce. Not too hot but enough, and flavorful. A friend loves to cook with them. I smoked some in oak and dried/ground them and wish I had done more of that. Delicious seasoning. I was warned, and it's true: they look just like Jimmy Nardellos, so if you grow them both, be careful not to mix .They are too hot for me to eat fresh, as I would a Nardello. Both grow low to the ground, and I have to watch for mice. I may try to stake them next year or devise a collar for support. because they want to lay on the ground, hence mice and potential rotting. Also grew some in large 3 and 4 gallon pots and they did well there too. Prolific.

Very Versatile!

by

This is by far my favorite chili. plants have good productivity with large, long fruits. they are medium skinned and versatile. Great for frying, grilling, slicing into rings, baked in a red sauce or even fermenting into a hot sauce. Subjective heat is slightly hotter than a jalapeno, sometimes spicier depending on the growing conditions