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For those who have tasted or tried piment d'Espelette is there any suitable substitution?  I am wondering if I can use Korean chile flakes called gochugaru? 

I checked a couple sources online, including the Bon Appetit website, and they all say that hot (unsmoked) paprika is the best subsitute but also mention cayenne, New Mexico red chili powder and Aleppo pepper.  So if your Korean chili is similar to any of those I would think you could substitute it for the Piment d' Espelette without causing too much taste disruption to your recipe.  Bon Appetit says the French rate hot paprika and Piment d'Espelette at a 4 on a scale of 10 for heat.

I was looking for this at Penzeys and they told me that 'Half-Sharp Paprika' was a good substitute.  I haven't tried it myself.

 Piment d'Espelette isn't smoked, is it?

No, it isn't. It's just a mildly hot chili pepper, usually sold as powder or flakes. So use any mild chili of your choice.

Great, thank you.  I think with these info I can safely use the Korean chile flakes.  They are quite mild. 

Sorry very late in the conversation, but I was surprised by the question.

I found it strange, because, normally, Espelette pepper is milder than the Korean version? I mean, Espelette is supposed to be 1500-300 Scoville units, while from the information I found (and experience), Gochugaru is spicier ?

(Sources : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale and http://gryffonridge.com/...ry/chiles-chile-powders/)

So I guess it depends, why you want to replace it, is it too hot, or you don't like the taste, or too expensive or hard to find?

If you are looking for milder, I would go for paprika.

Kochugaru comes in at least two different spice levels.  I keep the milder version on hand in the refrigerator.  I find now you can buy California grown piment d'espelette on Amazon but the the name is different and it is cheaper.  I keep quite an assortment of chilies (Southwest, Mexican, Asian and 3-4 types of paprika.  It's getting out of hand to keep all of them and was hoping for a good sub.

You bet, that's a lot! I have thai, espelette, cayenne and one type of paprika - and I try to have chîpotle/mexican but it is not so readily available here/too expensive. It is funny how local spices or spice mix can double value crossing the Atlantic. I have the same problem with Old Bay seasoning, which costs about 10 USD for 170g. I don't remember this kind of prices in Maryland, AT ALL.

I didn't know they made a Californian version! But the Espelette price on Amazon is abusive! In France, the price of the smallest best quality jar (handmade locally, award winning blabla) is 50 grams for 5 euros, or 250 grams, 20 euros, quite consistently accross producers. So quite cheap/similar to the Californian ones. The importers are really taking their margins!

Though I remember reading in a novel about the 1963 Constellation crash, something about a specific Basque immigration wave to the US, following the Spanish wars. And specifically to California. I would be surprised if all the Basque clubs and such would not have created a local version, they really like their pepper :)

There is a substantial Basque heritage in parts of California.  I learned a huge amount from and recommend to all interested in food an excellent book by Mark Kurlansky, The Basque History of the World. 

Thank  you I will check the book out :) Oooh now I just want to go and visit Basque country :)