61 replies to this topic

[Roxie]

A friend and I are planning on driving over from Austin around September 15th to load up our coolers with fresh roasted green chilis. Think there will be some left after the festival?

[gfron1]

This area feeds the nation when it comes to chile, so there will be plenty. We typically roast through early October, but fresh is available through early December and on.

[Margo]

I would love to know of a good mail order source.

I like these folks:

Hatch Chile Express

The fresh product will appear once it's available. I believe they sell by the 25# box.

[artisan02]

This area feeds the nation when it comes to chile, so there will be plenty.  We typically roast through early October, but fresh is available through early December and on.

The roasters are already up in Albuquerque at some of the little produce markets and on the northwest corner of Montgomery and Wyoming. I haven't actually seen chiles being roasted yet, but the roasters are set up and waiting.

Christine

[ludja]

This area feeds the nation when it comes to chile, so there will be plenty.  We typically roast through early October, but fresh is available through early December and on.

The roasters are already up in Albuquerque at some of the little produce markets and on the northwest corner of Montgomery and Wyoming. I haven't actually seen chiles being roasted yet, but the roasters are set up and waiting.

Christine

We just picked up some freshly roasted green chile at the Corrales Farmer's Market yesterday. The farmer said they were his first batch of the year. I'm trying to decided what to do with them... I also picked up some fresh Big Jim green chiles and am eyeing various rellenos recipes. I think I want to try a roasted version stuffed with piccadillo.

[gfron1]

They started roasting at our local stores this past weekend. I will wait a bit for mine. A friend served me roasted chiles stuffed with blue cheese on Saturday - wow!

[gfron1]

I was planning on doing a write-up of the Hatch festival (9/1-2), but now I'm going to Tucson. If anyone else was planning on going - I'd love to see pics. Also, this is Hillsboro's last Apple Festival ever, so drive up the hill and make it a weekend.

[gfron1]

Today I had "the feel" that it was time to get the chiles. So down to my local market for a bushel and handed them over to the roaster. For those of you who have never seen this before, its a cage that rotates while eight torches burn the chiles. If you get a good roasterman/woman, they'll know just when to stop - blackened but not burned. The aroma that fills the entire city is a true gift from the heavens. After they stop the roasting, they knock off the danglers and pour the hot chiles into your pillow cover or plastic bags. This steams the chiles until you get home. Then you peel, peel, peel. I pack them in smaller bags or oil for use between now and next September.

I spared a small few for one lucky eG recipient who better greet the UPS driver tomorrow afternoon!

[birder53]

There are several different roasters set up along Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe. There are also several roasters at the Farmers Market. This is our first chile season in NM and we've picked up small zip loc bags of still warm peppers at the Farmers Market. Now that we know it has a short life in the fridge, we froze a few. A friend encouraged us to buy a bushel and get them in the freezer. Any suggestions for picking a roaster?

[docsconz]

There is nothing quite like the smell and taste of fresh roasted green chiles. This must be a fabulous time to be living there and enjoying that aroma!

[birder53]

There is nothing quite like the smell and taste of fresh roasted green chiles. This must be a fabulous time to be living there and enjoying that aroma!

It's wonderful!

[gfron1]

Any suggestions for picking a roaster?

No answer really. It tends to be the low man on the totem pole who has to sit in the hot sun roasting chiles. I would lean toward morning when they're not in a huge rush to get you out of there and hide back in the shade. The point is to get them roasted enough - nothing worse than peeling un-roasted peppers. But in the end, part of that bushel idea that your friends had accounts for the 10% that are under-roasted.

[mizducky]

Okay--green chile novice here. A friend of mine is currently in Albuquerque for the balloon festival, and called me up to tell me she'd just bought me a big bag full of freshly roasted green chile from a roaster there. Trouble is, she doesn't arrive back in San Diego with them until Thursday. I don't want to saddle her with having to peel all those babies now--heck, she's on vacation. I think she does have access to a fridge/freezer (she's staying with a friend). Would it be adequate to put these chiles in the fridge or freezer until she headed home with them?

[gfron1]

Not ideal, but doable. The problem with the wait, is that all of that steam is going to lead to fairly slimy chiles. If she can freeze (after bringing them to room temp) them that might help. I would also suggest having her switch bags at the end of today so the moisture is taken out.

[mizducky]

Thanks--that does help lots.

Even if the chiles do get a bit slimy, would they still be okay for making into sauce?

[gfron1]

They'll be fine as a sauce just harder to work with - meaning removing the skin.

[mizducky]

Well, my friend has dropped off a big cooler full of chilies, and I've just gotten about a sixth of them peeled. Heh. Luckily the peels are mostly popping off of them pretty easily, because I'd hate to think how long this would be taking if I had to struggle with peeling them. And also luckily the aroma and taste (of course I sampled!) are sufficient motivation to keep me at it.

[gfron1]

I hope there was still some of the aroma left from the roasting. Enjoy!

[birder53]

Well, my friend has dropped off a big cooler full of chilies, and I've just gotten about a sixth of them peeled. Heh. Luckily the peels are mostly popping off of them pretty easily, because I'd hate to think how long this would be taking if I had to struggle with peeling them. And also luckily the aroma and taste (of course I sampled!) are sufficient motivation to keep me at it.

Have fun! We bought a bushel of roasted chilies last month. Some we chopped and froze. The rest were frozen whole in small bags. This weekend we made our first batch of green chili and today we make the posole stew. Someone told us the chilies get hotter the longer they are frozen. Not quite sure about that, but the batch we used for the green chili certainly had a lot of heat. Let us know what you finally make with your bounty!

[mizducky]

Okay, they're all peeled now, and mostly seeded. Given how many chiles there were, I sort of gave up on getting every single seed off 'em, but at least got the major seed clumps out--the chiles are still plenty hot enough even without them. I tried to keep them as whole as I could manage--the flesh of some of them was kind of falling apart at this point, but the majority stayed in one piece amazingly well.

I now have ten baggies of green stuff in my freezer (easy-to-misinterpret phrasing totally intentional ). There was an 11th baggie, but I used it to make a green chile stew with pork. Whoa! Almost too spicy for my tummy, but it hurts so good!

[birder53]

Okay, they're all peeled now, and mostly seeded. Given how many chiles there were, I sort of gave up on getting every single seed off 'em, but at least got the major seed clumps out--the chiles are still plenty hot enough even without them. I tried to keep them as whole as I could manage--the flesh of some of them was kind of falling apart at this point, but the majority stayed in one piece amazingly well.

I now have ten baggies of green stuff in my freezer (easy-to-misinterpret phrasing totally intentional ). There was an 11th baggie, but I used it to make a green chile stew with pork. Whoa! Almost too spicy for my tummy, but it hurts so good!

Congratulations! We also have bags of peppers in the freezer along with containers of green chili and posole stew. Bring on the recipes!

[mizducky]

Well, here's the green chile stew recipe that I put together after checking out several different recipes on the web:

2 pounds pork, cubed
Vegetable oil for sauteeing
1 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1-2 cups NM green chile, roasted, peeled, stems removed, chopped
2-4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or 1 small can tomatoes)
Water, broth, and/or canned tomato liquid, enough to just barely cover ingredients
1/4 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 Mexican bay leaf
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1. In a skillet, brown the pork in batches in a tablespoon or so of oil. Place the meat in a stockpot or slow cooker.

2. Saute the onions and garlic in the same skillet until soft and browned, adding more oil if needed. Add all the seasonings except the bay leaf after the onions/garlic have had a minute or so to get going.

3. Add some of the water/broth/tomato juice to the onion mixture to help deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up all the fond. Add the contents of the skillet to the meat.

4. Add all the remaining ingredients to the pot. Cover and simmer for an hour or two on stovetop, or the corresponding amount of time in the slow cooker, until the pork is very tender. Serve with fresh corn tortillas.

I made the above using a full two cups of green chiles, and as my chiles were a good bit hotter than I expected, the results, while delicious, were almost too hot for me to eat any appreciable amount. I wound up eventually picking all the pork out and enjoying that with just a little chile, and now I'm going to freeze the remaining green chile sauce to use--sparingly!--in other dishes.

I like this recipe formulation--I'd just suggest proceeding with caution, taking into account the level of heat in your batch of chiles as well as your diners' tolerances. (I bet anyone who is a real fire-eater would have found my current batch of green chile stew just to their liking, or maybe even a little on the mild side for them.)

[birder53]

Thanks! My recipe used a combination of mild and hot green chilies. The peppers I bought at the farmers market had a nice level of heat. I added some frozen green chilies from the local supermarket which were a bit milder. The final product was still pretty spicy, but if you can find frozen green chilies in your neck of the woods, that could help temper your current batch.

[ludja]

This past weekend we grilled some buffalo burgers and topped them with roasted green chiles and cheddar. It's a match made in heaven! I put ketchup on mine as well.

Another great sandwich is turkey, jack cheese and roasted green chile on grilled bread. Sometimes called an "Albuquerque Turkey" in those parts...

Edited by ludja, 17 October 2007 - 12:47 PM.

[ludja]

Well, here's the green chile stew recipe that I put together after checking out several different recipes on the web:

2 pounds pork, cubed
Vegetable oil for sauteeing
1 large onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1-2 cups NM green chile, roasted, peeled, stems removed, chopped
2-4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or 1 small can tomatoes)
Water, broth, and/or canned tomato liquid, enough to just barely cover ingredients
1/4 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 Mexican bay leaf
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1. In a skillet, brown the pork in batches in a tablespoon or so of oil. Place the meat in a stockpot or slow cooker.

2. Saute the onions and garlic in the same skillet until soft and browned, adding more oil if needed. Add all the seasonings except the bay leaf after the onions/garlic have had a minute or so to get going.

3. Add some of the water/broth/tomato juice to the onion mixture to help deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up all the fond. Add the contents of the skillet to the meat.

4. Add all the remaining ingredients to the pot. Cover and simmer for an hour or two on stovetop, or the corresponding amount of time in the slow cooker, until the pork is very tender. Serve with fresh corn tortillas.

I made the above using a full two cups of green chiles, and as my chiles were a good bit hotter than I expected, the results, while delicious, were almost too hot for me to eat any appreciable amount. I wound up eventually picking all the pork out and enjoying that with just a little chile, and now I'm going to freeze the remaining green chile sauce to use--sparingly!--in other dishes.

I like this recipe formulation--I'd just suggest proceeding with caution, taking into account the level of heat in your batch of chiles as well as your diners' tolerances. (I bet anyone who is a real fire-eater would have found my current batch of green chile stew just to their liking, or maybe even a little on the mild side for them.)

Thanks for sharing your recipe; it sounds very close to the one I make. Batches of NM green chile can really vary between batches. I love the heat so I don't do this for our consumption, but you can "cut" the heat a bit by subbing some roasted 'regular' supermarket Anaheims. In this way you still get the great texture of just pork and chile. Deseeding and deveining as you did helps as well but sometimes they are still pretty hot! Serving some pinto beans on the side helps those of more tender tongue as well!

[eatrustic]

I've been wanting to try a Green Chile Apple Pie ever since I heard about it. I recently picked up some frozen ones while in Phoenix (one hot and one mild). Which one makes the classic pie: hot or mild?

[gfron1]

I would go mild - because even that will have zip. I will say that I recently judged an apple pie contest and of all of the entrants, the green chile version was unanimously our least favorite. Could have just been this specific pie however.

[eatrustic]

I would go mild - because even that will have zip.  I will say that I recently judged an apple pie contest and of all of the entrants, the green chile version was unanimously our least favorite.  Could have just been this specific pie however.

Thanks, I would have thought mild as well but you never know. I'm hoping that the chile pie you tasted and didn't like was the fault of the baker as John T. Edge in his book "Apple Pie" raved about the version from Senor Pie.

[gfron1]

Definitely report back - I'd be interested to hear if its gimmick or a true improvement.

[eatrustic]

I would go mild - because even that will have zip.  I will say that I recently judged an apple pie contest and of all of the entrants, the green chile version was unanimously our least favorite.  Could have just been this specific pie however.

Thanks, I would have thought mild as well but you never know. I'm hoping that the chile pie you tasted and didn't like was the fault of the baker as John T. Edge in his book "Apple Pie" raved about the version from Senor Pie.

Ok, so I made a version of the green chile apple pie using frozen mild New Mexico green chilis.
There are recipes that call for just a bit of chile (1 Tbl.) and some that call for lots more. I added just under a 1/4c. and....to be honest not too sure about this one. The taste is (as you would imagine) pretty different. I had figured that if you come from the apple pie with a slice of aged cheddar crowd that this might work but it really is a taste combination that is not for everyone, including myself.
Guess I'll stick to green chile cheeseburgers for now until I can actually taste the real thing in N.M. and decide if this is a gimmick or not.