Hatch Chili Peppers (Merged Topic)

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, kayb said:

Y'all may have my share of Hatch chiles. Chiles should be red. Green peppers taste...well, green.

 

 

These don't taste at all like green bell peppers, though, and I've been wondering about that.  Are Hatch green chiles just unripe, the way green bell peppers are unripe? The Hatch green chiles have what is to me a pleasant fruity almost-sourness ... is that related to their stage of ripeness, or are the Hatch green chiles truly ripe when we buy them? 

 

Either way, I love the flavor.  I'll take kayb's share. :-)

[robirdstx]

14 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

These don't taste at all like green bell peppers, though, and I've been wondering about that.  Are Hatch green chiles just unripe, the way green bell peppers are unripe? The Hatch green chiles have what is to me a pleasant fruity almost-sourness ... is that related to their stage of ripeness, or are the Hatch green chiles truly ripe when we buy them? 

 

Either way, I love the flavor.  I'll take kayb's share. :-)

 

I think this link will answer your question: https://www.hatch-green-chile.com/product-category/fresh-red-chile/

[IowaDee]

I used to grow Anaheim chiles.  To my taste they are the closet ones to Hatch.  Picked some at the green stage but they were so much better if left to  ripen to that rich, red shade.  Just like the difference between green bells and red ones.  Now that I buy all my  peppers,  I usually grab poblanos.  Makes me want to plant one next year and let some chilies  vine ripen.  I know ripe ones are dried and become anchos but I want to taste them before they are dried.  Anyone done that?

[Katie Meadow]

I could  be wrong, but I think Hatch chiles really refer to terroir, as in that was originally a designation for a type of hot green chile that was grown in Hatch NM. The area now grows a variety of peppers, including Big Jim, which did not exist in the sixties and early seventies when I lived there. I've had Big Jims, and they seem to be generally a less hot long green chile; batches of Big Jim in the past have often varied greatly pepper to pepper, some being hot, many often not. True Hatch were reliably scorching in my memory. Of course there were plenty of long green chiles grown in the southwest that were less hot than the famous Hatch.

 

It was a rude awakening for me when I moved from NM to CA. There were tasteless Anaheims and mild jalapeños; it was hard to get a really hot green chile pepper. Now there are some vendors at local farmers' markets that sell reasonably hot poblanos. For a while I was missing hot chiles so much that I ordered bushels of Hatch chiles from NM. Eventually the cost of shipping became outrageous, and often I was sent a mix of Big Jims which didn't thrill me.

 

Left on the vine to turn red, most chiles in NM are then dried. The varieties of red peppers that get dried are numerous around the world. I have never seen a dried red pepper labeled specifically as Hatch, although I'm sure it can be done. I don't remember seeing any fresh long red peppers very often when I lived there. Maybe demand is changing that. In the last few years a couple of vendors here have been selling fresh Espelette peppers, which are a long red pepper and quite hot. They have a different flavor entirely, being, I believe, originally from the Basque country. 

 

If you ordered a bowl of red chile in NM you were getting a soup made from dried red chiles, rehydrated into a slurry or a sauce, mixed in some fashion with a meat or chicken broth or water. If you ordered a bowl of green in late summer or early fall you were most likely getting fresh green chiles added to or cooked with the broth. If you ordered it in the winter or spring the green chiles were frozen.As noted by many they freeze quite well, and are typically roasted before freezing. Some people freeze them whole, still unpeeled. I always freeze mine after peeling.

 

Iowa Dee, I just read your latest post. You must be getting some unusual Anaheims, because in my experience a true Hatch and an Anaheim are as different as night and day. As for growing poblanos and leaving them on the vine to ripen to red, I'm sure they would be delicious, especially if they had some heat. 

 

[IowaDee]

It very possible that the Hatch chilies I've had are not the real thing.  They are all from an Iowa based grocery chain.  By the time they get here, they are a bit wilted and flaccid.....that sounds like an ad for Viagra doesn't it?  I've seen poblano plants for sale and a large garden center so next year I shall experiment with a couple of them

[Shelby]

4 minutes ago, IowaDee said:

It very possible that the Hatch chilies I've had are not the real thing.  They are all from an Iowa based grocery chain.  By the time they get here, they are a bit wilted and flaccid.....that sounds like an ad for Viagra doesn't it?  I've seen poblano plants for sale and a large garden center so next year I shall experiment with a couple of them

I was just in the big city grocery store today and saw some very flaccid...very sad chilies and they were labeled Hatch chilies.  So, yours very well could be true Hatch...but just in a sad state by the time they get to you.  That being said, when I order fresh ones from Hatch, NM they stay good for at least a couple of weeks if not more--and would stay longer in the fridge.

 

If I'm not mistaken, it's kind of like champagne....Hatch chilies are only Hatch chilies when they come from Hatch, New Mexico.  I guess I'm repeating what Katie said (so much better than I'm doing by the way).

[Thanks for the Crepes]

The Hatch I've been getting at Harris Teeter have been fresh and not wilted at all. You can buy them loose, as many or few as you like at $1.29 a pound. Once cooked they have that distinctive Hatch flavor I had only experienced with canned ones before. The fresh ones are better, but they are the same pepper.

[chileheadmike]

5 hours ago, IowaDee said:

I used to grow Anaheim chiles.  To my taste they are the closet ones to Hatch.  Picked some at the green stage but they were so much better if left to  ripen to that rich, red shade.  Just like the difference between green bells and red ones.  Now that I buy all my  peppers,  I usually grab poblanos.  Makes me want to plant one next year and let some chilies  vine ripen.  I know ripe ones are dried and become anchos but I want to taste them before they are dried.  Anyone done that?

I have. It's been a few years, we moved into a house with a very small yard and I've been reduced to growing a couple jalapenos and cayennes. Ripend poblanos lose the grassy  taste and are sweeter. I've used them for chile rellenos. I've also smoke dried them over pecan with good results.  My home grown poblanos were smaller than I've bought in the Mexican market or grocery store.  

[Martin Fisher]

FWIW, there is a plethora of chile pepper information on the New Mexico State University Chile Pepper Institute website.

[Shelby]

Got my chiles a bit ago   Guess what's for dinner?

 

[Toliver]

My local Vons' grocery is promoting Hatch Chile Days with roasting happening on Aug. 11th. 

Didn't this just happen?

I am getting old. 

 

[heidih]

Yes it seems more grocery stores here in the LA and Orange County area are doing roasting events. I wonder how far that unique scent travels? They are not a passion of mine but I do like that it gets people excited and thinking outside their boxes. 

Edited August 8, 2018 by heidih (log)

[David Ross]

The annual Hatch chile roast up here is next weekend.  I go every year, but last year bought a bag of the "mild" roasted chilies and they were anything but.  I better taste them first this year.  It's quite the scene seeing them hoist up box after box and dump them into the rotating fryer.  It sort of looks like a big round bingo ball drum.  The aroma is fantastic. 

[chileheadmike]

The ones I bought last year were insanely hot. Pretty tasty too. 

 

That was at a local grocery store called Lucky's. They had a chile roaster in the parking lot. They sold mostly local produce but had a nice selection of cheeses and big selection of different kinds of bacon. And the best olive bar I've been to. Sadly, they closed up this spring.

[David Ross]

I get mine from our local DeLeon foods, a combination grocery and café.  And by the way the most authentic Mexican food in our region.  These are photos from last year's chile roast

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

I've just been reading this thread and I have to say, the scent of roasting chiles, Hatch or otherwise, is one of my favorites. Who was it that said earlier that if Glade made a roasted chile air freshener it would be a sell-out success? What about perfume? I'd buy that! I recall shopping a couple of miles from where they were roasting chiles and I could smell that fragrance as if it were right next door. It draws you in like no other aroma.

 

But now that we live in México I've become a fan of poblanos, which are large and thick-fleshed and roast beautifully. One tip I learned from our Spanish teacher is to rub the raw chiles with a little bit of oil before you roast them--it makes the skin bubble and separate from the flesh quickly. I roast mine directly on the burners of my gas stove. I agree it's tedious to roast a large quantity that way, but I think the outcome is better. I imagine it would also work with Hatch chiles, especially if you're worried that they are thin-fleshed. And if you are able to select your chiles individually, try to get flat ones with a long stem--they roast better with no curvy parts, and the stem gives you a good handle (until you burn it off, which I do frequently).

 

Now I'm hungry for a New Mexican chile-cheeseburger!

 

Nancy in Pátzcuaro

 

 

[curls]

Hatch chile roasts have begun at the neighborhood Wegmans. I picked up a small box of roasted mediums. This year's mediums were less spicy than last years... might have been safe for me to work with the hot peppers. Made a batch of @Jaymes' enchilada sauce with the hatch peppers and a jar of homemade canned tomatoes. Added some to a batch of chili and put the rest in freezer bags to for later inspiration.

 

[Shelby]

6 minutes ago, curls said:

Hatch chile roasts have begun at the neighborhood Wegmans. I picked up a small box of roasted mediums. This year's mediums were less spicy than last years... might have been safe for me to work with the hot peppers. Made a batch of @Jaymes' enchilada sauce with the hatch peppers and a jar of homemade canned tomatoes. Added some to a batch of chili and put the rest in freezer bags to for later inspiration.

 

Thanks for the reminder!  I want to get some  

[curls]

2 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Thanks for the reminder!  I want to get some  

You're welcome! I was surprised to see them at the store before I saw them on eGullet. Usually eGullet is my early warning/reminder system for the Hatch chiles.  🙂

[Shelby]

2 minutes ago, curls said:

You're welcome! I was surprised to see them at the store before I saw them on eGullet. Usually eGullet is my early warning/reminder system for the Hatch chiles.  🙂

Time has really gotten away from me this year.  I would have forgotten if not for you!

[Shelby]

Got my chiles.  I ordered medium-hot and was a bit nervous that they might be super hot.  They are not.  Debating on ordering another box of hot......  Meanwhile, I roasted and peeled a bunch and made enchilada sauce which is resting happily in the freezer

 

[lemniscate]

I was just in Northern NM and all the signs were for Socorro chiles, not Hatch.   I have come to find out that there are chile turf wars in NM pitting growing regions against each other. 

[Toliver]

I discovered that my local Walmart grocery store sells bags of processed Hatch Chiles in their frozen section. It looks like a sort of pureé. 

Has anyone cooked with the frozen Hatch pureé? I am just curious if being frozen impacts/lessens the heat of the peppers.

[Shelby]

2 minutes ago, Toliver said:

I discovered that my local Walmart grocery store sells bags of processed Hatch Chiles in their frozen section. It looks like a sort of pureé. 

Has anyone cooked with the frozen Hatch pureé? I am just curious if being frozen impacts/lessens the heat of the peppers.

I've both ordered frozen and roasted my own and then froze them.  They are de-skinned and stemmed but otherwise left as whole as they can be.  I don't think that freezing impacts the heat factor.  

[lemniscate]

1 hour ago, Toliver said:

if being frozen impacts/lessens the heat of the peppers.

 

I've never noticed the heat from chiles diminish from freezing.   I freeze mine either whole, roasted & skinned, or as a puree as you found in the market.