Hatch Chili Peppers

[Annie_H]

Four flat packs of smoked Hatch with smoked garlic, onion, and tomatillo. Freezer packs. I can break off a half or quarter easily for winter salsa--add fresh green onion/cilantro winter months. 

Good spice. Not too much. Heat is present forward but sneaks up in the background minutes later. 

 

[Jon Savage]

We got 25# roasted in the parking lot of a nearby supermarket Saturday last. Peeled de seeded vacu packaged into 8oz packages for freezing. The mediums we got this year were really nice. I think this is mostly a SWish kind of thing. 

[Katie Meadow]

On 8/8/2022 at 12:26 AM, pastameshugana said:

We lived in New Mexico for 8 years, green chili is certainly a way of life. So much so that when I would have breakfast with staff, if someone ordered oatmeal, he would variably get mocked or someone would tell the server to put green chili the poor guys oats.

 

After the first year, we learned to ask around about when the two main 'harvests' would show up in the local stores. If you wanted to buy cases of the good stuff, you had to be there in the first two or three days. You could get them year round, but that first delivery was the freshest, biggest, and best-priced. (To be fair, the second harvest seemed to taste better, but I don't know why). When the shipments would come in, most grocery stores would have huge entry displays with stacks of 25lb cases of the varying heat levels.

 

Then the real chili-heads had their own favorite farms or areas, and special chillies. While green chili is not normally a very hot pepper, you could get mild, medium, hot, extra hot, and triple-x. And some years the XXX would be a fair comparison to some of the genuinely hot chillies in the world. The triple-X wasn't usually available at normal grocers, but some of the smaller places would carry them. Some friends were so committed they would drive a couple of hours to a particular farm or roadside stand to get their favorite batch each year.

 

One of my favorites was a red chili from Jemez. Just a wonderful smoky flavor, it made the best red enchiladas I've ever had. We used to know a family that had a farm there and could get a private stash from time to time.

 

As for restaurants, a couple of Green-Chile winners (As you can tell, I can't decide on a spelling of chili or chile...)

 

Statewide: Blake's Lottaburger has great green chili cheeseburgers. A real staple. Depending on the season or the day they range from medium to very hot.

 

Gallup (northwest NM):

-The Rocket has the hottest green chili that is still mild enough to truly enjoy - great with juevos-rancheros or to dip your crispy bacon in

-Jerry's Cafe has the absolute tastiest green chili, but not very hot. Not a stew, but a sauce. Also, their ground beef (in tacos & enchiladas) is catnip-level-addictive

 

We're living back overseas again, and this time the only food we really miss is Green Chili.

And you must not forget the original Owl Cafe in San Antonio, famous for its green chile burger. Equally important reason to go that part of NM is the Bosque del Apache wildlife reserve. Fabulous birding

[heidih]

1 hour ago, Jon Savage said:

We got 25# roasted in the parking lot of a nearby supermarket Saturday last. Peeled de seeded vacu packaged into 8oz packages for freezing. The mediums we got this year were really nice. I think this is mostly a SWish kind of thing. 

In Long Beach?

[Jon Savage]

22 hours ago, heidih said:

In Long Beach?

Yup. They will be at Gelsons on second street Saturday 

[btbyrd]

Apart from chili verde, my main use of Hatches is on burgers. This is in regular rotation at our house. 

 

We can only get mild ones here, and they’re the same Melissa’s brand all year round. Even though they’re not the best, they still taste great. I love the smoke and the green spice they bring to a dish. I’d love to get a case or two of the good ones sometime!

[lemniscate]

Green chile stew with cubed {previously SV'd and frozen) pork loin, some jarred ABQ green chile sauce, frozen diced NM hot green chile, cans of crushed and cubed tomatoes, a couple of tblsp Pollo con Tomate bouillon, a little crushed cumin and coriander in the IP for a few minutes.    The jarred sauce and frozen chiles were roadtrip acquisitions from a fall vacation.   The only thing I was missing was tortillas.  

Edited December 24, 2022 by lemniscate (log)

[gulfporter]

Our first taste of Hatch chiles was in 2004 in Los Alamos, NM....at a Pizza Hut!!!  It was an optional topping.  We were hooked.

 

Many years when we lived in Bisbee AZ, we'd plan a trip to NM to fetch some during harvest season.  

[MaryIsobel]

I was gobsmacked this morning to see Hatch Chiles at our local supermarket. Product of California. Trying not to buy US stuff (sorry) but I make the odd exception. I didn't buy any yet - I need to have a plan for them. So do you all just roast them like regular chiles and then freeze them?

 

Edited 22 hours ago by Smithy
Adjusted title (capitalization) (log)

[Darienne]

Can you have a real Hatch Chile which is not from New Mexico?

 

Our local Sobeys. an Atlantic-based chain now in Ontario, carries Poblanos and we use them in a number of dishes: Chile Rellenos casserole, Chile Rellenos (made them once...had them in every Mexican restaurant we ever ate in), rajas (roasted and then frozen, and added rajas in just about everything I could think of.  Had them this week in Chili.  

 

As for roasting them in a traditional manner....I'm ashamed (mildly) to say that I don't.

[MaryIsobel]

I don't mind where they're from as long as they are close to the real deal as I hear so much about them but have never seen them for sale here. I find a good supply of poblanos around here - some are even grown in Canada. I love chili rellenos so that is what I use them for most. We are slowly getting more and more Mexican ingredients as our Mexican population continues to rise. A couple of years ago, I looked for tostadas and they were non-existent, now they are in every grocery. Same with prepared molé sauce. It's a sign of the times and I'm liking it!

[Darienne]

So I'm back to see the latest response to this topic and my eye drops to the first "Similar Content" line and it's there, my topic  from 2018, Chiles Rellenos, Tex-Mex style.  Fun reading posts from that time.  

[Alex]

They're for sale here, too, at our nearby supermarket. They're certified by the Hatch Chile Association, therefore grown in the Hatch Valley in New Mexico.