New Mexico Green Chilies

[MobyP]

Okay - here's the problem:

I live in England. Hatch chiles grow 6500 miles away. I need some, and bad.

Now, I've found a couple of places that will send me 40 pounds at a time, fresh or frozen, but being a modest sort of fellow, not approaching 300 pounds, I'd rather divide that by ten, and freeze some.

Does anyone know of a delivery service that will send International for small orders of that good green stuff?

[Susan G]

I'll check around in Albuquerque, NM, where I live. There may be a restaurant supplier like B. Riley's willing to do this.

Do you prefer to have them arrive fresh, or frozen? Is four pounds the maximum you want at a time?

[MobyP]

Whole Foods in Santa Fe used to have them canned - and out of desperation, I'd even take that. Otherwise - any way they come. I'd say four pounds would be a healthy maximum, wouldn't you (fresh or frozen that is)? As a refresher, anyway.

You're in Albuquerque? I still dream of the tortillas and green chile stew at Frontier restaurant opposite the campus. I usesd to smuggle that stuff in half-gallon buckets. I once tried to bribe a cop with it, but I realised too late I was in Arizona - and what did he know about NM chiles?

Edited August 12, 2004 by MobyP (log)

[estherschindler]

Actually, 4 pounds isn't all that much, especially if you cook something with them and freeze it (like a stew). If you're going to have it shipped all that way, why not 10?

I don't know these folks at all, but this place and this place seem to ship-- though they don't mention overseas. I wonder if you CAN, or if (as a plant product) it's not permitted?

[mongo_jones]

moby, every street in every hispanic neighbourhood in denver seems to have about 25 stands selling only hatch chiles. $25 a bushel i believe. can't get them to you but i know you'd want me to tell you about them.

what you need to do is find 10 other chile-heads and set up a group order.

[Susan G]

I have an e-mail in to the purchasing department of B. Riley's. I'll keep you posted.

By the way, does it *have* to be Hatch green chiles? Bueno Foods sells tubs of frozen prepared green chiles throughout the year, and they're in Mild, Medium, Hot, and Extra Hot gradations.

[chow guy]

I have an e-mail in to the purchasing department of B. Riley's.  I'll keep you posted.

By the way, does it *have* to be Hatch green chiles?  Bueno Foods sells tubs of frozen prepared green chiles throughout the year, and they're in Mild, Medium, Hot, and Extra Hot gradations.

In IMHO Bueno Chile is not bueno. I won a Chile contest they ran and got product as the prize. I was surprised by the quality.

There is a seasonal stand over on Broadway and Mountain that's open now. I'll check and see if they ship. They had great green chile.

B. Riley used to be very customer oriented. Dale Porterfield would bend over backwards to fill customers requests. How are the new owners when it comes to customer service?

[russ parsons]

You're in Albuquerque? I still dream of the tortillas and green chile stew at Frontier restaurant opposite the campus.

aaaaaaaaaaah. frontier sweet rolls. i practically lived on those when i was going to college.

[MobyP]

No wonder you've gone so far!

[russ parsons]

No wonder you've gone so far!

probably would have gone farther if i wasn't loaded down with all those sweet rolls.

i don't know how many albuquerqueans remember, but there also used to be a great fried chicken place out east central, golden fried chicken. it was close to the bar i bartended at, so i'd get sweet rolls from the frontier for breakfast and golden fried chicken for dinner. then i found out they were both owned by the same guy! i probably put his kid through school.

[Susan G]

Ahem. The new owners of B. Riley's haven't answered my e-mail yet about the chile, so I'll have to stop in tomorrow and ask............

The Raley's supermarket on Central and Tramway has set up a roasting cage for fresh green chiles...........there's a really distinctive pungency in the smoke!

[kellycolorado]

When my husband moved to California from ABQ several years ago to join me, I got him 5 lbs of hatch hot green chile overnighted from an internet merchant. It was shipped in styrofoam and rock hard. About $50.00 i think. I'll see if I bookmarked it anywhere (it was probably on my old Sun workstation bookmarks at work...)

Good luck finding a place to ship internationally. We are almost out of the 1/2 bushel he drove up from Albuquerque last year.

[BobL]

Just to add my $.02. I've been buying my green chile's (about 50# per year) from Superbly Southwestern for 4 years now and have had them shipped to MD. This years batch are awesome.

I think that I saw in their brochure that they will ship internationally. Someone gave the link to the website above.

Here it is again:

http://www.hotchile.com/

Good Luch

[ludja]

Gfron1 started some postings on the green chile cheeseburger thread.

Here is a recent article from the Abq Tribube: click

Despite the devastation in Hatch, there's good news for chile lovers.

While Soto's small farm was overwhelmed, the storm that led to Tuesday's flooding didn't make a big difference for the larger farms north of town, or to the other chile farms across New Mexico.

Gene Baca, president of the New Mexico Chile Association and vice president of Bueno Foods, said most of the state's crop is raised in the Deming area. Hatch "is a fairly small part of where chile is grown in New Mexico," he said.

"They have the name that most people associate with chile in the state, but there's actually not a lot of chile grown in that area," Baca said.

John White, Doña Ana County extension agent, said about 2,000 acres to 3,000 acres of chile are planted in the Hatch area - about half of the 5,500 acres planted in the county.

It sounds pretty bad for many growers in Hatch, but hopefully further damage willl be avoided. There is more rain in the forecast though and the story may change.

The flooding may also have implications for the upcoming Hatch Green Chile Festival over Labor Day Weekend.

Edited August 17, 2006 by ludja (log)

[ludja]

Here are the earlier postings from the green chile cheeseburger thread:

click

Here's an update from chile country.  In SW New Mexico we've been getting record amounts of rain for the past month.  One lifelong resident told me yesterday that no one in her family ever remembers getting this much rain.  So, yesterday the levees surrounding Hatch broke and the town and many of the fields flooded.  What was looking to be a great chile season a few weeks ago, is now looking to be a disaster.  We've started seeing some fresh chiles coming out of the fields, but very few.  It is still a bit early since the main harvest being in a few more weeks, but now with the fields flooded and saturated, the locals are thinking there won't be many chiles produced.

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That is a disaster. I'm going to be in Albuquerque in next weekend, and I'll try and report back.

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Here's an update from chile country.  In SW New Mexico we've been getting record amounts of rain for the past month.  One lifelong resident told me yesterday that no one in her family ever remembers getting this much rain.  So, yesterday the levees surrounding Hatch broke and the town and many of the fields flooded.  What was looking to be a great chile season a few weeks ago, is now looking to be a disaster.  We've started seeing some fresh chiles coming out of the fields, but very few.  It is still a bit early since the main harvest being in a few more weeks, but now with the fields flooded and saturated, the locals are thinking there won't be many chiles produced.

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The local news here last night showed rivers of rushing water flowing through the streets of Hatch. That same piece mentioned that the Chile crop was spared. It's a milagro! We shall see.

It's been very wet this year, so the chile will not be as hot as dry years. The weather report is for more torrential rain the rest of the week. Not good!

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[misstenacity]

I'm hoping for some fantastic Chimayo stuff (from Northern NM). It can be hotter than the Hatch varieties, anyway.

But right about now some really hot weather would help "hotten up" the chiles just before they are harvested. Hope for blistering sun!

Andrea

http://foodpart.com

[gfron1]

It got a bit worse today. I was down in Deming and they got another good dump. Locals are saying this is the most rain in at least 40 years if not 100. Of course its a good/bad problem since we're normally in drought.

It is very true that the majority of crops come from the Deming area (and also closer to Las Cruces), but many of the fields around Deming are underwater too.

[ludja]

If you're like many who have visited New Mexico and fallen in love with the green chile there, you've probably grappled with deciding how to bring some home!

My usual technique had been to bring frozen green chile back in a soft, insulated cooler chilled with a frozen water bottle which fit into my carry-on baggage. I'm not sure if this method would "fly" now since the latest restrictions regarding what can be toted in carry-on luggage.

I'm interested in other's strategies, but here is something useful I learned in reading a post by hummingbirdkiss in the Costco thread. click

... I live in the Pacific Northwest and every year I go to Santa Fe to visit my family ...we hit Costco for the green chile ..they have very good frozen peeled and chopped green chiles there in travel proof containers ..so I load my cooler for the plane trip back with them ...

..;

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Edited March 7, 2007 by ludja (log)

[russ parsons]

ludja, i don't know where you live, but in southern california, my neighborhood albertson's has started carrying bueno red and green! you can't imagine my delight. granted, it's not as good as a single-field special from chimayo or belen, but it's right down the street. you might want to check and see if it's available in your city.

[ludja]

ludja, i don't know where you live, but in southern california, my neighborhood albertson's has started carrying bueno red and green! you can't imagine my delight. granted, it's not as good as a single-field special from chimayo or belen, but it's right down the street. you might want to check and see if it's available in your city.

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That is wonderful! I think you or someone else did previously mention that some Albertson's were stocking Bueno green and red chile. I did check at that time but should do so again to see if any of the NoCal branches are now stocking the addictive green or red!

I've often wondered why New Mexico green chile hasn't taken off in terms of being readily available in other parts of the US. Many people do enjoy particularly enjoy it and frozen 'local' food is now shipped around the country. Do you think the crops are not large enough to support heavy "export" out of the state or is there another reason?

[ludja]

I should mention that there are companies that one can order from online that will ship frozen green chile. The recommendations for these firms are sprinkled throughout varous threads; maybe we'll build up a good list again on this thread.

Since one is allowed two checked baggages, I guess I should dedicate a second checked piece of luggage to a styrofoam cooler filled with green chile... A friend recently did this on a trip to North Carolina in wonderful food trade: New Mexico Green Chile for North Carolina bbq from Allen and Son's outside of Chapel Hill. Both traders were happy with the results.

[russ parsons]

I've often wondered why New Mexico green chile hasn't taken off in terms of being readily available in other parts of the US.  Many people do enjoy particularly enjoy it and frozen 'local' food is now shipped around the country.  Do you think the crops are not large enough to support heavy "export" out of the state or is there another reason?

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this is something that has long puzzled/aggravated me. here in southern california, santa fe is a favorite vacation spot. but there isn't a single new mexican restaurant worthy of the name in the entire area. honestly, i know 3 different couples with vacation houses there and it seems like every time i turn around someone is asking me about the area. but not one restaurant.

[CaliPoutine]

Isnt a New Mexico Green Chili also known as an Anaheim?

[Raoul Duke]

Yes they were known as Anahiem chiles at one time, also California chiles. We have Food 4 Less markets here in the central coast of Cali and in the summer a vendor comes up with fresh New Mexico chiles and roasts them in the parking lot at the Atascadero store. 99cents a pound roasted. Needless to say 10 bucks worth is a good start.

[russ parsons]

i haven't gotten to the bottom of this yet, but there is no comparison between the anaheim chiles i buy in my local grocery and new mexican chiles. the anaheims are about as mild as a bell pepper. the new mexican will burn your hair off (see my scalp sometime). i'm sure this is mostly varietal and probably partly climactic. a column for another day.