Greetings from the Mesilla Valley in the Land of Enchantment

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome to The Pit wmsjensen! We’re excited that you're here and thanks for the support!

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Hope to hear & see more from you!

[MBMorgan]

Welcome from Colorado!

[Spinaker]

Welcome to the Pit! Send me some of those Hatch chillies!!! I would love to get one of those Caja China cookers. I ha a friend that used to bring his to tailgates. That sucker cranked out tons and tons of wonderful Chicken quarters. We would love to see some pictures of that baby in action.

[wmsjensen]

I know one of the growers in Hatch. The Big Jim chile was named for his father. Jo and Jim have the best chile products. You can buy frozen from them; they ship. It is not the same as roasting fresh yourself, you do lose some of the sugar carmelization.

http://www.hatchchileexpress.com/

[Spinaker]

Haha, Crazy!! That is awesome the pepper is named after him. I have grown some of the Big Jim's with great success, here in Minnesota. I got them from the Pepper Institute in New Mexico. But I am not sure if they are the same or not. Do Hatch chillies HAVE to be grown in the valley to be considered Hatch chillies? wmsjensen Kinda like champagne in France?

[wmsjensen]

Yes, the purist will say has to be Hatch Valley, most of the Mesilla Valley which Hatch is part of grows good chile. Even Deming (Diaz Farms) grows great stuff. The Chile Pepper Institute is right here at NMSU in Las Cruces.

[Willy]

The thing is, there is no variety known as "Hatch". Many varieties are grown in and around Hatch--Big Jim, New Mexico 6-4, Barker Extra Hot, NuMex Joe E. Parker,.... They're all the same species: Capsicum annuum, which is the same species as bells, jalapenos, and many more.

[Willy]

Also, much of the seed for Hatch chile (and elsewhere) comes from AZ (150 miles west of Hatch), from Ed Curry https://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/genera...icle1_2006.pdf . I have GREAT respect for Hatch chiles (great chile climate), but the Hatch "brand" is mostly marketing.

[tbob4]

Welcome from Northern CA. You have some good folks on this site from your neck of the woods. In fact, there was some talk awhile back among some of them about meeting up at the Hatch festival, if I am not mistaken. Willy, I believe has the information. He is a regular contributor and his cook photos will have your mouth watering.

[wmsjensen]

Thanks for the tip. I'll look him up. If you ever get here you have to go to Sparky's in Hatch. BBQ, best green chile cheeseburger in the state, green chile lemonade, country music:

http://sparkysburgers.com/

[Willy]

wmsjensen Plus 1 on Sparky's! Good food and a lot of character.

We attended the Chile Festival in 2015--great time AND I finally learned how to tie a ristra.

[Amajeff99]

welcome from CT

[UGA]

Welcome to the pit from Georgia

[Mr. Bones]

Welcome to th' Pit, glad yer here!
Lookin' forward to hearin' more from ya'!!!
Loves me some peppers!!!

[wmsjensen]

Willy is correct. Hatch is mostly about marketing. That's being played out as farmers in Hatch are suing the Hatch Brand of canned chiles for using chiles grown in Mexico. Also, the state has started a "certified" program to combat Mexican imports parading as NM and/or Hatch Green Chile.

[Danjohnston949]

wmsjensen, Welcme to "The Pit"! You are Now Enrolled in the BBQ Univ.! Attendance and Participation are Mandatory!
Enjoy "The Pit"! Young Feller I am Glad You Didn't Burn Your Fingers Back in the "60's"❓❓ 👍👍😇👍👍
Eat Well and Prosper! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan