2022 Hatch Chili Season is here

[Smoked Transistors]

Lots of local grocery stores here in So Cal. are already selling Hatch New Mexico chili peppers but not many are set up for roasting sacks of the peppers in their parking lots.

Starting tomorrow, Frieda's Brand for select Ralph's and Food4Less stores will start taking preorders for certain store locations that are roasting Hatch Chili peppers in surrounding areas of So. California.

I roast my own Hatch Chili's peppers but thought this list maybe helpful for others here in So Cal to locate a supermarket near you that are roasting Hatch Chili peppers this season.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/the-scene/new-hatch-chile-roasting-dates-are-now-simmering/2948596/

[ofelles]

Waiting on mine from the Hatch Chile Store!

[SheilaAnn]

Smoked Transistors i was just wondering when they would start popping up. I was at sprouts just the other day looking for them. BTW, did you know Frieda’s warehouse is right across from Katella Deli? I have a friend who buys in bulk for his hot sauce biz. And another friend who gets them straight from NM.

[Smoked Transistors]

Thanks for the info, i did not know that Frieda's warehouse was nearby. I normally just get them every year from Sprouts since it close to home.

[Smoked Transistors]

Update : Went to Sprouts yesterday in Lakewood, they will be roasting Hatch Chili's peppers Aug13th,14th & Aug 20th,21st in their parking lot

[captainlee]

Waiting for the Pueblo CO chili s to show up, we enjoy them. Like to make a green chili sauce to smother our Mexican dishes in. Of course we will freeze a bunch too.

[tstalafuse]

Pueblo chili's have better flavor. Now the question is do I get them roasted or buy a roaster...

[captainlee]

It's just too easy to get them roasted, buy a full case and in a matter of moments it's done. Fun to watch them go round and round. Had a Forest Service campground host from NM that we used to get into it every year about the best. Of course he wouldn't eat anything but NM chili s.

[Livermoron]

Just loaded up some Hatch Chili Chicken in the pressure cooker...

[Attjack]

I got my rotisserie basket ready to rock.

[SheilaAnn]

BF was just saying that the chiles will "stain" the grill. I don’t think so. Thoughts?

[barelfly]

SheilaAnn - no….I don’t see how they would stain a grill?

[SheilaAnn]

barelfly I though so….. just like doing fish in your CI one meal and beef the next. No residual.

[barelfly]

Chile…..you say….

Honestly, it’s still to early for Hatch Chile. Mid August is when it starts up, at least here in New Mexico. the September batches are usually the best in my opinion.

We will buy our standard 10lbs of green - usually a Big Jim and Sandia and then get a bag of red as well.

If you happen to see chile from Lemitar, New Mexico - some here in the state say that’s better than Hatch. Lemitar is about 2 hours north of Hatch.

But, let the green times roll!!!!!!

[SheilaAnn]

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

[jfmorris]

Woohoo! A buddy told me Kroger here has Hatch Chilis! And $1.99 a pound brisket on sale starting tomorrow!

So if I get some hatch chilis, I see how some of y'all talk about roasting them, peeling them and freezing them. I can do that, but tell me about the peeling process? Do you just go over them with a veggie peeler thing, or is it a skin you can grab and pull off? Trying to picture how that works...

[Hulagn1971]

jfmorris I've always roasted them then put them in either a plastic grocery store bag and tied it or in a large ziploc bag and let them sit for about 15 minutes or so. Then pull them out and the skin slips off fairly easily.

[jfmorris]

rickgregory you make the assumption I've roasted a pepper before!

[jfmorris]

Hulagn1971 thanks - I think that makes a lot of sense.

[jfmorris]

So do you guys just setup or direct grilling, and grill them enough to get some char? I assume we are not wanting the peppers fully softened here, kinda al dente? Or are you going for soft?

[Mosca]

Direct grill. They go full soft.

[Attjack]

Woohoo! A buddy told me Kroger here has Hatch Chilis! And $1.99 a pound brisket on sale starting tomorrow!

So if I get some hatch chilis, I see how some of y'all talk about roasting them, peeling them and freezing them. I can do that, but tell me about the peeling process? Do you just go over them with a veggie peeler thing, or is it a skin you can grab and pull off? Trying to picture how that works...

When I did them in the basket the skins pretty much just fell off on their own.

[jfmorris]

Ok - I see. So you cut into strips, seed it, THEN freeze. Makes sense.

[rickgregory]

That's a great set of photos showing the process. jfmorris - if you are only doing a pound or two you can roast over direct heat untilt the skin blisters like that, then do the plastic bag trick or toss them in a bowl and cover to let the steam soften things. The rotating drum seems to mostly take the skin off due to the tumbling motion

[Mosca]

jfmorris My first set, I roasted and then cleaned and peeled afterward. My second set, I cleaned first (cut tops, removed seeds) and peeled afterward. I thought cleaning first was easier: cut the top, run a paring knife around the seed pod, shake out and rinse insides. But neither is difficult, it’s really just a preference. I liked working with the more solid product, someone else might prefer working with the cooked product. Do some each way and decide, maybe?

[barelfly]

jfmorris you have some great photos from Attjack on his process. Great way to do it.

The better the roast, the easier the pealing is going to be. Well blistered and dark colored. And as another states, letting them sweat in a bag is a great way to help. And when we buy the 5-10lbs bags, they are garbage bags tied in a knot of just roasted chile. We let these sit in the hot sun for a few hours. The longer the sweat the better.

from there, my wife and I get what we can of the peal off and into a zipper top bag and freeze. We don’t stress about all the peel. Once frozen, when we got use the the chile, we let it thaw out and then get the rest of the peal off. You can remove the stem and seeds or leave them, just depends on what you prefer.

either way - love some green and red chile! Goes on anything! Even ice cream and chocolate!!!

[jfmorris]

Thanks - I plan to go look for brisket and hatch chiles at my Kroger tomorrow at lunch.

[Attjack]

Can anyone school me on green vs red/orange hatch chilies?

[Attjack]

Thanks. Green bell peppers are worthless 😂

I wonder if I'll get any real hatch chilies? Last year I could not locate any. The year before I found those pictured above.

[Willy]

Agreed, green bells are worthless. Green chiles, otoh…yum.

The rotisserie basket is da bomb for roasting chiles and peppers, eh?

[Attjack]

Willy I had great success with those hatch chilis. I've only done peppers a couple of other times. The hatch chilis peeled the easiest. I really need to do some more basket cooks I've only used it a handful of times.

[barelfly]

As Willy states, the red/orange chile are aged green chiles. If you let jalapenos ripen past green, they do the same thing. Green to red with age on the vine. now where the actually chiles come from…I don’t know. Hatch chile produces a decent amount. But for the nation? There can be a hatch chile variety that is grown around the country but do they come from Hatch? Regardless, its all about the chile! Hatch, Lemitar, Rio Grande Valley - as long as it’s not Colorado Green Chile! Hahaha that is the wannabe green chile

just find a chile that tastes good and provides the heat/flavor profile you want. That’s all that matters!

[Willy]

Here’s the "peeing on the parade" piece I promised yesterday.

The point of this post is to show that there’s a heck of a lot of, let’s generously say, "mythology" (aka, marketing) around Hatch chiles. A quote from Dave DeWitt, the so-called "Pope of Peppers":
"It’s like an urban legend," DeWitt says. "In fact, there isn’t enough chile grown in tiny Hatch to meet demand for all the places that supposedly sell Hatch chile." Link here: https://alibi.com/food/43183/A-Myth-Hatched.html

Here’s another link discussing Hatch chile mythology:
https://www.burn-blog.com/11372/myth...-hatch-pepper/

Below is a link from the USDA and NMDA showing chile production in NM, partly by county. Note that the county Hatch is in, Doña Ana county, produces less than a quarter of all NM chile production. Note too that only about 20% of the total NM crop is sold fresh. So how is the chile from the rest of the state marketed/labelled? Hmmmm. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics...Production.pdf

Yet another interesting fact is that most all of the chile seed planted in Hatch is actually grown in Arizona, so there’s no evolutionarily acclimating to the Hatch "terroir" over time: https://www.azfb.org/Article/The-Sto...thout-Ed-Curry

The good news is that any New Mexico pod-type chile grown in New Mexico will be very good, as will chiles from the hotter parts of Arizona and Colorado. Heck, even chiles from Texas will be good.

If you can make it to Hatch for their Chile Festival (Sept 2-4 this year), absolutely do so. It’s a hoot, including their tiny old-timey parade. You’ll be able buy all the tasty chiles you want, and, hey, even learn how to tie a ristra. Hatch is a tiny town, so I recommend getting a room in nearby Las Cruces, which also worth exploring.

Bottom line: If it's being sold as "Hatch"; it's probably good even if it wasn't grown in Hatch.

Oh, if you do get to Hatch, go to Sparky’s to eat. BBQ, green chile burgers, and all the kitsch you can handle.

[klflowers]

Dammit man...

[Smoked Transistors]

Spent part of the day roasting 25 pounds Hatch Green Chilis yesterday. Definitely a bit of work roasting ,cleaning, and packing them up for freezing but at least I'm set till next season.