For several weeks a year the New Hatch Green Chile's roll through town for a short visit. These are the 'Gold Standard' of the green pepper game. We have our Anaheim s and Long Hots but the New Hatch are just something special. These peppers have a cult like following of fans. Anybody from the Southwest or a fan of Tex-Mex foods knows the magic these peppers bring. In the past we needed to be diligent to find these peppers because only a select few markets would carry these peppers. Now for several weeks a year almost every market will stock them. Our local market finally has the New Hatch Green Chile.
I picked up 10 pounds of peppers at 99 cents a pound. The produce manager and I were talking about the ways of cooking and roasting of these peppers when he just happened to mention that I should buy a case. He also made me an offer that I could not refuse. (.70 cents/pd). With a 25 pound case under my arm it was time to get roasting.
Roasting 25 pounds of peppers sounds like a daunting task but is quit easy. We roasted them on our Weber kettle over a very hot mesquite charcoal fire. The idea is to blister the skin. You are not trying to cook them. A couple of turns on the grill and they will blister quickly. They are stacked on a sheet pan to cool. This method steams and loosens the skins for easy peeling. We portion them out and place them in ziploc bags. They are then put in the Chilebrown ice cave for future use. These peppers are so tasty. This case was marked hot and they delivered. We now have a great base for salsas, eggs, chili-verde, and so much more. We are happy.
9 comments:
Good golly that's a lot of peppers!That would last me a lifetime.
Greg, These will last us a year. They freeze and keep very well. You let them partially thaw and the skins come of really easy.
My last case was very easy to roast - the guy at the market dumped them in the roaster, ran it awhile and dumped them in a bag for me - easiest ones I ever did :-)
Big Dude, It is nice to have somebody roast them for you. When we go to Stcokton and buy California peppers the guy knows how to roast them correctly. With that said, the clerk in charge of roasting at one of our local stores had not roasted before and made a mess out of it. I enjoyed roasting them and I know it was done right.
I wish I could get Hatch chilies around here. I had to settle for roasting poblanos and jalapeños last weekend. I will be posting a smoked method as well.
Three Dog BBQ, New Hatch are very special. I cannot imagine chili verde with out them. I know you can get them mail-order. I am looking forward to your smoking episode.
What do you mean by "New Hatch?"
Aware of the controversy surrounding New Mexico chile certification? Money quote: "The new certified chile program also allows for a registered chile grower in any part of the state to call the chile they grow Hatch green chile."
http://www.koat.com/news/coalition-pokes-holes-in-new-mexicos-new-chile-certification-program/27689340#!bLMg5O
Aaron, I call them New Hatch because that is what I have always called them. I refuse to pay 500 dollars to call them New Mexican. I may be wrong in the actual name but they sure taste good.
I just ordered a 5 lb package of Hatch chiles since no one carries them reliably over here West o' the Mississippi. Can't wait! Your chile burger made me do it.
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