Did you know that it is almost Hatch Green Chile time? Hatch is the name of a town in New Mexico and they grow the most incredible green Chiles in the world. The Chiles are harvested during August and September each year. There is even a festival dedicated to celebrating the harvest of this wonderful pepper. You may be familiar with the red Chile Ristra used for decoration and seasoning throughout the world.
Over the years, I have tried to find just the right recipe that will capture the taste of freshly picked peppers but have come up short every time. That is, until last week. I was reading an article from Dave Cathey, The Food Dude, in the Food Section of the Daily Oklahoman. Dave gave an overview of his recipe and made several recipes with the Chiles as well and it all looked delicious! Here, take a look for yourself: http://newsok.com/hatch-by-the-batch-buy-your-green-chiles-in-bulk-and-store-heat-for-the-winter/article/3702945 I knew this was the recipe to use so I emailed Dave and asked if it was okay to use it and then blog about it – he was very gracious and said it was just fine with him so I made a few calls to my daughter and the next thing you know, she showed up in the driveway with these:
Look in the Tutorial tab on the right for a detailed description of how to roast, peel, deseed, devein, and prepare for cooking.
Hatch Green Chiles – Green Chile Sauce Recipe
Dave’s recipe calls for:
80 Hatch green chilies, roasted, peeled, and seeded.
4 medium sweet onions, dice
1 head of garlic
4 carrots, grated
16 Cups chicken stock
¼ Cup salt
2 Tablespoons ground black pepper
½ Cup vegetable oil
I, of course, did my own thing changing it here and there to make it mine. This is my process:
We take up here with a big old bowlful of prepared Hatch Green Chiles – in this case 160 peppers:
Yep, 160 because my daughter thought a flat of peppers was actually a case of peppers so she had her husband buy 2 cases – that’s a little more than 2 bushels!! Just in case you are wondering, right now I am sick of smelling, eating, and looking at Hatch Chile Peppers.
I used a bag of small carrots, 4 large onions, and 4 heads of garlic – and I didn’t really dice or grate any of it.
Instead of chicken stock, I wanted it to have a deeper more complex flavor so I used some duck stock (equal to 20 cups) I had made back when I prepared my yearly gumbo – that also served as the oil I was going to use.
Salt and regular pepper of course and I used about what Dave’s recipe called for because we aren’t big salt people.
I pulled out my handy dandy brand new bought-for-$8-at-a-yard-sale roaster and dumped it all in. I turned the roaster to 200 F degrees, put the lid on, and ran out the door to the dentist. I returned five hours later and this is what it looked like.
I turned the roaster up to 325 F degrees and went to bed in order to recover from the filling and shot. After three hours it looked like this:
I began using the emersion mixer to puree the whole thing.
Doesn’t that look good?
Then I ladled it all into different sized jars for different uses, eventually equaling twenty ½ pints.
Then I processed them in the pressure cooker according to my cooker’s directions and this is how they looked when it was all finished.
It took three full days of Top Girl and me working together, but we got it done and while there is another full bushel of peppers to be worked up waiting patiently for us in freezer bags, Top Girl, Lawyer Boy, and Mr. Picky-eater will have all the green Chile they want this winter for homemade enchiladas, burritos, tailgate dips, and Chile Verde.
There are still plenty of Hatch Chile Peppers in the stores so why don’t you make some? Just take Dave’s recipe and increase or decrease it to make an amount you are comfortable with. Come on – you can do it!! BTW, these peppers were marked “Hot” on the box and even with them seeded and deveined the word “Hot” pales in comparison to the white strike of lightening that hits my tongue every time I taste them!
Find more info about Dave Cathey at the links below:
FAQs
Hatch chiles are a super versatile ingredient.
"The big thing about Hatch chiles is their overall versatility since you can use them in basically any dish," says Cotanch. "They're great for stews, sautés, sauces, and dips like queso, hummus, or salsa.
What is the difference between green chili and hatch green chili? ›
New Mexico/Hatch Chiles
These long green chiles are virtually identical to California and Anaheim peppers, with one distinct difference: they are much, much hotter. Hatch chiles are New Mexico chiles that are grown in the small town of Hatch, New Mexico, and are considered premium green chiles.
How do you make Hatch green chile? ›
When cooking with Hatch chiles at home, make sure you roast them to enhance the flavor and intensify the heat level. Broil them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet until charred, 5 to 7 minutes per side.
What is the hottest Hatch green chili? ›
Lumbre is our X-Hot variety. On the scoville units scale it ranges between 9,000-10,000 units. This chile is not for the faint of heart and will leave your mouth burning for hours…
Are Hatch green chiles hotter than jalapeños? ›
So, in terms of heat, some Hatch Chile is milder than a jalapeno, while others are just as hot, or even hotter. It all depends on the specific variety of Hatch chile you're dealing with. We offer Green Chile in Mild, Medium, Hot, and X-Hot, delivered right to your door!
What's so special about Hatch green chiles? ›
The reason Hatch Chile are so special is that they are considered by many to be the best tasting of all chile peppers - especially when roasted! The roasting really brings out the delicious flavors – the thick flesh of roasted Hatch Chile has the best buttery, smokey, intense flavor!
Which is hotter red or green Hatch chile? ›
Did you know that all Hatch chile varieties eventually turn red as they ripen to full maturity? That doesn't mean they necessarily get hotter – as they redden they develop deeper often sweeter flavor, while the heat level doesn't typically increase.
What spice level is Hatch green chile? ›
Hatch peppers can range from 1,000 – 8,000 in Scoville Heat Units – for perspective, they generally fall between the mild spice of a poblano or Anaheim chili pepper and can heat up towards a jalapeno or habanero on the Scoville Scale.
Why do Hatch green chiles turn red? ›
The green chiles turn red as they ripen. In general, fresh and/or roasted chiles are green and dried chiles and dried chile powder are red. In any case, they start green—when many people harvest and roast them—and turn red as they ripen.
Do you have to peel Hatch green chiles? ›
If you're using the roasted hatch chile right away, then peel them. If you want to store them for later however, it's better to pack them away WITH the skin. This protects the chile pepper and they last longer that way too. You can also can them, or vacuum pack them to make them last even longer.
Yes, like any fresh food, roasted Hatch Green Chile can go bad. Once the chiles are roasted, they need to be refrigerated and typically used within a week to maintain their best flavor and quality. If you've opened a jar of roasted green chiles, they should be used within 7 days after opening, even if refrigerated.
Are Hatch chiles good for you? ›
Chile peppers increase the enzymes responsible for fat metabolism in the liver and are used in the treatment of blood clots; the capsaicin helps to thin the blood. They also may help prevent the growth of certain cancers and aid in many skin conditions including psoriasis, itching and bruising.
Are poblano and Hatch Chile the same? ›
Hatch peppers can range from 1,000 – 8,000 in Scoville Heat Units – for perspective, they generally fall between the mild spice of a poblano or Anaheim chili pepper and can heat up towards a jalapeno or habanero on the Scoville Scale.
Are Anaheim peppers the same as Hatch? ›
Anaheim chiles are usually what is at the grocery stores. Of course, anyone from the Hatch Valley region in New Mexico would disagree with us. The main difference between these two rockstar peppers is that one is grown in Hatch, NM, and the other primarily in California (and other locations).
Where is the Hatch chili pepper capital of the world? ›
Hatch is widely known as the "best chile place in the World," for growing a wide variety of peppers, especially the New Mexican cuisine staple, and one of New Mexico's state vegetables, the New Mexico chile.
Why remove skin from Hatch chiles? ›
The most important step in processing green chile is removing the outer skin, which is necessary before further cooking or canning. The skin is not easy to chew or digest and can affect the texture and appearance of dishes.
Is Hatch chili good for you? ›
Eating a diet rich in chile may also help you lose weight. Our bodies kick in extra energy and burn more calories to digest chile peppers. Capsaicin also helps ease the pain of arthritis by lowering levels of Decapeptide Substance P (DSP) in the fluid found in joints.
