And make this delicious pork stuffed roasted hatch chile as well! Spicy is my jam. And hot and spicy is my PB and J. I grew up eating chile peppers of all kind – serrano, jalapeno, banana pepper, anaheim pepper, poblano peppers, and so much more! And I love to incorporate them in my food in a variety of ways – like a spicy margarita with jalapenos (made with a spicy jalapeno simple syrup), fried cheese balls with jalapeno and bacon, jalapeno mango coconut popsicles, spicy mango relish, extra spicy devilled beef (spicy dry beef curry) etc., you get the picture? There’s a long list of different varieties of chile peppers but they all have that one thing in common – capsaicin; the active ingredient that produces the heat.
What are Hatch chiles?
But for a very brief period every August and September, another type of chile pepper makes an appearance in grocery stores across North America – Hatch chile! Also called New Mexico chile, hatch chiles are simply one of several varieties of chile peppers grown in New Mexico. Originating from the Hatch valley region of New Mexico, these chile peppers are grown in a fairly unique habitat that contributes to their somewhat distinct flavor. So when hatch chile season rolled around this year, I made sure to stock up on them while they were still around and on sale. Hatch chiles are planted around April and then harvested in late summer, and then they are gone for another year. So the best way to make sure you can enjoy them throughout the year is to roast hatch chile and peel them and then store in the fridge/freezer. Hatch chiles were on sale at our local grocery store a couple of weeks ago at 98c per pound which was a pretty good deal that I didn’t want to pass up on. But when I saw that roasted hatch chiles were being sold for a whole dollar more per pound, I knew that wasn’t right. So I decided to roast hatch chile on my own at home and then store in the freezer for whenever and whatever I wanted them for. It’s super easy, works really well, and the flavors are amazing! You can roast hatch chile over an open flame for that nice charred flavor too.
Tips for roasting Hatch chile
Pat dry the chile peppers before roasting. If you’re using an open flame to roast, do NOT coat the chile peppers with oil. You can ditch the oil even if you’re roasting them in the oven, but I prefer to lightly coat them with some oil when I roast them in the oven. The roasted hatch chiles should be covered (with foil, plastic wrap or a plate) while hot, this is to let them steam which makes peeling a lot easier. 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. I usually store 4-5 roasted hatch chiles in one pack and then freeze them. This way, I can thaw out a pack at a time when needed. If you stored them in the freezer, simply thaw in the fridge overnight. The pepper skin will be easy to peel once defrosted.
If you don’t have access to hatch chiles – use Anaheim peppers instead for similar roasting and storage purposes. However, there will be a difference in flavor if chile pepper is the main ingredient in your dish. Hatch chile can be very spicy, medium spicy or not spicy at all. This depends largely on the growers. The ones I have access to aren’t very spicy, so I like to add some jalapeno peppers when I cook with them. For a flavor packed dish to make with your roast Hatch chile, check out my delicious spiced pork stuffed Hatch chile!
