Hatch Chiles

[CCOKC]

I am growing Anaheim peppers in my back yard and have quite the harvest right now. They look exactly like the Hatch chiles that I saw at Sunflower the other day but I could not bring myself to buy any to taste test since I have about 1000 of the suckers at my house. I roasted quite a few last night and now have to find something to do with them. I would love to duplicate the breakfast enchiladas at Michael's kitchen in Taos. Sometimes I wake up with such a craving for that dish.

[metro]

Mmmm, love Michaels Kitchen

[Larry OKC]

I didn't get a chance to pick up an Anaheim pepper today, and I couldn't wait, so I took a nice bite of a Hatch chile and I'm a bit underwhelmed at this point. Not from a taste standpoint, it was good, but somebody mentioned that they were hotter than Anaheims. There was very little heat in what I had. I am going a few places tomorrow so I will pick up an Anaheim and take a bit of it, then take another bite of the Hatch and see. I do understand that the preferred preparation is toast them, remove the skins and use them in a preparation like a green chile stew or whatever. And I do want to use them properly but I was curious about the taste and heat.
C. T.

Not sure if this applies in this particular instance but preparation/how it is served can definitely ratchet up the heat factor to the taste buds. For example, I can eat jalapeño pizza all day long if it is straight out of the ice box. But serve that same pizza hot, fresh from the oven, or even reheated, and my mouth is on fire. The beads of sweat start flowing. If served hot, I can usually tolerate it if i remove the peppers themselves and just the remaining seeds/juice are sufficient. Same thing with adding them from a salsa bar or served as a topping on a burger. They are chilled or slightly warmed by the food they are on. If that same item is served hot or reheated with the peppers in place, I can't deal with it. LOL

[Debzkidz]

Mmmm, love Michaels Kitchen

Oh yum! I love that place so much!

[ctchandler]

Larryokc,
Since the heat is derived from capsicum, how can preparation make them hotter? I would suspect some preparations could make them less hot. I don't know, but interesting theory. I will experiment with something hotter, either serranos, jalapenos, or habaneros. Probably jalapenos would be best because too much heat could prevent me from making an objective opinion though the tears. I'm always glad to try things like this, I use peppers in a lot things that most folks would never think of.
C. T.

Not sure if this applies in this particular instance but preparation/how it is served can definitely ratchet up the heat factor to the taste buds. For example, I can eat jalapeño pizza all day long if it is straight out of the ice box. But serve that same pizza hot, fresh from the oven, or even reheated, and my mouth is on fire. The beads of sweat start flowing. If served hot, I can usually tolerate it if i remove the peppers themselves and just the remaining seeds/juice are sufficient. Same thing with adding them from a salsa bar or served as a topping on a burger. They are chilled or slightly warmed by the food they are on. If that same item is served hot or reheated with the peppers in place, I can't deal with it. LOL

[Larry OKC]

CT: Don't really know but that has been my consistent experience when it comes to jalapeño.

[soonerguru]

I didn't get a chance to pick up an Anaheim pepper today, and I couldn't wait, so I took a nice bite of a Hatch chile and I'm a bit underwhelmed at this point. Not from a taste standpoint, it was good, but somebody mentioned that they were hotter than Anaheims. There was very little heat in what I had. I am going a few places tomorrow so I will pick up an Anaheim and take a bit of it, then take another bite of the Hatch and see. I do understand that the preferred preparation is toast them, remove the skins and use them in a preparation like a green chile stew or whatever. And I do want to use them properly but I was curious about the taste and heat.
C. T.

It depends on which batch you get regarding the heat. Also, please roast the pepper first and you'll note that it brings the heat out in the pepper. They seem to get more fiery when cooked, also. We put some in the blender -- after deseeding them -- and the resulting puree was very hot.

Remember, it's not like a jalapeno. It's a more subtle burn. But it's the depth of flavor that makes it so good in cooking.

[Debzkidz]

I'm no expert, and this is just a guess, but maybe it has something to do with cooking releasing the oils of the peppers.

[ctchandler]

Debzkidz,
That's a possibility. As I said earlier, I am going to experiment. My curiosity will kill me if I don't. I think I know a good way to experiment, prepare a plate of nachos like I normally do, cheese, butter, bacon, green onions and on half of them, jalapenos. Cook them and when ready to eat, put raw jalapenos on the other half. Then eat one of each till they're gone, and take my time to feel the heat from each nacho. Heck, I'm getting excited just thinking about a plate of nachos. I haven't made them in almost a year. they used to be on my rotation (weekly menu), and I don't know why I quit making them. There a little bit of work between quartering, then deep frying the tortillas, slicing onions, grating cheese, and frying bacon. But, they are meal for me. I hope to make these next week and I will respond with my (non)expert opinion.
C. T.

I'm no expert, and this is just a guess, but maybe it has something to do with cooking releasing the oils of the peppers.

[ctchandler]

I just ate a thick slice of the Hatch and Anaheim chile and they both taste good and neither is all that hot. I did feel a little heat though. They taste the same to me.
C. T.

[skyrick]

I just ate a thick slice of the Hatch and Anaheim chile and they both taste good and neither is all that hot. I did feel a little heat though. They taste the same to me.
C. T.

Were they both roasted?

[ctchandler]

Skyrick,
Neither was roasted. I wanted to start out on an even keel and taste what nature produced. I will cook with them shortly (before they go bad).
C. T.

Were they both roasted?

[soonerguru]

ctchandler,

As has been stated numerous times in this thread, the chiles need to be roasted to bring out the full flavor (and some of the heat).

[ctchandler]

Soonerguru,
I think you missed my point. I said that I wanted to start out on an even keel and taste what nature produced, I didn't say "finish". Now, I have done that, today I am going to use a couple of both peppers for dinner, a linguini preparation, and over the weekend try something else for dinner, with roasted peppers of course. I'm not sure about roasting them for the linguini dinner. I'll have to think about that. I understand that cooking anything changes everything. I eat some raw things that I can't stand cooked, carrots especially.
C. T.

ctchandler,

As has been stated numerous times in this thread, the chiles need to be roasted to bring out the full flavor (and some of the heat).

[ctchandler]

One thing I noticed as I was slicing the Hatch and Anaheim peppers, the Hatch seem to be abnormally shaped with not a lot of consistency, unlike the Anaheim. Also, the Hatch peppers seem to have a lot less seeds. I don't know if that's an anomaly with the batch of peppers that I have, but I suspect it is normal.
C. T.

[ctchandler]

Well, I have prepared an Italian dish with the Hatch and Anaheim peppers and unfortunately, there was little heat. If my last two Hatch chilis are still good tomorrow, I will try to roast them and use them in a different manner. If not, I will go to 63rd and May and get more. I did find this on a web site promoting Hatch, NM.
"Hatch chiles, those infamous Anaheim-like peppers from Arizona's eastern neighbor, will be available in Valley groceries until late October. Hatch, a town of about 1,000 in southern New Mexico, calls itself the chile capital of the world and produces varieties from mild to triple-X, or tongue-blasting hot. ". I sure don't see them ever being "tongue-blasting hot". I think I need to travel to Hatch next year. I am retired and I would like to find out the true meaning of the Hatch chili. I don't like things so hot that you can't taste them, but so far, I'm underwhelmed. I am curious about why roasting and cooking in a recipe would make a difference in heat. Maybe tomorrow I will find out.
C. T.

[ctchandler]

I meant to ask, what is a good choice for using roasted Hatch chilis? I cook for one person, so keep that in mind. Just let me know the name of the dish and I will google it to see the actual recipe.
Thanks again,
C. T.

[soonerguru]

I meant to ask, what is a good choice for using roasted Hatch chilis? I cook for one person, so keep that in mind. Just let me know the name of the dish and I will google it to see the actual recipe.
Thanks again,
C. T.

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.

Basically, you take chicken and hand shred it (just buy the premade Rotis chicken from Sunflower) and, if you prefer, lightly season, and set aside.

Then, after roasting chiles (a lot of them), peeling and deseeding them, chop them up. Then mix them with chicken broth and onions and make a green chile stew of sorts. Set aside.

Pour more chicken broth in a pan and heat to medium hot temperature. Slowly drop corn (or better, blue corn) tortillas into chicken broth to soften. After softening one by one, place them on paper towels to dry.

Add chicken and green chile stew (reduced) inside tortillas and wrap into enchiladas. After enchiladas are added to glass cooking dish, pour more reduced green chile stew to the top along with shredded medium cheddar cheese. Put into 350 degree oven and cook for about 15 minutes.

Take out of oven and serve with a couple of dollops of sour cream on the side.

[WilliamTell]

Seriously guys...why is this thread still alive.

[bluedogok]

We were in New Mexico and Colorado last week and they were selling them all over the place.

[skyrick]

Seriously guys...why is this thread still alive.

Umm, because people are interested in Hatch chiles?

[foodiefan]

Umm, because people are interested in Hatch chiles?

. . . and because people keep posting info (well. . .not in this case. . . but I have!)

[ctchandler]

WilliamTell,
Actually, I started it and have had questions up till September 16th. It was answered yesterday. Since this is a forum, I would think a thread could live and breath as long as there is interest. I guess my question to you is "Why do you care"? Does it bother you? I don't read threads that don't interest me. I suppose if the moderators think it should be ended, they have the tools to do it. I'm not offended by your question, just curious. I hope you will respond.
C. T.

Seriously guys...why is this thread still alive.

[soonerguru]

Note to self: Ignore William Tell.

[RadicalModerate]

Why don't you just braise a pork shoulder with a whole bunch of those peppers and some onion and garlic?

Or try working a mess of them into a recipe like this:

This one--a cousin of Chili and another of my favorites, Puerco Verde- started out as an excerpt from the Weight Watchers Crockpot Cookbook, "Slow Good." My wife picked up a copy of this little, softbound, book a few years ago. Now it is out of print. Guess what: Even eBay and Amazon have it listed for about $80.00!! The book described it as a “brothy, hearty, stew” and noted, "can also be made with chicken."

The trick to getting this to come out right is to cook the pork "low and slow" and then add the other ingredients much later in the cooking process. As with my chili, I start with large chunks of pork, let them simmer for about 40 min. then cut them into smaller, bite-sized pieces. If you start out with the pieces too small, they often seem to disappear during the cooking process. Here's a summary of the way I did it the other day (that produced excellent results, by the way):

Pork Posole ("6 Servings")
1-1/2 lbs boneless pork shoulder (trimmed of excess fat)
1 t. salt (m.o.l. / to taste)
1 t. coarse ground black pepper (m.o.l. / to taste)
1 t. lemon pepper
1 T. olive oil
2 cups (MOL) reduced sodium chicken broth (or beef stock—preferred)
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (to 4) chipotles en adobo minced (To taste: Pretty hot. Last time I used 3 of them)
1 T. chili powder
1 T. ground New Mexico chiles
2 t. dried oregano (Mexican oregano if available)
2 t. ground cumin
3-4 tomatillos, quartered
3-4 large spoonfuls Herdez Salsa Verde
1 can chopped Hatch green chiles
2 large tomatoes, diced (Or "fire-roasted" large-diced canned tomatoes)
1 (15 ox.) can yellow (or white) hominy rinsed and drained (I prefer yellow)
(Garnishes / Sides)
2 cups chopped romaine lettuce (I don't mess with this)
6 radishes, chopped (I can't eat radishes or cucumbers)
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley, or green onions)
Lime wedges . . . Sour cream . . . Grated cheese . . . Etc…..

Season (salt, pepper, lemon pepper) and sear large chunks of pork in oil and move them to large pot.
Deglaze the skillet with whatever you have on hand. Add beef stock (or broth). Stir-in two spoonfuls of the adobo sauce from the chipotles, chili powder, cumin, oregano and ground New Mexico chiles. Pour over pork in pot. If necessary, add enough broth or stock to cover pork pieces at least halfway.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about forty minutes.
After about forty minutes, remove pork from pot, cut into smaller pieces and return them to pot.
Add the chipotles, onion, and garlic. Mix in and simmer for about thirty to forty minutes.
If the pork pieces still seem too large, cut them down a little in the pot.
(If you can do this with a wooden spoon, the pork is approaching desired tenderness.)
Add the ("fire-roasted") tomatoes, chopped green chiles, tomatillos and (golden) hominy.
Simmer another thirty-plus minutes, uncovered.. Allow to cool slightly, and then serve in bowls with garnishe(s) of choice and warm tortillas or corn bread.