Excited About Green Chile

How can you NOT love green chile?

Have you ever walked through the fields in southern New Mexico and thought your heart would just stop--right there?

It's a strange affair, this relationship, but many people have it and in early August, when the crop comes in, hundreds of street corners in the state are busily roasting.

That flavor permeating the air is a smell I'll take to my grave.

Read about how I nearly cried from the pain of tasting this inviting pod and about

my eye opening journey through New Mexico, tasting the fire from eating hot peppers

Hatch Chile-The Best

It's true. I'm the guy who fell in love with the green stuff and yes, I visited Morrow Farms , one of the largest growers in the United States and begged them to sell me 1000 pounds of green chile.

I wasn't going home without it and they must have felt my passion.

I didn't know it at the time. I had no idea I would bottle gourmet cooking sauces so the world could experience what I had tasted.

The Chile Harvest

During the picking season, the workers flock to the lush fields and fill gunny sacks. Each of these gunny sacks have about 40 pounds of fresh chile inside.
And I needed another stack or two to get to 1000 pounds! In fact, I needed a truck.

The Morrow Family was wonderful, but they were no doubt very concerned that I had some sort of Fever.

I Have Chile Fever

For a while we were concerned for the 2008 chile crop. As late as August many of the fields were under water as a result of late summer rain. The flooding threatened crops and prevented workers from trudging through the fields to fill their gunny sacks.

Fortunately, by Labor Day the fields had dried up in time for the Hatch Chile Festival. You can read more about it in my newsletter

Green Chile Tacos

I don't know about you, but as soon as I can get my hands on the new season green chile, I start to cook. It gets so bad that by October 1st every year, I can predict what my family will ask.

Do you have to put green chile in everything?

It takes five or six weeks of straight kitchen injections before this will finally happen. And in the meantime, we have some wonderful meals.

Try these green chile tacos for a true green chile experience.

You can use a deli chicken to save some time but don't try to use canned chiles. You won't be happy.

The recipe for green chile chicken tacos can be found on our taco page. And if want some of this year's green chile, we have a bunch of it.

You're going to love our prices.

The Fire Roasted Frozen Green Chile is sent in small frozen packages via two-day mail.

Get a Discount

Blue Corn Enchiladas

Wow, just when I thought it couldn't get any better, we made some blue corn enchiladas. The blue corn tortilla has more protein and less fat than the other tortillas.

Most brands are made without salt to preserve that nutty taste we are striving for with natural based foods. Boy were they good.

These tortillas make an exceptional chicken enchilada recipe . Again, you can start with a deli chicken, but the real key to this dish is the green stuff. Need I say more?

Make Chile Verde

Chile Verde is the heart and soul of all chile lovers. Who doesn't crave the sweet heat from fire roasted green chiles? This meal will make you smile, cry and in general will make you fall in love all over again. In love with green chile that is.

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs Pork shoulder or Butt
8 garlic cloves chopped
2 cups New Mexico Fire Roasted Frozen Green Chile
1 med onion, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tsp canola

Brown cut up pork in canola
Remove & add onions & garlic
Add remaining ingredients
Cook 10 minutes until mixed
Add pork, cook covered for 1 hour

Serve with warm tortillas

Roasting Chile

In a really huge roaster, we roast one gunny sack of green chiles at a time.
You can see how we peel roasted pods and this is a lot of work. But first you have to roast these guys.
If you just have a few to roast, you might want to toss them on the grill.

My grandmother used to roast her green chile on the open flame in her kitchen.
When we'd visit her, the entire house was filled with the most wonderful smell!

Warning: Don't try this with an electric stove top!

Cooking With Chiles

It's not that hard. The trick is to get the right pods and they have to be grown in the Hatch valley of New Mexico. Canned chiles and pods from other parts of the country don't have the same flavor.

Do you want to learn how to cook with this stuff? Can you imagine how good a burger would be smothered with fire roasted green chile?

Or salmon with a green chile cream sauce? Try these recipes at home and you too can make everyday gourmet.

Every year in August we get flooded with requests for the season's new crop.

Click Here for some more Quick Easy Meals using Hatch Green Chile.

They're Not Just Chiles

Yeah, I hear it all the time. And I know your Uncle Charlie used to grow these in his garden and you're saying they are all the same!

�I'm afraid not!

It's like making wine. Did you know that the best grapes are needed to make a great wine?

Hatch New Mexico sits on a lava field and this has done something to the soil. Strange, but good news for green chile.

Learn more about the hottest pepper and discover some interesting facts. Looking for some hot pepper anatomy? Read about them here-

Read about these mysterious Hot Peppers

What Makes A Great Pepper?

Flavor with the right heat and with the ability to peel properly.

The body needs to be well developed so roasting can take place without disintegrating it. Steaming is not acceptable.

You can learn about some of this addiction to New Mexico food and you'll appreciate how complex and mysterious it is.
On the left is a picture of the New Mexico Barker varietal. The flavor is fabulous, but it is hot . Screaming hot. So hot that very few people will work with this guy.

We use Barkers in our Hot Sauce by far the hottest product we make.

This is a Lot of Work!

Yeah, it is work and you have to work fast because these guys will spoil if kept too long in a gunny sack.

Don't forget that you also lose 50% after roasting. Still, you have to roast them because the outer skin is bitter and tough. It's the flesh right under the skin that you want.

Too much work? Ok, you can steam yours, but fire roasting is the only and I mean the only way to experience the true flavor.

Buy Frozen Roasted Chile

This is seasonal but you can order hot or mild frozen on our Secure Order Form for delivery right to your door!

We roast it for you, then freeze it in small packages, so you can use it at home. This lasts a year in the freezer.

All this comes from Hatch in Southern New Mexico.

Chile Rellenos Recipe

Chile Rellenos absolutely take my breath away. Few dishes can compete providing you with the pure flavor than the relleno.

You can use the Big Jim or the Poblano to make these and you can stuff them with just about anything. We show you how to whip up a great batter and give you the option of frying or baking your rellenos. Don't you just love this stuff?

Learn how to make delicious rellenos recipes

Christmas Salsa

Christmas Salsa, a New Mexico style salsa has been released for the third straight year.

This award winning salsa is made once per year and normally sells out by mid November.

The salsa, named for the New Mexico tradition. Read what some customers have already said about this delicious Christmas Salsa

Let's Make Tacos

Tacos are an excellent choice for dinner. If you want a really good chicken taco recipe you've come to the right place.

An excellent discussion on different beef taco recipes will show you how good these authentic tacos can be when you use the right ingredients.

Make Enchiladas

In New Mexico enchiladas are served with an egg on top. Do you want authentic?

That's right. Coyote Trail Enchilada Sauceis number one for a reason and if you want to make enchiladas we'll show you how.

The flavors of the southwest come alive when you make this delicious chicken enchilada recipe is simple to create.