BR wrote:

sdbond wrote:My peregrinations this evening took me to a different Jewel from where I usually shop; tonight, I was in the Skokie store at Niles Center Crossing on Touhy Avenue. They had packaged Hatch chiles for .99/pound, so I purchased two of them. I think I will also try the Serious Eats recipe mentioned upthread, but not quite sure what to do with the remainder. I have about 2.5 pounds total, and am looking forward to enjoying this taste treat!

So many possibilities - chili, green chile cheeseburgers, stuff them with meat or potatoes or vegetables and serve them atop a roasted vegetable sauce . . . to name a few popular ideas.

Those all sound quite tasty! Thanks for the suggestions!

If one stuffs them, do you peel them or leave the skin on?

For stuffed, I haven't actually used the hatch specifically--but I wouldn't peel a poblano, Melrose, Anaheim or any other pepper I typically stuff. Are the skins that tough?

I found the Hatch chiles slightly more difficult to peel than poblanos (a couple tore), but I've always peeled poblanos when filling them. I don't like eating the roasted skin, although some might find it more of a cosmetic issue. Poblanos are not that difficult to peel after roasting (putting them in a paper or plastic bag for 5 or so minutes helps), and I haven't had similar problems with poblanos tearing.

But even if the Hatch chiles tear in one or two spots, that should only present minor cosmetic issues . . . just try to ensure that the filling doesn't come out when baking/frying.

leek wrote:My box said mild, but if that's mild then hot must be insane.

I got eight or nine Hatch chiles from this KC batch and roasted them directly over the flame of my gas stove. Worked quite well and didn't make much of a mess. The fully charred skins were pretty easy to remove using the dull edge of a knife. I used about half for chile cheeseburgers (very good!). The chiles were flavorful but quite mild, with only a slight tingle of capsaicin (under a hundred Scoville units I'm guessing). Later I made a grilled cheese sandwich with the remaining chiles and one of those was extremely hot, I'd say maybe two orders of magnitude more Scovilles.

Hi,

I will be in Kansas City on Sunday. I called the store where I bought Hatch chilies last year. They don;t have any yet with none expected until around August 18th. They do have a Hatch chili roaster waiting for this moment. Since I have never seen one in the flesh, he promised to show it to me.

Produce manager will check if there are any Hatch chiles in the system available for this weekend. If there are and you might want them, please advise.

When I said I was from Chicago, the guy said, "I remember you. You buy them by the case!" Guilty.

Regards,

I am there quite regularly by plane. However, since I already carry (2) 50 lb bags - I can't really bring anything more back. Still, I would be curious what store you buy them at.

Hi,

I bought them at Hy-Vee in the Kansas City area.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I will be in Kansas City on Sunday. I called the store where I bought Hatch chilies last year. They don;t have any yet with none expected until around August 18th. They do have a Hatch chili roaster waiting for this moment. Since I have never seen one in the flesh, he promised to show it to me.

Produce manager will check if there are any Hatch chiles in the system available for this weekend. If there are and you might want them, please advise.

When I said I was from Chicago, the guy said, "I remember you. You buy them by the case!" Guilty.

Regards,

I'd love a case. Roasted if possible, and as hot as they come. Last year mine had next to no heat while others I know were decently spicy. Maybe mine got mixed up last year somehow?

Hi,

I picked up Hatch chiles in cases, then handed them off. If there was any mixing up, it was long before I picked them up. From reading other people's experiences, the heat was variable from pepper to pepper.

Where I bought them last year, they won't have any available until next week. If I come up any, and the price is reasonable, I get you a case. A week later, I could guarantee roasted hatch chiles. Last year, I was a late for the roasting by a week or two.

Regards,

laikom wrote: Last year mine had next to no heat while others I know were decently spicy. Maybe mine got mixed up last year somehow?

I think it may be random, as my case was labelled "MILD" and most of them were hot (so hot that my hands were on fire all night long after roasting/peeling etc).

Hi,

I did ask for hot, though the cases state mild. The produce guy said the label didn't really indicate heat levels, which he felt some were hotter than mild.

While I know my heat tolerance is lower than many here, I asked for what you would want. I shared Leek's box, my chiles were hot by my standards.

Regards,

Cathy, I never thought it was you who mixed them up. Based on your story of the guy, sounds like maybe he was confused, or just pulling your leg to get you to buy more. Last year I tasted some from other batches delivered by you and they were very much hotter than any of mine were. Though there is some randomness within each batch as there would be to differing degrees with any chili, mine were mild with a bit of randomness into the very slightly spicy range. At any rate, I know you didn't mess up the order, and you are a Hatch Chili saint for doing this for us all. Thanks!! Spicy or not, I'd still love some!

Hi,

I called the produce manager at the Hy-Vee this morning. He reiterated it would be next week.

If we come up some, I will let you know.

I always worry slightly people think I am ordering to my palate. I know better than to ruin your fun.

Regards,

Just out of curiosity, what does a case go for and about how many lbs is it?

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I called the produce manager at the Hy-Vee this morning. He reiterated it would be next week.

If we come up some, I will let you know.

I always worry slightly people think I am ordering to my palate. I know better than to ruin your fun.

Regards,

The Fry's Marketplace ad last week (7/27) in Tucson was selling first of the season Hatch Chilies and included the several location where they will be roasted if you buy 25# or more ...

They may get there soon.

Hi,

I am asking a few KC friends if they happen to see Hatch chiles now. One case of chiles weighed rounghly 22 pounds, so 25 isn't all that much more.

Thanks!

Regards,

Hi,

HyVee contacted this morning to advise they have Hatch chiles at $1.69 per pound (plus tax) or $35 per case. Roasting won't start until next weekend ... not that I didn't try.

Whatever is wanted will be picked up Sunday. Send a PM with your phone. Depending on when I cross the city, I can drop them off.

Regards,

zoid wrote:Just out of curiosity, what does a case go for and about how many lbs is it?

A case is abut 22 lbs. Price around $35.

Hi,

I brought back two cases of Hatch chiles rated on the box as 'hot.' There were only two cases of hot as opposed to many more mild.

I'd appreciate knowing the reaction to hot.

Regards,

Hi again:

If you have any chiles left, I can take a half or third of a case. I'm in
Roscoe Village and will be better at paying you promptly this time.

Thanks,

bean

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I brought back two cases of Hatch chiles rated on the box as 'hot.' There were only two cases of hot as opposed to many more mild.

I'd appreciate knowing the reaction to hot.

Regards,

Hi,

I delivered those Hatch chiles last evening.

I didn't buy extra, because I was not prepared to eat them personally.

Regards,

Some fun Hatch chile recipes as well as a contest to win some along with a cookbook about them. http://www.shockinglydelicious.com/hatc ... -sandwich/

Attention Hatch Chile Lovers

I made my inaugural visit to the new Heinen's store in Glenview this morning, and much to my amazement, look what I saw:



They had a brand new roaster, custom built in Hatch, NM, in the parking lot along with case after case of hatch chiles (mild, hot and extra hot). If you buy a case, they'll roast it for you on the spot for free.

Heinen's Chile Roaster


Inside the store, Hatch chiles were prominently featured in the produce section, with all three varieties available by the pound, if you don't want to buy a whole case.

In the deli area, there were several prepared Hatch chile dishes being sold.

Heinen's Hatch Chile Rellenos
Mild Hatch chiles stuffed with Monterrey Jack and served with salsa on the side


Heinen's Hatch Chile Verde


I apologize for these pictures. I snapped them with my crappy cell phone. I also shot a short video with my phone that shows the roasting process, which I promise to post shortly as soon as it's edited.

I'm pretty sure they will have Hatch Chiles for sale for quite a while, but the roaster is only there today (and yesterday, but they got rained out). The produce manager told me that they would be roasting chiles at both of their other stores (Barrington & Bannockburn) over the next few weeks. Check with the stores to see when roasting will be taking place.

Heinen's
1020, Waukegan Rd
Glenview, IL 60025
(847) 657-9009

As promised, here's a video I shot of the roaster in Heinen's parking lot. I know there was some discussion about the process by which they roast these chiles in New Mexico. This is pretty good representation of the way I've seen it done out there. This roaster comfortably does a case at a time, but I've seen bigger ones as well.

Again, sorry for the shaky video. This was among the first videos I've shot with my phone.

Steve, you don't know how happy this makes me! Laikom and I are cruising through the case that Cathy just brought up from K.C. (I doubt any will actually make it into the freezer to save for later), and roasting them at home is a royal PITA. It's tough to get any kind of texture consistency, which makes the peeling process that much more arduous.

One thing you can see in the video is that a case cooks down in size a lot just through the roasting process, and then you loose a lot more when you peel them and take off the stems and seeds. The roaster is exactly like the one that was used when I got my first taste of hatch chiles on the side of a road in Denver.

We certainly are cruising through! I have been having hatch chiles with eggs almost every morning since I got them. We had a roast beef sandwich with hatch chiles tonight which was delicious. My favorite creation so far was something I dreamed up last year but never got a chance to try it out. Smoke brisket/hatch torta. We picked up some brisket from smoque, used the side of beans to spread on the bread, avocado, tomato, lettuce, cheese and hatch. It was damn good.

Oh, and for the record, these are MUCH MUCH spicier than the ones I got last year. I'm happy.

laikom wrote:Oh, and for the record, these are MUCH MUCH spicier than the ones I got last year. I'm happy.

I was wondering about your opinion on heat levels.

Cathy2 wrote:I'd appreciate knowing the reaction to hot.

I'll chime in too, since my tolerance to capsaicin is more within the normal range than laikom's. I'd say this batch is on par with a hot jalapeno in terms of the level of burn and how long it lingers. Hot enough to make my forehead sweat, but not too hot to prevent me from finishing the sandwich or whatever it is on. When I was peeling the roasted chiles, I stupidly only wore a glove on one hand, and the other hand definitely burned long into the next 24 hours. (It was kind of like a sunburn feeling, but on my palm. Very odd.)

Even better is the flavor of the chiles. Laikom has a hypothesis that the hotter chiles are also more flavorful in general, and I am tending to agree after this batch. We roasted these over wood instead of charcoal, so that may have made a difference too. Overall, this batch is really hitting the spot. Thanks Cathy!