What's the deal with Hatch chilis? Need a quick answer!

[Khunter]

I know that the Bueno brand (chopped/frozen)is available in Kroger stores across the US. Got it from Harris Teeter in NC. Here in NM you can get it added to most any food and we do that. No joke, even McDonald’s has it on the menu in NM. A standard cheese, pepperoni pizza pie with chopped green chile added will blow your freakin’ mind! Red chile (frozen or dried) added to a slow cooker with any meat is phenomenal.

green chile pepperoni pizza is a fave. make it often at home.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

green chile pepperoni pizza is a fave. make it often at home.

Right?! Sure is great here in the SW. Hot chile all year on anything. I think hot foods in USA is a latitudinal thing. Freakin’ Maine, those people. Asking for hot sauce was like ordering a mai tai in Amarillo. Get one a those “you ain’t from round here” looks.

 

[Hem]

I never cared one way or another about being part of the "in" crowd until now.
Never heard of Hatch peppers until this thread..yeah. I know, lame but Montana does fall behind with a couple categories, food being one of them.
That said, we put the 505 on everything, and upon discussing the topic with my wife she exclaimed " I just bought some Hatch peppers. So there you have it.
Not so lame after all....just not the center of pepper world.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

I never cared one way or another about being part of the "in" crowd until now.
Never heard of Hatch peppers until this thread..yeah. I know, lame but Montana does fall behind with a couple categories, food being one of them.
That said, we put the 505 on everything, and upon discussing the topic with my wife she exclaimed " I just bought some Hatch peppers. So there you have it.
Not so lame after all....just not the center of pepper world.

505 makes a good chile and sauce and we have better, but you won’t find those at Costco. No telling really the origin of peppers, especially when chopped up and sealed in jars. But tell you what, you ever want to start a brawl with NM, CO people, just say something about how pueblo chile is better than Lemitar or Hatch. It’d be like wearing a Yankees hat in South Boston.

 

[Bigjay73]

505 makes a good chile and sauce and we have better, but you won’t find those at Costco. No telling really the origin of peppers, especially when chopped up and sealed in jars. But tell you what, you ever want to start a brawl with NM, CO people, just say something about how pueblo chile is better than Lemitar or Hatch. It’d be like wearing a Yankees hat in South Boston.

 

[Hem]

505 makes a good chile and sauce and we have better, but you won’t find those at Costco. No telling really the origin of peppers, especially when chopped up and sealed in jars. But tell you what, you ever want to start a brawl with NM, CO people, just say something about how pueblo chile is better than Lemitar or Hatch. It’d be like wearing a Yankees hat in South Boston.

The product we get from Costco has Hatch chiles indicated on label.
But like you say...

Good analogy by the way. Unloading my atv in the mountains a few weeks back some guy pulled up and asked me if there was anything interesting to look at further up the road.(wearing a Yankees hat)
A) who needs to ask a dumb question like that with their information center in their palm?
B) I told him I wasn't telling him shit if he was a Yankee fan.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

The product we get from Costco has Hatch chiles indicated on label.
But like you say...

Good analogy by the way. Unloading my atv in the mountains a few weeks back some guy pulled up and asked me if there was anything interesting to look at further up the road.(wearing a Yankees hat)
A) who needs to ask a dumb question like that with their information center in their palm?
B) I told him I wasn't telling him shit if he was a Yankee fan.

Oh no, what have I done? I meant no offense to Yankees fans anywhere with that analogy. I think they all know what the world thinks of them!

 

[TOGIE]

let me just emphasize one more time:

going to your local kroger and being dissappointed in the early season, single variety, mild green chile's from their produce section that were trucked thousands of miles and declaring "what's the big deal?" is like going to mcdonalds, getting a mcrib sandwich and declaring, "i don't see why the american south is so obsessed with smoked barbeque. this really is not that good!"

 

[Irrelevant]

let me just emphasize one more time:

going to your local kroger and being dissappointed in the early season, single variety, mild green chile's from their produce section that were trucked thousands of miles and declaring "what's the big deal?" is like going to mcdonalds, getting a mcrib sandwich and declaring, "i don't see why the american south is so obsessed with smoked barbeque. this really is not that good!"

Then why are the poblanos or jalalenos or serranos still good? Is it that hatch are too frail to transport successfully?

 

[Dave N]

OK, lemme do some "splainin" here. I like spicy peppers. I have no use for bells except for Cajun food. The subtle differences between peppers can get lost on me quickly since I'm not that big of a pepper eater. I've heard about Hatch peppers for years and when they popped up I thought I would try them. I knew they were mild going in. I was mainly interested in the flavor. Tasted like a pepper to me. Maybe a "what's the big deal", but I have nothing to compare them to a "good" one. If there's a HUGE difference between them and an Anaheim I wouldn't know it. If I ever get out that way I'll look for some to try again, but here in Illinois I'll stick to what we have or grow ourselves. We have some hot Thai peppers growing that will light you up if you aren't careful!

 

[TOGIE]

Then why are the poblanos or jalalenos or serranos still good? Is it that hatch are too frail to transport successfully?

the way i see it kroger is buying bulk peppers for the soccer moms to consume. kinda like you can only get medium salsa at costco, kroger is only going to buy the basic most mass grown hatch pepper that will sell. that means basic, uniform, bigger, mild. the farther you get from new mexico the more true this will be too.

there is quite a variety in hatch pepper - different ones are used for chile rellenos than are used for making spicy pork green chile, etc. chile rellenos for example are made using large mild peppers, much like an anaheim. spicy pork green chile sauce is going to use a smaller spicier variety.

going to kroger and buying a green chile from the produce section means you're probably buying a variety 6-4 or no. 6 - big, long, basic, green.... mild. great for chile rellenos that are ultimately smothered in spicy pork green chile sauce, but aren't going to provide much on their own.

 

[Irrelevant]

the way i see it kroger is buying bulk peppers for the soccer moms to consume. kinda like you can only get medium salsa at costco, kroger is only going to buy the basic most mass grown hatch pepper that will sell. that means basic, uniform, bigger, mild. the farther you get from new mexico the more true this will be too.

there is quite a variety in hatch pepper - different ones are used for chile rellenos than are used for making spicy pork green chile, etc. chile rellenos for example are made using large mild peppers, much like an anaheim. spicy pork green chile sauce is going to use a smaller spicier variety.

going to kroger and buying a green chile from the produce section means you're probably buying a variety 6-4 or no. 6 - big, long, basic, green.... mild. great for chile rellenos that are ultimately smothered in spicy pork green chile sauce, but aren't going to provide much on their own.

I guess I'll chaulk this up to simply being ignorant and living 900+ miles from the 4-corners.

The favor on the ones I had was bascially the same as a green bell pepper. I'm not talking heat. I'm talking flavor. I would rank them a sliver above Bells, but below all others. Heck, even banana peppers have more flavor.

 

[TOGIE]

I guess I'll chaulk this up to simply being ignorant and living 900+ miles from the 4-corners.

The favor on the ones I had was bascially the same as a green bell pepper. I'm not talking heat. I'm talking flavor. I would rant them a sliver above Bells, but below all others. Heck, even banana peppers have more flavor.

i will personally deliver one of my frozen bricks of green chiles to you anytime you're nearby so you can try something with a little more pizazz

i say all this because my in laws brought home some green chile's from kroger recently (and in all my years i've never actually bought any from kroger) and i roasted em up cooked them in my usual southwest rice mixture to go with some steak for everybody. honestly couldn't even tell they were in there. shoulda tossed them out and pulled some of my own out the freezer.

and honestly i think green chile's are finnicky. they have a very short season. and the road side stand that's my favorite that i frequent every fall is run by this old hispanic lady and her family, they are local folks that go down to Hatch and Pueblo ever year, tour the fields of the farmers they like, and then they essentially choose which chiles they wanna buy and bring back to colorado to sell. kroger is just buying the bulk basics.

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

road side stand that's my favorite that i frequent every fall is run by this old hispanic lady and her family, they are local folks that go down to Hatch and Pueblo ever year, tour the fields of the farmers they like, and then they essentially choose which chiles they wanna buy and bring back to colorado to sell. kroger is just buying the bulk basics.

And there’s so damn much truth right there! Roadside stands sometimes have unicorn foods; that which we tell stories about to others. It’s like boiled peanuts and sprite melons in GA, Amish bread/butter/jam in IN, salmonberries in OR. @neffa3 , we’ll see what we can all do here to get you the real deal.

 

[TOGIE]

And there’s so damn much truth right there! Roadside stands sometimes have unicorn foods; that which we tell stories about to others. It’s like boiled peanuts and sprite melons in GA, Amish bread/butter/jam in IN, salmonberries in OR. @neffa3 , we’ll see what we can all do here to get you the real deal.

the first time i found this stand this lady had a bowl of her homemade green chile salsa out with a bowl of chips for sampling in her tent (pre covid, obvi). i bought like five jars on the spot. they also had a refrigerator hooked up to a generator with their special stash of pre roasted x-hot chiles in zip loc bags...

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

True story- I cooked up calabacitas once for an office thing and used some X-tra hot for the chile, was about 1/3 x, rest mild. It was so damn hot, I told people not to eat it. These New Mexicans, man, that a challenge to them.

 

[Birddog916]

Wild turkey chile verde made with medium hot Hatch is one of my go to meals. I make it with breast meat and reserve the legs and thighs for carnitas.

 

[Gr8bawana]

My brother and I took an afternoon off from hunting a couple of years ago to bag up some freshly roasted Hatch chilis we bought from the guy who brings a truck-load to Springerville AZ every fall. We went with mediums because the hot were like putting a red hot coal in your mouth.
Along with a few cold drinks of course.

 

[wytex]

Yep, the big chain store get the early, bland peppers.
The best come from the folks who go down and buy bushels when the harvest really gets rolling.
The peppers I bought last week had more flavor than the week before but the flesh is still pretty thin.
Early to mid Sept should be about prime for flavor and heat.

When truly mature they all have pretty distinct flavor and heat profiles.
Roasting also enhances the flavor.

I'll buy another small bag this Friday but I'll ask the gal how they're coming along for flavor. I won't get my bushel til they get mature.