It’s Hatch Chile Season and I wait for this every year!!! The season has such a short window and it is usually sometime in mid-august to mid-September. I love green Chiles and because I can only get Hatch Chiles this time of year I make sure to roast, steam and freeze lots of them so I have them all year long! Hatch Chiles are grown in Hatch Valley in New Mexico. Their climate is what makes the unique peppers! A dry summer makes for hotter peppers. You can get Hatch Chiles in mild, medium or hot peppers according to your preference in heat level.

I use these in so many of my recipes like tacos, chili, enchiladas and even in my scrambled eggs for breakfast and they are out of this world delicious. They add such a great flavor to my recipes. Here is my step-by-step process to save them all year long.

• Wash and pat the peppers dry and then remove stems.
• Preheat the oven broiler to 425ºF
• If you are roasting them on a grill do not spray with oil but if you are roasting them in the oven spray the Hatch Chiles with cooking spray lightly and place on a foil lined baking tray in a single layer and lightly salt.
• Place the baking tray in the upper part of your oven, and roast for about 10 minutes, until the Hatch Chiles start to blister and blacken.
• Using tongs, turn the Chiles over to roast on the other side for another 10 minutes.
• When the Hatch Chile skins have blistered and blackened, remove them from the oven.
• Immediately place the Chiles in a sealable plastic bag and close them. This is the process that starts the steaming. 
• If you are using the Chiles right away, peel them when they are cool enough to handle. Make sure to use gloves when peeling them and do that under slowly running water to remove the seeds. 
• If storing, place cooled and peeled Chiles in a vacuum bags and seal. I usually store 3-4 Chiles in one bag and freeze them.

It’s that easy and you will be able to enjoy Hatch Chiles all year round. Here’s one of my favorite Mid-Western recipes that I incorporated Hatch Chiles into to give it a fun and tasty twist! 

Get the full recipe for my Hatch Chile Tater Tot Hotdish and see what my secret ingredient is too! Don’t forget to stop into anyone of our stores during our Hatch Chile Festival and pick up yours before the Hatch Chiles are are gone! 

Jayne,
Coborn’s, Inc. Merchandising Specialist Team Manager – Bakery & Deli