Hatch green chiles available around the U.S.!

[Jenise]

I've become a devotee of fresh New Mexican green chiles which I get in quantity, then grill and freeze a year's supply worth, and heard reports of some Whole Foods Markets on the East Coast selling them. So I called down to Seattle just now to see if they're in locally too and, hot damn!, they not only have "pallets and pallets" full, they're the Big Jim variety (my favorite, medium heat) they even have a chile roaster out in front of the store. The chiles are 99 cents/lb fresh, and twice that if they roast them for you.

If you've ever wondered how green chiles can become an addiction, check out the WFM nearest you.

I'll be there on Sunday: I think 25 pounds will get me through the year.

I picked up 12 pounds of hot the other day from HEB, the parent of Central Market. I have them roasting on the grill as I type. $1.29/pound unroasted, $2.79 roasted.

I will get a total of 50 pounds. I'd get more if I had the freezer space!

[Jenise]

50 lbs! That's an impressive quantity. Can't wait to get around to roasting mine next week. Tell me, how do you prep yours for the freezer? I leave the skin on, but rinse them and bag them wet four at a time while wet. The water rinses the ash and ensures some hydration as good freezer protection. But this takes up a lot more room (thinking of you wishing to buy more than 50 pounds) than would the same quantity peeled and diced.

I just called Raley's, whoopie...they got the Big Jim's in today at .97 cent a lb. Going to go there tomorrow. So, the proper way to prepare for freezing is to blacken the skin first, leave it on, and freeze? I bet I could use the Vacum seal and control the pressure of the seal.

I..... Roast. De-stem. Peel. Rinse out some of the seeds. Leave whole. Pack in 1/2 and 1 pound quantities in bags. Vaccum and seal with my Foodsaver (which I love love love), then into the freezer.

Since we eat a lot of them, I keep in the fridge whatever I don't use when I pull them from the freezer, and use them the rest of the week.

Cynthia, do you let the Food Saver take all the air out, which would sort of moosh them, or do you control the amount of vaccum it does?

So how about a few tried and true recipes from those of you who use them a lot during the year? Please!

Cynthia, do you let the Food Saver take all the air out, which would sort of moosh them, or do you control the amount of vaccum it does?

My model has a setting for Moist food. I use that on Normal speed. It doesn't completely vacuum them. I can move the chiles around easily and distribute them to make it uniformly flat. Then I stack them up in the freezer.

Completely packaged, I get about 1 pound processed per each 3 pounds fresh.

I have the moist feature too...and yes, I love mine, as well. Thanks!

Harris Teeter has them in this week for .79/lb. I'm going tomorrow!

$15-20 per 30 lb. sack here. Free to $5 for roasting.

My friend has frozen three 30-lb sacks so far. Several more and he'll be ready for the rest of the year. I have enough stored from last year to last me.

Big Jims are my favorite, too, but word from the Chile Pepper Institute is that they've developed a chile with five times the flavor. And I believe seeds are available.

I think it's best to skin, de-seed and get rid of the stem before freezing. It reduces the volume considerably and makes it easier to use. Some people freeze with the skins on (they slip off easily when thawed), but it's more of a hassle to use. I freeze chile in one-gallon freezer bags and stack them on the freezer shelf. Then I hack off what I need.

And I agree that green chile is a truly addictive flavor. Hatch chile is the most famous and is great. Chimayo chile is another great source. Actually, green chile grown anywhere in New Mexico is great. The stores here are now filling up with powdered red chiles, too, for use in cooking.

I got a measly 2.35 lbs. today. I don't have the freezer space for much more than that now. I'll roast these and see if I can handle more.

[Jenise]

I got a measly 2.35 lbs. today. I don't have the freezer space for much more than that now. I'll roast these and see if I can handle more.

That's not much! That would last us through about 4.25 hamburgers.

WaaHoo, I picked up 10 lbs this morning, came home and put one batch on to blister, when that was done, Gene did another batch while I pulled the stems. He continued to blister them on the grill and I got them into Food Saver bags and sealed. Took about one hour. My chicken shelf in my freezer will have to see less chicken this winter as the chiles took priority.

[Jenise]

You are going to be so happy to have those, Karen!

I got a measly 2.35 lbs. today. I don't have the freezer space for much more than that now. I'll roast these and see if I can handle more.

That's not much! That would last us through about 4.25 hamburgers.

Sad, I know. There probably wasn't even 10 lbs. on the table at the store.

Do you put them on the burger or mix it in before cooking? Mostly I use them in quesadillas and enchiladas, but the burger idea sounds good.

[Jenise]

I got a measly 2.35 lbs. today. I don't have the freezer space for much more than that now. I'll roast these and see if I can handle more.

That's not much! That would last us through about 4.25 hamburgers.

Sad, I know. There probably wasn't even 10 lbs. on the table at the store.

Do you put them on the burger or mix it in before cooking? Mostly I use them in quesadillas and enchiladas, but the burger idea sounds good.

Linda, quesadillas and enchiladas are a very worthy home for your chiles. But so are burgers. I roast mine to the point where they're cooked through and ready to go when unthawed, and we like the chiles as an additional layer between the meat patty and the cheese (which kind of holds the chiles in place).

Thanks, Jenise. I can't wait to give that a try!

we like the chiles as an additional layer between the meat patty and the cheese (which kind of holds the chiles in place).

Yep. That's the way to do it!

Now I'm hungry.

Those chiles made for some great burgers!

Sorry to sound like a turd here but I find the Hatch Chile the most overrated chile in the world. It's good, but nothing to write home about.

rwj

There is no such thing as a "Hatch Chile." Different varieties are grown in the Hatch area (the growing conditions are ideal there), so it's difficult to give a blanket opinion.

Wish I knew which variety was shipped to my store. They seem to have a little more heat than in previous years.

If they're large, they could be Big Jims. Otherwise, some possibilities are Rio Grande,Sandia, Anaheim, et al. It's hard to say. My friend has already frozen 150 lbs. It's a religion here, you know.