How to Roast Hatch Chiles

[rabbithutch]

l've never roasted chiles before. I got a few pounds of this year's crop of Hatch chiles from my HEB (TX supermarket chain) just to give it a try. My plan is to make a charcoal fire in my Weber 18", let it burn to white, add some wood chunks then spread the chiles on the grill turning them occasionally.

What I don't know is what to look for when the are sufficiently roasted. Do I want to brown them all over? Cook until soft?

I plan to take them off the grill and cover them with foil so that they will steam a bit to make peeling easier. I probably don't have enough to worry about storing them, but I understand that if you are going to vacuum bag them and freeze them that you don't peel them.

Please tell me about anything I'm doing wrong here and give me your advice on how to do them. If this small batch goes well, I might go back and get enough to pack and freeze.

Thanks in advance .

 

[tallbm]

l've never roasted chiles before. I got a few pounds of this year's crop of Hatch chiles from my HEB (TX supermarket chain) just to give it a try. My plan is to make a charcoal fire in my Weber 18", let it burn to white, add some wood chunks then spread the chiles on the grill turning them occasionally.

What I don't know is what to look for when the are sufficiently roasted. Do I want to brown them all over? Cook until soft?

I plan to take them off the grill and cover them with foil so that they will steam a bit to make peeling easier. I probably don't have enough to worry about storing them, but I understand that if you are going to vacuum bag them and freeze them that you don't peel them.

Please tell me about anything I'm doing wrong here and give me your advice on how to do them. If this small batch goes well, I might go back and get enough to pack and freeze.

Thanks in advance .

When I roast peppers like these it just depends on what I'm going for.
I feel like there are 2 main approaches but basically you roast them until they are soft no matter what approach you take. Split and de-seed them in either case as well.

Approach 1 is whether you just want grill marks and soft peppers. In that case grill them and flip them and when they are soft they are done.

Approach 2 is for char grilled peppers. Begin grilling them skin side up (away from heat). Get get some kind of grill marks on them (usually light) then flip to skin side down. Now leave them here until you char the skin to your liking.
Pull from grill and peel off 99% of the blistered, charred, burnt skin.

I find more flavor in approach 2 but it is a pain in the butt to have to peel all that charred skin off. It doesn't taste good if you leave it on or get too much of it in the food. So this is a bit of a balancing act here.

Approach 1 is nice simpler and does taste good but not as good as charred peppers in my opinion. Sometimes I am shooting for just nice grilled peppers BUT I leave them on too long or don't watch the fire and they end up as charred peppers so I still win hahhaha.

Try a sample of each approach and figure out which one you like or would care to full with and go from there. Best of luck! :)

 

[gdp]

I grew up not far from Hatch and will throw in my 2cts on how I've always seen and done them. First of all, I've never seen anyone use smoke when cooking them. Not a bad idea and it probably tastes good that way, but I suggest you try over gas flame or a griddle the first time to get the real chile flavor. Gas grill, gas stove, butane torch or anything like that is what is usually used. Can use a griddle too but direct flame is best.
Then you want high heat to really char the outside, get 80% or more black. The more char, the tastier and easier to peel later. There is a skin that actually burns and the chile meat is under that. You won't burn the chile meat unless the skin starts falling off. Then pull and put them in a heavy plastic trash bag, or ziploc for small amount, for 20-30 minutes to let them steam.
If you're going to eat them within a week or so, go ahead and peel the skins after cooling, cut the top off, and take out the seeds and internal lining depending on how hot you want them. The seeds and lining have the heat.
You can chop and eat them like that but I like to add a small pinch of chicken consomme powder (Knorr brand at grocery store), cumin, and 1/2 tsp salt for a quart size batch of chile. Don't overseason or you kill the chile flavor. Let it sit a few hours in the fridge and enjoy.
If you're going to freeze some, I think it's easier to peel after they've been frozen and thawed, and no freezer burn either. Flavor seems the same either way on peeling IMO.
Warning, you'll get hooked on the chile and will find yourself buying enough to last a year, every year :) Put it on eggs, in sandwiches, hamburgers, on top of steaks or just in a tortilla and cheese!

 

[noboundaries]

I fire up my Kettle with a hot fire. Usually I overfill my charcoal baskets with hot charcoal. The two baskets are arranged in a circle in the center of the charcoal grate, then add the cooking grate.

I'll roast 3 or 4 at a time until the skin is mostly black then toss them in a paper sack. I roll the bag closed and let them steam and cool. I peel them in water, tear them open and remove the seeds. Then vacuum seal and freeze.

Works well if you use latex gloves when handling them. Even after washing your hands you can still have the capsacin on your hands. One eye rub and you'll have a new definition of pain.

 

[S-met]

Even after washing your hands you can still have the capsacin on your hands. One trip to the bathroom and you'll have a new definition of pain.

Fixed it for you, ask me how I know.

I start with a box of peppers, a hot grill and a 6er of beer (or homebrew). I'll crack a brew and roast the peppers turning occasionally until charred and soft. Once soft, I'll wrap in foil and toss in an empty ice chest to steam/cool slowly while I'm roasting the rest.

I don't de-seed but that's a personal preference. I peel then vac-seal and into the freezer. I found a pack in the freezer that was probably 5 yrs old, still fine with minimal freezer burn.

 

[S-met]

I have smoked them too with garlic, onions and tomatillos for salsa. They always turn out no matter what I do.

 

[ddufore]

I do mine on my gas grill over high heat. Keep turning them with the longest tongs you have. As they complete charring I remove them to a gallon size plastic zipper bag. After 20-30 minutes the peels will remove easily.

 

[rabbithutch]

Thanks for all the responses.
I did a dozen or so chiles yesterday to see if I learned anything. From the last pic you can see that I had a cast iron comal over a charcoal fire in heaped up baskets. The first pic is just as they were put on the griddle. The next 2 pics show some of the charring. I persisted until they got so charred I was afraid they would be burnt up. I didn't get any pics after that (sorry). I left them in the ZipLoc for a half hour or so without sealing the bag then pulled them out and scraped off the char with my thumbnail. I got about a pint of slimy mess.
I'm placing what I've got in a covered ice tray for freezing. Does that sound about right?

 

[chef jimmyj]

I envy you guys. I love Hatch Chiles but the the shipping is more than the Chiles. $60 for 5 pounds, is just nuts...JJ

 

[tallbm]

Thanks for all the responses.
I did a dozen or so chiles yesterday to see if I learned anything. From the last pic you can see that I had a cast iron comal over a charcoal fire in heaped up baskets. The first pic is just as they were put on the griddle. The next 2 pics show some of the charring. I persisted until they got so charred I was afraid they would be burnt up. I didn't get any pics after that (sorry). I left them in the ZipLoc for a half hour or so without sealing the bag then pulled them out and scraped off the char with my thumbnail. I got about a pint of slimy mess.
I'm placing what I've got in a covered ice tray for freezing. Does that sound about right?View attachment 403435 View attachment 403436 View attachment 403437

I think you did fine from the pics and your description.
Keep experimenting and see if you like less char for peeling or slight char with no peeling, etc.
You really can't go to wrong seeing as how you can just eat them raw with no charring so the its really going to come down to what you like between raw and super charred :)