7 Hatch Green Chile Tips

All you need to know when Hatch Green Chile Season comes around, don’t fret, there is a way! Do you ever avoid purchasing these chiles because you don’t want to burn, overcook, or just don’t know what to do with them? Let me help you fix that with my 7 Fresh Green Chile Tips.

UPDATED SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 BY ERIKA GARIBAY

I thought I’d share some tips and guidance on how to prepare this seasonal chile because the more variety of flavor, mo’ happy.

I get real happy from sharing things that will make your experience in the kitchen better.

You don’t know what you don’t know, until you learn today and try. 🙂

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What is Hatch Chile?

Hatch Valley is located in Hatch, New Mexico. This pepper is a popular food grown in the state for its unique flavor. I’ve never been to New Mexico (still on my list to visit) but I was lucky enough to have been gifted a bag of fresh hatch over a decade ago from a friend.

I always thought it was anaheim pepper before this experience, but it wasn’t.

A classic green chile is used in making favorited Tex-Mex dishes and So-Cal eats like green chile strips (because a bean and cheese is just so much better with it!), famous green chile con carne, chili fries, tasty bean-cheese and green burritos, muffins and more.

It’s definitely a comfort food over here.

It get’s hype when season is here for all the home cooks looking for authentic flavor, spice, and new recipes to try!

Hatch Chile Frequent Asked Questions:

• If your pepper is not grown in Hatch, New Mexico, is it really NM hatch chile? By name, sure it is. Debate is still out! [I texted my frenz] LOL

• A green pepper? Yes.

• By taste? The verdict is still out on this question. I’ll still cook with it, you better believe it. I throw this detail in here for my purist ComidaMakers. I see you and your chile game.

What do you think? Share your hatch chile comparisons in the comments section. 🙂

Ingredient / Kitchen Equipment

Grocery Quick List: fresh hatch green peppers, foil lining (optional for easy clean up), sheet pan / large comal / saute pan, and tongs.

Preparation types of roasting for hatch chile:

• stovetop – fire roast on grill grates or pan roasting (on comal as pictured in photo above)
• oven
• bbq grill
• roaster
• smoker

My 7 Hatch Chile Tips: Learn how to Maximize

1. Decide what Foods you’ll be Making with Fresh Green Chili.

With so many dishes and uses for green chile, it’s a good idea to list your favorite style of eating these chilitos. It’ll give you an idea of how many from the roasted batch to use, boil, freeze (with skin on or off is your choice), cut into strips, or set aside as raw to make a hatch green sauce from.

Examples: diced cubes of roasted hatch chile for queso fundido, strips (rajas), stewed meats, green sauce, baking muffins, etc.

2. How to Pick Hatch Chiles.

Look for fresh stems [not old and dried out].

If stems are dried, it’s not a bad thing. When a chile has ripened, it becomes naturally more flavorful. You’ve gotta time it while it’s fresh, and make sure no mold develops.

This is why I prefer and recommend the freshest of stems when selecting your hatch chiles.

Roasting methods: in oven, toaster or standard, on pan for pan roasting, in smoker or fire roast on grill.

3. How much Chile is Enough Chile.

I purchase 4 pounds on average, annually. For you, it depends. Only get what you can see yourself cooking and consuming within 6-9 months.

Prevent food waste and use only what you really need. Share any extra peppers with friends and family and get kudos. It feels good to share good flavor, right?!

4. Tips for Peeling Green Skin from Roasted Only.

Method to peeling green chile for Whole Peppers:

Roast first, let cool in airtight container, cut a slit into chili once cool, carefully remove the seeds with a small spoon or by hand, and then peel skin. These steps will prevent the whole chile you want to cook with from breaking in more than once place.

PRO TIP: Use gloves and caution when peeling. If the hatch is spicy, they spicy oils will burn hands. use gloves if not familiar!

Method to peeling for Diced Green Chile or Green Chile Strips:

If you are using the chile to cube up or make strips, it doesn’t matter what order you use. Peeling skin and then de-seeding, is fine because if the pepper breaks, you’re still only needing to strip it or dice it.

5. Hatch Skin is Tough, Here’s the Pepper Breakdown.

• Skin of green chile is tough, so it is preferred to peel skin from chile after roasting or baking for ease of eating and best taste of rajas [strips or diced].

• If making a sauce, peeling the skin is not necessary since the pepper will be boiled and that will soften chile skin enough for a smooooooth sauce.

6. Roasted Hatch Chili Flavor, Get The Most From It.

When letting roasted peppers cool, they will naturally release juices as they cool in their own steam. Keep its drippings! There is so much flavor in the juice that disposing of it is a loss of flavor [yes, in my very casera opinion, use it or you lose it!].

Even if it looks a little on the browning side of things, brown is beautiful especially in the flavor of New Mexico Hatch Valley peppers.

Erika’s Note to You: The challenge is sometimes thinking it’s going to change the color of your entire dish, but it wont. The chile is green, so as long as you peel as much of the charred skin as you can off, it’ll still be green for the green chile. Still, it’s all about the flavor!

7. When Buying Hatch Chili from a Can.

If you’ve run out and cant find frozen green chile, the last resort is canned. When going for canned chile, I encourage you to look at the ingredients.

The cans with the least listed ingredients are the canned peppers you should consider. I.E. water, green pepper, vinegar, sea salt (this would be the best case scenario ingredients listing). The cleanest listings are always the better choice.

No luck on a clean ingredient listing? Maybe a fresh anaheim pepper can be your backup substitution. Here’s an anaheim for comparison.

8. Bonus Tip: don’t Over-cook, Don’t Under-cook for Easy Peeling.

The most common roasting is at home. I can’t really rely on proper roasting at places, tbh they’re a seldom find around my area. I’m definitely jelly of all the CO, AZ, NM, and Tejas heads that must get quality roasting.

• Lay all whole peppers flat on pan for stove. Cover with lid and let cook on medium/low heat for 10 minutes on each side.
  • Alternatively you can roast them over a flame the way you would poblanos for chiles rellenos, or chiles anaheim.
• Cover and allow to completely cool. This makes peeling super easy.

And here’s my favorite green chile queso fundido recipe, it’s perfect on movie night!

Meals With hatch Green Chile

Here are a few favorite dishes I can think of that soak up or build more good food to eat.

• Papas con Huevo breakfast tacos.
• Easy Instant Pot Yellow Rice
• Peruano Beans
• Chicken Flautas
• Mexican White Rice

We never forget our universal love for rice that’s perfect for soaking up all this spicy green flavor.

More Chile Next Season

Didn’t get enough this time around? With this need of chile on your mind, you’ll know to increase your pounds purchased next hatch season. I lay on the tips because I only want the best flavor for you.