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Month: January 2022
Using chile powder
If you have ever walked down the spice aisle of the grocery store, odds are you have found at least one or two types of chile powder. Paprika is widely used throughout Europe and the Americas. It is not spicy, but it gives a nice earthy flavor to whatever it is used on. Cayenne pepper is also common wherever you might go, as it is a simple way to add heat to a dish.
By grinding the chile pods into a powder, it increases the overall surface area immensely. This means that flavor compounds will degrade faster in a powder than a dried chile pod. The chile powder itself won’t go bad for a very long time, but the flavor will be less and less potent. This is the same for any spice, the whole spice can last years without large degradation, but powders should be replaced within a year or two.
People often will ask me how to use New Mexico chile powder, whether it is red or green, mild or extra hot. There are two schools of thought in this regard. Some people will say to use a lot of it and make a red chile sauce. This works well enough if you don’t have a blender, but it uses a lot of powder, and the sauce isn’t that difficult to blend up. My favorite way to use it is as a spice.
I have found that if you use it in a similar way to paprika or cayenne pepper, it provides a really nice addition to almost anything. You can calibrate it based on the heat of the chile and also your preference for the chile flavor. A lot will give a strong flavor, where a little may just give a slight tinge.
Powder is incredibly useful for this convenience. It takes a lot of time to grind up a chile pod into a powder, so having a small amount on hand to sprinkle on food is an excellent time saver. For a large amount, I would buy pods though, as you can always grind up more powder from them, and they last longer. If you want a decorative way to store your pods, chile ristras are great for that.
A full dish using dried chile isn’t too difficult to make if you have a blender. In this case, pods win out. If you are looking to add some flavor to a dish that is about to be served, the powder is a great choice.
In case you are looking for more inspiration for what to cook with your New Mexico chile, be sure to check out our recipes section!
Why is Hatch Chile so Famous?
In New Mexico, chile is a big deal to say the least. We schedule our year around picking up enough fresh roasted chile during the season. If we are running low in October, you better believe we will make a mad dash to the closest chile roaster to stock up ASAP. One place in New Mexico has a lot more fame than other areas, the village of Hatch.
About Hatch, New Mexico
The Village of Hatch is a small town with a population of just 1,648 according to the village website. Even with such a small population, it has managed to generate enough renown to call itself the “Chile Capital of the World.” Part of this is due to the farmland there and in surrounding areas producing so much delicious New Mexican chile. The long Hatch valley running along the Rio Grande provides a great terroir to grow some delicious chile.
The Hatch Chile Festival has been held since the 1970s, and will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, in 2022. Although plenty of other great growing regions exist in New Mexico, this event causes the population of Hatch to temporarily grow about 20 times larger. Spice lovers from all over the world come together to celebrate the love of spice. Plenty of different competitions related to best salsa, spice tolerance, food, and much more is available to do.
Additionally, if you drive through the town during the season, you will see chile being roasted on literally every street corner, and ristras being used to decorate every shop, restaurant, and house. You can even find plenty of places who can teach you how to tie your own ristra. Additionally, there is a lot of decorative stuff for sale as well, tourists often buy those kinds of things, and Hatch is definitely focused on selling to tourists. We have plenty of chile ristras in Albuquerque also.
Even in the off season, you can find a lot of stores still open, but they won’t be selling fresh chile anymore, instead selling frozen and dried chile.
Great Burgers at Sparky’s
Sparky’s has a great burger worth trying If, like many other people traveling to Hatch, you are looking for a great green chile cheeseburger, Sparky’s is arguably the most famous place in New Mexico. They certainly have a delicious burger, with a decent heat level. It isn’t really cheap, but burgers worth traveling for rarely are. There is a ton of classic Americana decorating this place, so there is a lot of cool stuff to look at and take pictures of while you are waiting for food here.
Hatch chile and New Mexico chile
Hatch chile is great, but New Mexican chile culture is also a force of nature. The Rio Grande river valley goes right through the middle of New Mexico. Lots of farms grow in a very similar terroir to Hatch all throughout New Mexico. The elevation of Hatch is about 4,000 feet, where the elevation of Socorro is about 4,600. That region is also quite well known among New Mexicans, but not nearly as famous worldwide as Hatch.
Even the words “Hatch Chile” is much more popular than “New Mexico Chile,” even though chile produced at the Chile Pepper Institute of NMSU bears the title NuMex. Whether people say Hatch chile, New Mexico chile, Socorro, or Lemitar, we know that it is probably good stuff if grown in New Mexico. At our store, we sell chile from various parts of the state. We will always let you know where it is from and invite you to sample it before you buy. We pride ourselves on being the best place to get roasted chile in Albuquerque.
So, what makes Hatch famous? Personally I believe it is a combination of many things, including the overall chile tradition that they have. There are many growers, a supportive government, location close to NMSU, and great restaurants which spread the message as well. Even though it is a small town, when people come together and know what they stand for, great things happen.
The New Mexican Chile Tradition
If you have found yourself here, odds are you are curious about chile, whether it is from Hatch or somewhere else in New Mexico. We care a lot about our chile here, with former US senator Pete Dominici going as far to include the official spelling as “chile” in congress. The state question “Red or Green?” has nothing to do with Christmas decorations or traffic lights, but instead on whether one wants red chile or green chile. Indecisive people also have Christmas as an option, which is a mix of both. The tradition of green and red chile runs deep here.
History of New Mexico chile
Although chiles have been grown in New Mexico for hundreds of years, the New Mexico chile we have come to love is much more recent. In 1913, Dr Fabian Garcia released a chile pepper known as New Mexico No. 9, which was, according to him “larger, smoother, fleshier, more tapering and included a shoulder-less pod for canning purposes.” This chile variety is important, because it is the forefather of all modern New Mexican chiles, excluding landrace varieties. More than just that, it was the first chile variety released by NMSU, which has released many other great chile varieties.
In the modern day, the most famous varieties are definitely Big Jim, named after Jim Lytle, developed by Dr Roy Nakayama in 1975, and Sandia, developed by Dr Roy Harper in 1956. They are the traditional medium and hot chile in New Mexico. We’ve got a page explaining more about chile varieties too. Nowadays, there are many more types of chile being grown in New Mexico. The way we use chile has not shifted very much however, and we still hold close to our traditional roots. Although chile like Lumbre has increased the average heat level, the general way we roast, cook, and consume chile remains the same.
Modern chile history
Now that you can see how recent a lot of the New Mexican chile culture is, you can understand how roasted chile is also not an ancient custom. Although many would roast chile at their home, the art of roasting commercially is rather new. Before we started roasting in 1977, there were no stores who roasted in Albuquerque. Back then, Hatch grew plenty of chile and other produce, but it was just a small town, not really known to many in New Mexico, let alone internationally as it is today. The first Hatch Chile Festival in 1972 was a step in the right direction, and is a large reason why it became so famous among spice lovers. Nowadays, chile is grown, roasted, dried, sold, and eaten in every form imaginable in New Mexico. The term Hatch chile is used by more people than New Mexico chile.
New Mexico vs Hatch chile
We prefer the term New Mexico chile, because there are tons of amazing farms all around New Mexico providing great quality chile and other local produce. More than just that, there are many big businesses who try to capitalize on the “Hatch” name who simply produce an inferior product. Although there are some great growers in Hatch, nowadays, a lot of “Hatch chile” pales in comparison to chile grown in San Antonio, Socorro, Lemitar, or other regions in New Mexico.
The chile season
Green Chile roasting in Abluquerque Every year in early August, the chile season begins. Many farms release chile starting in July nowadays, but early chile is often not mature enough to roast properly. Once August comes, you can smell the enchanting aroma of roasted chile on many street corners in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, and every small town in between. To say that green chile is a part of the fabric of the community borders on an understatement.
If you find yourself in New Mexico during chile season, especially during September and early October, you will see many chile ristras decorating shops and restaurants. You will also see a chile roaster on what seems like half the street corners. Even big grocery chains roast chile, though their chile is cheap mass production chile, and their roasters are generally not trained well. Chile for them is just a loss leader to drive customers into the store. Chile for us is much more important, and we would go out of business if it wasn’t a priority for us.
As the original chile roaster in Albuquerque, we know how much of a social event getting roasted chile can be. Often, we will have 20 people or more waiting for chile, striking up new friendships and sharing recipes. We’ve even seen people offer up room in their freezers to those who don’t have enough room to store their chile.
The traditions of chile season
A classic New Mexican tradition is raiding mom’s freezer for more chile after you run out yourself. Another classic tradition is tying ristras. Although not every New Mexican has taken part, many people buy sacks of fresh red chile to tie ristras with their families. It is a great way to make some beautiful decorations, and it saves money over buying premade ristras. Once they are dried, they are ready to be eaten as part of a red chile sauce, posole, or carne adovada.
Most New Mexicans buy chile in large quantities during chile season. Often they will get several sacks ans invite friends and family to come peel and bag the chile together. This is often a family gathering involving beer, wine, and maybe even some gossip. Peeling chile is a task that not everyone enjoys, but is certainly one of the most important chile traditions of New Mexico. The meat of the chile is delicious, but the skin is flavorless, so getting rid of it is the best solution. Luckily the skin is only a small part, so there is plenty of chile left over after peeling.
Traditional Chile Recipes
Whether red or green chile, everyone has a family member with plenty of traditional recipes passed down through generations to share. Our recipes section has a decent amount of ideas to get you started. In terms of flavor, there are two basic recipes that are integral in most foods.
Traditional Red Chile foods
The first step to making foods with red chile it to make a red chile sauce. Red chile is typically more popular in winter months, as certain foods like tamales and posole are consumed more often when the weather is colder. Red chile is not just limited to these months however, and dishes like carne adovada and enchiladas are popular year round!
Some stacked red chile enchiladas Traditional Green Chile foods
Green chile has more ways to use it than red chile, as making a green chile sauce is not always necessary. Roasted green chile is often used as a simple topping whether on a pizza, a burger, scrambled eggs, or even a bloody Mary! That being said, the sauce is often used to make things like green chile chicken enchiladas, adding it into a burrito, or many other things. Something which is unique for green chile is stuffing them with cheese, breading them, and frying them into chile rellenos.
If we want to talk about very traditional ways of preserving green chile, there is nothing better than chile pasado. This way of drying roasted green chile has been around in New Mexico before electricity, and is one of the reasons we have such a long chile tradition here in the Land of Enchantment. Chile pasado is an amazing ingredient to blend into spice mixes, as well as seasoning for a green chile stew. More than just that, it also works great for a green chile sauce.
A chile relleno plate at an Albuquerque restaurant The versatility of chile
You will also be able to find chile infused aromas, chile chocolate, caramel corn, honey, pastries, breads, and many more. If you can eat it, odds are a New Mexican has tried it with chile. With chile’s versatile flavor profile, it probably tastes great too.
Almost every restaurant, from Italian to Japanese will have something with chile in it. Even McDonald’s has green chile cheeseburgers, although Blake’s is better in my opinion. The New Mexico style burger, with double meat, cheese, and roasted green chile is a fantastic lunch.
See the Tradition in New Mexico
If you come to visit New Mexico and want to understand more, the best thing to do is visit a chile roaster. After all, New Mexicans do every year. If you are in Albuquerque, we hope you give us a visit at 2010 Eubank. We strive to be the best roaster in Albuquerque. If you are in another city, you can use google maps, or simply ask a local New Mexican. Everyone in New Mexico will have a chile roaster they prefer.
As you can see, New Mexicans have a tradition of enjoying chile in a lot of ways. It is more than just a food for us, it is a culture. If you like mild or extra hot, red or green, or a mix of both, you can get it here. If you like chile for decorating, we have that too. Dressing up as a chile for Halloween will make you the life of the party. The traditions of chile in New Mexico is New Mexico itself. Inseparable.
In case you want some fresh roasted chile in 2024, we will begin roasting on Friday, August 2nd for our 47th chile roasting season! As you can tell by our long history, we also have a very long chile roasting tradition!
About me
I’m 34 years old, and the 4th generation of Farmers Market in Albuquerque. I grew up in the Farmers Market stores and worked there since I was about 10 years old. I’ve been roasting chile since I was 12, and have been a fan of green and red chile for even longer.
I’ve visited a lot of farms, as I’ve always had a fascination with produce. I’ve been to chile farms, coffee farms, vegetable farms, hop farms, vineyards, and many more. There is always something new you can learn from farmers.
In addition to living in New Mexico, I have also lived in Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and speak the languages as well. It has given me a good perspective about different flavor profiles, as has working as a chef while living abroad. Other projects I am involved in besides chile are Rieng, a lifestyle e-zine in Vietnam, ABQ Spice, a spice startup I will launch during chile season in order to take advantage of my culinary skills, and Albuquerque Chile, a blog based on chile focused foods in New Mexico.
If you are interested in beer or fermentation related content, I also have a blog called Beer with Jhett.
Running a chile stand gives me the freedom to travel and learn new languages, cultures, and cuisines, and I hope to bring that knowledge back to Albuquerque. I know a lot about New Mexico chile, and do my best to learn more in order to provide the best quality for our loyal customers.
