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Category: chile roasting
Hatch Chile Roasting Near you in 2025
If you are looking for roasted Hatch chile near you this year, you’ve come to the right place! Hatch chile roasting is an incredibly important part of New Mexican culture. This delicacy has spread to surrounding states and even further as New Mexico’s delicious food touches the hearts of more and more people. If you are here, you have probably asked where to get roasted Hatch chile this year. Read on to find out!
Where to get roasted green chile in 2025?
We roast chile at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87112. When it comes to roasted Hatch green chile in Albuquerque, the original is always worth checking out. We’ve been roasting chile since 1977, before anyone else in the city. Most other roasters were just kids or not born born yet back then. We roast chile every day from 9-5 during the months of August, September, and October, the whole chile season. Our first day of roasting will be Friday, August 1st this year! Keep us in mind when you search for “Chile roasting near me 2025” We will continue to stay open selling chile products until Christmas, even after the chile roasting season is over!
The great terroir of New Mexico chile
Every chile season, New Mexicans always consider where to get their Hatch chile roasted. Many people here prefer chile from other areas, such as Lemitar, San Antonio, or Chimayo. In the early chile season, we always start our green chile roasting with Hatch chile. Simply put, it is ready faster because Hatch is farther south and warmer. As the plants get older however, the chile they produce becomes smaller and doesn’t roast as well. In this case, it is best to let the chile turn red and mature. The red chile pods they turn into make a delicious sauce, and is one answer to our state question, “Red or Green?” P.S. Christmas is always an acceptable answer if you are feeling indecisive!
Because the Hatch season is earlier, we change over to our farmers farther north later in the season in order to get the best quality chile available at the time. If the month is August, our green chile is almost certainly Hatch green chile. If it is around September or later, our green chile will likely be from Snake Ranch or another farm in the Socorro Valley area near Lemitar. There are many places here growing fantastic New Mexico chile. Due to our long history of roasting chile in New Mexico, we have vetted just about everyone, and only source from the best growers.
The Farmers Chile Market Difference
Regardless of whether you are looking for Hatch chile, Lemitar chile, or somewhere else, we are confident that our chile quality is just as good, if not better. Our farmers use seeds bred primarily for flavor rather than yield per acre as a lot of “Hatch chile farms” use. Our chile is better than what you get in giant grocery stores, we guarantee it! If you want good quality roasted green or red chile, you can be sure to get it here. We pride ourselves on being a great chile roaster in Albuquerque.
We are more than willing to accommodate special requests for roasting. Do you want us to roast it a little longer for a more smoky flavor? Let us know! Want to throw some garlic and onion into the roaster for a more aromatic roast? We can do it! We will roast your xxx-hot sack with some fresh ghost peppers to kick up the heat level. I’ll even take your picture if it’s not too busy, just ask! At Farmers Chile Market, we will do our best to ensure you leave happy with your perfect sack of chile!
Your Spot for Roasted Green Chile
If you are asking yourself where to get chile roasting near me in 2025, You can find your solution in the Northeast Heights at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE. In the early season, we start roasting green medium and hot varieties. Later on, we also carry mild, extra hot, and even xxx-hot Lumbre chile! We will also have plenty of red chile ristras, other chile products, and local produce available.
We roast red chile too!
Don’t think of us as a one trick pony that only sells green chile. Once September rolls around, we have all varieties of green chile and also carry fresh red chile to roast as well. This is much more difficult to find than green chile, and most roasters don’t carry much in the way of fresh red. Whether you want a full sack, a half sack, or an even smaller amount than that, you can get it at Farmers Chile Market during September and October! Of course, we also carry dried red chile pods, which is the most common way that people buy their red chile.
Hatch Chile Season 2025
Although it is still somewhat early to tell, the snow and rain we have been seeing over the winter is definitely a good sign. Although there are other factors than just water involved in growing and harvesting green and red New Mexico chile, water availability has been something which has been limiting the amount of farms able to grow. When we get a good snowpack, this means water will be less of a troubling issue. Hopefully winters like these become normal, as water concerns have become somewhat severe in recent years.
Is there a green chile shortage?
Regardless of the bleak picture many media outlets love to paint, green and red New Mexico chile will always be available, even if the price rises due to various reasons, such as labor, water, fertilizer, or even age of farmers. Green chile production in Hatch, and most other areas of New Mexico is becoming smaller and smaller, but it will still be available. We at Farmers Chile Market are committed to finding good chile, no matter what happens in the future. You can believe that we will always support local farmers and try to keep the great red and green chile tradition of New Mexico alive.
What Varieties of Chile we Roast
These are all different chile varieties! Hotter chile typically curves more We roast many different varieties of Hatch chile, including Numex 6-4, Big Jim, Sandia, Miss Junie, Barker, and even Lumbre chile. More than just that, we often also carry fresh red chile once it is ready too. In terms of heat levels, this means we sell and roast chile which is very mild, medium, hot, extra hot, and all the way up to xxx-hot. We have even have people special order fresh superhots like ghost peppers to roast alongside with other chile. If we roast it, you can be sure it is local New Mexican chile, though we also have a wide range of other chili peppers as well!
Other types of chilies we sell
If you are looking for the hottest of the hot, we try to carry a wide assortment of both fresh and dried superhot chile peppers during the chile season. We typically always have plenty of Carolina Reapers, Ghost Peppers, 7 Pots, Scotch Bonnets and even Aji Charapita, the world’s most expensive chili pepper! This year, we will also try to carry Pepper X, the new hottest chile pepper in the world. This isn’t a guarantee yet however, as the seeds are still hard to come by.
We have Mexican chile too!
We also carry a good assortment of chile from Mexico, such as Ancho, Chipotle, Guajillo, and more. In the future, I will prepare different recipes using these peppers. I love to cook and write, but often I become quite busy managing my chile roasting operation, and that must come first. Because of this, it may take me a year or two to come up with these recipes using various chile peppers. For now, here is a recipe overview for a New Mexican classic, stacked red chile enchiladas. In case you are a foodie, I have spent a decent amount of time between the end of the 2024 chile season and the start of the 2025 chile season beefing up our recipes section! Be sure to check it out if you want some more ideas about how to cook with Hatch chile.
Looking Forward to the 2025 NM chile season
The chile season is always different, but the same. During the months of August, September, and October, I work every day of the week, trying to not only provide the best customer service I can, but also find the best chile at the best time. The season changes drastically from the early season, where only a small amount of green chile varieties available. Two weeks later, we have plenty of extra hot and xxx hot chile, with more and more mature reddish chiles showing up in the burlap sacks.
Once September comes, red chile comes right after. Once red chile is available, red chile ristras show up days later. Tying chile ristras is a great way for farming families to make more money. It is also a good way for older family members to make some money without working the fields. With red chile coming, it also means the season is approaching the finish line. The weather starts getting colder, and plants have less energy to keep making new green chile. More and more farmers stop picking, and leave the red chile to dry on the plant, to be harvested once dry.
Visit Albuquerque’s Original Chile Roaster
We hope to be your choice when you search for chile roasting near me 2025 this year. If you are living in Albuquerque, or just passing through for the Balloon Fiesta or something else, we would love to see you at Farmers Chile Market at 2010 Eubank Blvd Albuquerque, NM 87112 this chile season!
For people traveling in Albuquerque and New Mexico, be sure to check out our travel section for ideas. We have plenty of information about different road trip ideas, including Route-66, I-25, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Hatch, and more!
Chile Ristras for sale in Albuquerque
We will also have tons of ristras for sale at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE, 87112. Typically they show up right around Labor Day, coinciding with the Hatch Chile Festival! Our selection of ristras
Once ristras come in, fresh red chile follows closely behind it. Be sure to come stop by and get your roasted red chile fix in the months of September and October. Because of its high sugar content, we won’t be shipping fresh red chile. It often attracts flies and goes bad much faster than green chile as a result. New crop red chile pods come in around October typically. These pods are the core ingredient in making the red part of New Mexico’s favorite cuisine, a red chile sauce. After red chile pods become available, some of the large chile producers in Hatch also begin to prepare fresh red chile powder, which is one of my favorite ingredients to make different New Mexican fusion foods!
Hatch red chile roasting in Albuquerque More info about New Mexico Chile
Check out our guide to roasting chile at home.
In case you will be roasting chile professionally in 2025, read roasting with a barrel roaster. This guide explains our technique of roasting chile. It has been tuned over 45 years, and I believe it is the best way to roast with a chile roaster.
Check here if you are curious about different varieties of chile. In case you are a real chilehead, you will no doubt be interested in attending the world famous Hatch Chile Festival. Be sure to read all about it before you go!
Also, feel free to read through our blog if you want to learn other things about New Mexico Chile. In case you are interested in the history and culture of New Mexico chile, be sure to read our blog post The New Mexican Chile Tradition. We add new content regularly, and will feature recipes along with other knowledge and opinions as the chile industry changes. It is a very different game than it used to be, with many new varieties available. We hope you enjoyed reading our blog, and hope to see you when you are looking for roasted green chile in 2025!
A nice Autumn roast Can’t make it to Albuquerque?
We also have a broad selection of Hatch chile products available on our online shop! Take the knowledge you learned in our guide to roasting chile and roast up some delightful chile for yourself. The chile we sell is more flavorful than chile you can get in grocery stores. A big reason why is that it isn’t graded by federal produce standards. In New Mexico, we don’t really care so much if chile is curved, but the Feds and grocery conglomerates do. If we want a chile relleno, we pick out a straight chile. curvy stuff is still great for chopping up and putting on a burger, in a taco, or even some mac & cheese! The tastiest varieties of chile are usually not very straight! That being said, some varieties such as Big Jim have a propensity to be big, straight, and meaty!
Buy chile online!
Whether you are looking for fresh green chile, frozen roasted chile, dried roasted chile, dried red chile pods, a chile ristra, new crop Estancia pinto beans, or something else, we probably have it available in our chile store. Although New Mexico is a great travel location, we will be here waiting for you next year too! In case you need your heat fix sooner than you can visit, you can scratch your chile itch by buying online! Even if you can’t find chile roasting near you in 2025, you can get fresh chile and roast it yourself. Happy roasting this 2025 chile season!
Hatch Green Chile roasting in Albuquerque 
Starting the 2024 Hatch Chile Season
It’s late July! What that means is that the Hatch chile season is just getting started. Although some places have already started roasting chile for a few weeks, we don’t handle early chile as it almost never meets our standards. We won’t roast chile that is tender and easy to burn or shred.
This year, like others, water is an issue for farmers. The lack of water availability is the main thing which is causing chile to be grown in less and less acreage every year. More and more farmers prefer growing feed for livestock, as federal subsidies make it a guaranteed profit source with less work than chile.
That being said, we work with farmers who grow chile as a passion. This food is the lifeblood of New Mexican culture. Without chile, our cuisine would would be as bland as Colorado’s. I’m joking, they love our chile up there too!
We start roasting on August 2nd
This 2024 Hatch chile season, we will start roasting on August 2nd, 2024. As with other years, we should have Medium and Hot flavors available, with other varieties like mild and extra hot coming in about a week later. The last to arrive is the xxx-hot Lumbre chile, as it is small and tender, so needs more time to mature into the firebomb of spice it is.
As with years past, we will try to carry a lot of local produce, as well as the best peaches in the world from Palisade, Colorado. Be sure to come by any time we are open to get fantastic beans from Estancia. The new crop typically arrives in late September. We will also be carrying fresh superhot peppers, such as Carolina Reapers, Ghost peppers, and Pepper X. In addition to that, like before, we will be selling Aji Charapita, the most expensive chile pepper in the world!
In the 2024 chile season, just like the last 47 years, we will do everything in our power to ensure you have a great chile buying experience at Farmers Chile Market! Whether you are looking for a small amount or to buy 100 sacks wholesale, you can be sure that we will do our best to satisfy you. New Mexico chile is in our DNA. Whether it is fresh chile, roasted chile, red chile pods, chile pasado, chile powder, chile ristras, or something else, we will have something to satisfy you!
The 2025 Hatch Chile Festival
People around the world love New Mexico chile, because it has a good manageable amount of heat and a lot of meatiness that can be used to pack a lot of chile flavor into any food you can imagine. Of New Mexico chile, Hatch chile is the most famous by far. In fact, Hatch chile is a more popular way of saying New Mexico chile, though the chile varietals are named Numex at NMSU’s chile breeding program. One of the main reasons Hatch is so famous, besides the excellent terroir, is the Hatch Chile Festival. This annual festival takes place on Labor Day weekend every year, and is as big to Hatch as the Balloon Fiesta is for Albuquerque, Zozobra is for Santa Fe, or the Chile Drop for Las Cruces. Visiting a chile roaster is a great travel idea, and Hatch is the epicenter of chile roasting in New Mexico during the chile festival in 2025, and beyond!
This is what you came for Hatch Chile Festival History
The original Hatch Chile Festival was held in 1971, with just a few local growers. It was a small event for a small town, but but it was special and more and more interest developed over the years. In modern times, the festival has become quite popular, with people traveling from all over to visit. As a year had to be cancelled due to covid, 2025 marks the 53rd Hatch Chile Festival.
Welcome to Hatch! When is the Hatch Chile Festival in 2025?
The Hatch Chile Festival always takes place on Labor Day Weekend, which is August 30th and August 31st this 2025 chile season. As Labor Day is very early this year, I wouldn’t expect a huge amount of chile ristras available unfortunately. There will certainly be some farmers who purposely let their green chile ripen early instead of harvesting in order to sell ristras however, so you will definitely be able to find some nice ristras still.
If you see this water tower, head east to the festival or west to the fields! Layout of the Hatch Chile Festival
The festival has several distinct areas, with the epicenter being around the intersection of Franklin and Hall Streets. The high school pecan orchard is one major area, from there, there is a lot to do going west and south. It is overall fairly walkable, but there is a shuttle bus that you can ride that has a stop in front of the orchard on Franklin Street too. In case you are planning to go to shops on Franklin street north of the Circle K, I recommend going by car, as the shops on the road towards I-25 are more spread out and lack shade.
Where to park for the Hatch Chile Festival?
Most years, the best place to park is at the Hatch Valley High School. If you are coming into Hatch off of I-25, turn left just after the Circle K onto Herrera Rd. The pecan orchard at the high school is used to host some events, like auctions, shows, and competitions. I’ve parked there for free the last few years, but they may charge for parking at some point. From the school, you can proceed southwest to the downtown area on foot.
What to Eat at the Hatch Chile Festival
Sparky’s is located at the biggest intersection in Hatch. It’s packed around lunchtime, so expect to wait Walking southwest from the Pecan Orchard, you can find restaurants like Sparky’s to get a green chile cheeseburger. You might have to wait a while, as the lines run around the block during chile fest weekend. In case you are looking for quicker food that can be consumed on the go, make a quick stop at B & E Burritos. For those of you looking for a place to sit down, Pepper Pot is also a nice option! Valley Cafe is also nearby and has great reviews, but I can’t comment from personal experience. I will try to go this when I visit Hatch! In addition to restaurants, there are also plenty of vendors selling small foods and refrescos! You are never far from a snack or drink during the Hatch Chile Festival!
This is a stacked red chile enchilada plate from Pepper Pot! A Mostly Walkable Festival
Going further west along Hall Street, you will see more restaurants and grocery stores. When you see Village Market, if you go north on School Street, they often have a carnival with various rides and games to play at the lot on the corner of School and Hill Street. In case you are walking, there isn’t too much reason to walk much past Chile Fanatic on Hall Street, as the town gets very spread out around there. In case you want to visit the Grajeda Farms store, it’s better to go by car.
Hatch isn’t a big city, so you can walk from one side of town to the opposite side in about half an hour. As Labor Day weekend is still summertime, be sure to drink plenty of water, and rest in the shade if you need to. Stop in a grocery store or restaurant for air conditioning and refreshments if you feel overheated. The vendors here have the chile roasters blasting all day, so it can be somewhat hard to cool down without making a specific effort to do so.
The gazebo in the park is also a nice spot to sit down out of the sun! What to do at the 2025 Hatch chile Festival
Feel the pulse of New Mexico chile
This is an event that encompasses the entire town. If there is a business in Hatch, you bet it will be open during the event. I don’t really recommend driving around town unless you have somewhere specific to be. It’s way more fun to walk around and see all the sites, different stores, vendors, and artists in the community. Although Hatch is a small town, it is lively during chile season. During this event, it becomes a whole city devoted to chile. Whether you want food, candy, earrings, or fashion related to chile, you can find it. You will even find people dressed as chile, as well as people with hats decorated like ristras, chile roasters, or some other chile related thing.
You can find this sign right in the middle of Hatch! Buy a Ristra
Hatch, New Mexico during the chile festival has more types of ristras than literally anywhere in the world! If you want to take back a chile souvenir, shopping for ristras in Hatch is a great idea. From the normal large straight sandia chile ristras, chile wreaths, chile pequin ristras, these yellow chile guerito ristras, or even garlic and onions, you can find them in Hatch during the festival!
Learn to tie a chile ristra
During the festival, you will be able to see people tying chile ristras in many different places throughout the village. If they aren’t too busy, feel free to ask them to show you how to tie a ristra, and maybe you can even make your own! In case they are too busy to teach you, I have a brief guide on tying a ristra on my page about chile ristras.
You can find ristra tying classes in the Hatch Valley High School Pecan Orchard! Learn How to Roast Chile like a pro
The same thing goes with roasting chile, if the roasters are busy, try not to ask too many questions and just observe. The competition for chile roasting in Hatch is very fierce, which means the roasters need to be on point. In case you come at a very busy time and are unable to ask your questions about roasting, I have a guide to roast on a barrel roaster too! Roasting at scale is very different than roasting on a BBQ grill or an oven broiler. The heat levels need to be much higher to properly blister the chile before evaporation of water lowers the temperature. The guide above goes in depth about roasting both at home and with a giant barrel shaped pepper roaster! It has plenty of ideas for those who are roasting a little, or even those who want to set up their own chile operation!
You will have plenty of chances to see these chile roasters up close! Make a silly Chile hat and dress up!
Part of the fun at the chile fest is to be creative, and do what you can to enjoy all things chile with different people! Every year, there are competitions related to chile related fashion! You can see people dressed up in clothes that make them look like a chile pepper, or even see chile roasters made into hats!
I like his fashion! Check out a Firetruck
As a chile roaster in Albuquerque, we rely on the fire department to keep us safe, as roasting chile is dangerous. We have a first responders discount as one way of showing our appreciation to them. Hatch is no different, and there are many chile roasters who know that the fire department will be there in minutes if there is a roasting mishap. During the festival, they show off their firetrucks, and show kids how they work! My son loves firetrucks, and is always super happy to see all the different technology involved in them. He got a great explanation about it from the Hatch Fire Department!
Be sure to show your kids how cool these firetrucks are! Cool off at Icebox Brewing
Across the street from Sparky’s at the main intersection of Hatch, you can find Icebox Brewing. Next to here is often a stage with live music performances that go until about 10 pm. During the chile fest, you can find many different people enjoying a cold beer here, and there are often specialty beers which are made specifically for the Hatch Chile Festival!
This beer was spiced up by a rim of chile powder! You can find some interesting stuff at the Chile Festival Get a Sack of Roasted Hatch Green Chile
As the festival always happens on Labor Day weekend, it is often a bit early for fresh red chile, especially in 2025. That being said, it is the perfect time to get a full sack of Hatch green chile roasted for you there, or raw to take back home with you! This is what makes the town of Hatch so famous, so it’s a great time to stock up for the year!
You can even take a whole car worth of chile back home with you! A word of caution to the superhot lovers
Don’t come to the Hatch Chile Festival looking for superhots New Mexico chile is a great chile, but it isn’t going to blow you away in terms of heat if you eat ghost peppers like candy. Our chile is a huge part of our culture, but we use it for much more than just the heat. It is the soul food for us in New Mexico. Heat is important, but not the only thing we are looking for. Even our Lumbre Chile, which is arguably the hottest chile, and certainly the most consistently hot chile we grow a lot of in New Mexico only ranges around 10,000 Scoville. When you compare it to Carolina Reapers or Pepper X, it is less than 1% of the heat level. That being said, there are way more ways to cook with our chile than superhots. Additionally, you can always make a chile relleno and put ghost pepper powder in the cheese to kick it up about 10 notches. Good luck making a chile relleno with a 7-Pot. Don’t come to the festival expecting the hottest chili peppers, it isn’t about that.
Roasted green chile is the real magic of the Hatch Chile Festival The Hatch Chile Festival is a celebration of New Mexican culture and cuisine that goes far beyond just spice. If you are looking for the hottest stuff around, there are plenty of other events which may suit you better. If you want to see the celebration of many small local New Mexican businesses and enjoy the warmth of both the food and the people, the Hatch Chile Festival is for you. Welcome to New Mexico, and see you on Labor Day Weekend, 2025!
And these red chile ristras are a welcome bonus too! Hatch Chile Festival FAQ
What is the Hatch Chile Festival?The Hatch Chile Festival is the largest event in Hatch, New Mexico the Chile Capital of the World. It is an event that encompasses the whole town, with carnival rides, shows, competitions, many different vendors, and much more! 2025 is the event’s 53rd iteration!
When in the Hatch Chile FestivalThe Hatch Chile Festival is on Labor Day weekend every year, with the dates in 2025 being Saturday, August 30th and Sunday, August 31st this year. There is also a carnival and music which starts on Friday evening, the day before the main events start.
How much does the Hatch Chile Festival cost?As the festival encompasses the entire town, the base cost is free! Parking has been free in recent years, but is not guaranteed every year. If you plan to go shopping, the roasted chile will likely be about $40 a sack this year, but small amounts are also available for purchase. Additionally, there are many vendors selling different decorations, fashion, jewelry, and much more. This is an event where someone could spend $5 or $1,000 depending on what kind of shopping they do!
Is Hatch, NM worth visiting?In case you like New Mexico chile, it absolutely is worth a visit during the chile season! The Hatch Chile Festival is an especially good time, as it becomes very lively with lots to do and see. Hatch is also a great place to stop in case you are taking an I-25 road trip in New Mexico! Outside of the chile season, it is a small town without too much to do if you aren’t related to the chile business. Many local businesses are closed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
small town, big flavor Hatch Chile Roasting Near you in 2024
If you are looking for roasted Hatch chile near you this year, you’ve come to the right place! Hatch chile roasting is an incredibly important part of New Mexican culture. This delicacy has spread to surrounding states and even further as New Mexico’s delicious food touches the hearts of more and more people. If you are here, you have probably asked where to get roasted Hatch chile this year. Read on to find out!
Where to get roasted green chile in 2024?
We roast chile at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87112. When it comes to roasted Hatch green chile in Albuquerque, the original is always worth checking out. We’ve been roasting chile since 1977, before anyone else in the city. Most other roasters were just kids or not born born yet back then. We roast chile every day from 9-5 during the months of August, September, and October, the whole chile season. Our first day of roasting will be Friday, August 2nd this year! Keep us in mind when you search for “Chile roasting near me 2024” We will continue to stay open selling chile products until Christmas, even after the chile roasting season is over!
The great terroir of New Mexico chile
Every chile season, New Mexicans always consider where to get their Hatch chile roasted. Many people here prefer chile from other areas, such as Lemitar, San Antonio, or Chimayo. In the early chile season, we always start our green chile roasting with Hatch chile. Simply put, it is ready faster because Hatch is farther south and warmer. As the plants get older however, the chile they produce becomes smaller and doesn’t roast as well. In this case, it is best to let the chile turn red and mature. The red chile pods they turn into make a delicious sauce, and is one answer to our state question, “Red or Green?” P.S. Christmas is always an acceptable answer if you are feeling indecisive!
Because the Hatch season is earlier, we change over to our farmers farther north later in the season in order to get the best quality chile available at the time. If the month is August, our green chile is almost certainly Hatch green chile. If it is around September or later, our green chile will likely be from Snake Ranch or another farm in the Socorro Valley area near Lemitar. There are many places here growing fantastic New Mexico chile. Due to our long history of roasting chile in New Mexico, we have vetted just about everyone, and only source from the best growers.
The Farmers Chile Market Difference
Regardless of whether you are looking for Hatch chile, Lemitar chile, or somewhere else, we are confident that our chile quality is just as good, if not better. Our farmers use seeds bred primarily for flavor rather than yield per acre as a lot of “Hatch chile farms” use. Our chile is better than what you get in giant grocery stores, we guarantee it! If you want good quality roasted green or red chile, you can be sure to get it here. We pride ourselves on being a great chile roaster in Albuquerque.
We are more than willing to accommodate special requests for roasting. Do you want us to roast it a little longer for a more smoky flavor? Let us know! Want to throw some garlic and onion into the roaster for a more aromatic roast? We can do it! We will roast your xxx-hot sack with some fresh ghost peppers to kick up the heat level. I’ll even take your picture if it’s not too busy, just ask! At Farmers Chile Market, we will do our best to ensure you leave happy with your perfect sack of chile!
Your Spot for Roasted Green Chile
If you are asking yourself where to get chile roasting near me in 2024, You can find your solution in the Northeast Heights at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE. In the early season, we start roasting green medium and hot varieties. Later on, we also carry mild, extra hot, and even xxx-hot Lumbre chile! We will also have plenty of red chile ristras, other chile products, and local produce available.
We roast red chile too!
Don’t think of us as a one trick pony that only sells green chile. Once September rolls around, we have all varieties of green chile and also carry fresh red chile to roast as well. This is much more difficult to find than green chile, and most roasters don’t carry much in the way of fresh red. Whether you want a full sack, a half sack, or an even smaller amount than that, you can get it at Farmers Chile Market during September and October! Of course, we also carry dried red chile pods, which is the most common way that people buy their red chile.
Hatch Chile Season 2024
Although it is still somewhat early to tell, the snow and rain we have been seeing over the winter is definitely a good sign. Although there are other factors than just water involved in growing and harvesting green and red New Mexico chile, water availability has been something which has been limiting the amount of farms able to grow. When we get a good snowpack, this means water will be less of a troubling issue. Hopefully winters like these become normal, as water concerns have become somewhat severe in recent years.
Is there a green chile shortage?
Regardless of the bleak picture many media outlets love to paint, green and red New Mexico chile will always be available, even if the price rises due to various reasons, such as labor, water, fertilizer, or even age of farmers. Green chile production in Hatch, and most other areas of New Mexico is becoming smaller and smaller, but it will still be available. We at Farmers Chile Market are committed to finding good chile, no matter what happens in the future. You can believe that we will always support local farmers and try to keep the great red and green chile tradition of New Mexico alive.
What Varieties of Chile we Roast
These are all different chile varieties! Hotter chile typically curves more We roast many different varieties of Hatch chile, including Numex 6-4, Big Jim, Sandia, Miss Junie, Barker, and even Lumbre chile. More than just that, we often also carry fresh red chile once it is ready too. In terms of heat levels, this means we sell and roast chile which is very mild, medium, hot, extra hot, and all the way up to xxx-hot. We have even have people special order fresh superhots like ghost peppers to roast alongside with other chile. If we roast it, you can be sure it is local New Mexican chile, though we also have a wide range of other chili peppers as well!
Other types of chilies we sell
If you are looking for the hottest of the hot, we try to carry a wide assortment of both fresh and dried superhot chile peppers during the chile season. We typically always have plenty of Carolina Reapers, Ghost Peppers, 7 Pots, Scotch Bonnets and even Aji Charapita, the world’s most expensive chili pepper! This year, we will also try to carry Pepper X, the new hottest chile pepper in the world. This isn’t a guarantee yet however, as the seeds are still hard to come by.
We have Mexican chile too!
We also carry a good assortment of chile from Mexico, such as Ancho, Chipotle, Guajillo, and more. In the future, I will prepare different recipes using these peppers. I love to cook and write, but often I become quite busy managing my chile roasting operation, and that must come first. Because of this, it may take me a year or two to come up with these recipes using various chile peppers. For now, here is a recipe overview for a New Mexican classic, stacked red chile enchiladas. In case you are a foodie, I have spent a decent amount of time between the end of the 2023 chile season and the start of the 2024 chile season beefing up our recipes section! Be sure to check it out if you want some more ideas about how to cook with Hatch chile.
Looking Forward to the 2024 NM chile season
The chile season is always different, but the same. During the months of August, September, and October, I work every day of the week, trying to not only provide the best customer service I can, but also find the best chile at the best time. The season changes drastically from the early season, where only a small amount of green chile varieties available. Two weeks later, we have plenty of extra hot and xxx hot chile, with more and more mature reddish chiles showing up in the burlap sacks.
Once September comes, red chile comes right after. Once red chile is available, red chile ristras show up days later. Tying chile ristras is a great way for farming families to make more money. It is also a good way for older family members to make some money without working the fields. With red chile coming, it also means the season is approaching the finish line. The weather starts getting colder, and plants have less energy to keep making new green chile. More and more farmers stop picking, and leave the red chile to dry on the plant, to be harvested once dry.
Visit Albuquerque’s Original Chile Roaster
We hope to be your choice when you search for chile roasting near me 2024 this year. If you are living in Albuquerque, or just passing through for the Balloon Fiesta or something else, we would love to see you at Farmers Chile Market at 2010 Eubank Blvd Albuquerque, NM 87112 this chile season!
For people traveling in Albuquerque and New Mexico, be sure to check out our travel section for ideas. We have plenty of information about different road trip ideas, including Route-66, I-25, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Hatch, and more!
Chile Ristras for sale in Albuquerque
We will also have tons of ristras for sale at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE, 87112. Typically they show up right around Labor Day, coinciding with the Hatch Chile Festival! Our selection of ristras
Once ristras come in, fresh red chile follows closely behind it. Be sure to come stop by and get your roasted red chile fix in the months of September and October. Because of its high sugar content, we won’t be shipping fresh red chile. It often attracts flies and goes bad much faster than green chile as a result. New crop red chile pods come in around October typically. These pods are the core ingredient in making the red part of New Mexico’s favorite cuisine, a red chile sauce. After red chile pods become available, some of the large chile producers in Hatch also begin to prepare fresh red chile powder, which is one of my favorite ingredients to make different New Mexican fusion foods!
Hatch red chile roasting in Albuquerque More info about New Mexico Chile
Check out our guide to roasting chile at home.
In case you will be roasting chile professionally in 2024, read roasting with a barrel roaster. This guide explains our technique of roasting chile. It has been tuned over 45 years, and I believe it is the best way to roast with a chile roaster.
Check here if you are curious about different varieties of chile. In case you are a real chilehead, you will no doubt be interested in attending the world famous Hatch Chile Festival. Be sure to read all about it before you go!
Also, feel free to read through our blog if you want to learn other things about New Mexico Chile. In case you are interested in the history and culture of New Mexico chile, be sure to read our blog post The New Mexican Chile Tradition. We add new content regularly, and will feature recipes along with other knowledge and opinions as the chile industry changes. It is a very different game than it used to be, with many new varieties available. We hope you enjoyed reading our blog, and hope to see you when you are looking for roasted green chile in 2024!
A nice Autumn roast Can’t make it to Albuquerque?
We also have a broad selection of Hatch chile products available on our online shop! Take the knowledge you learned in our guide to roasting chile and roast up some delightful chile for yourself. The chile we sell is more flavorful than chile you can get in grocery stores. A big reason why is that it isn’t graded by federal produce standards. In New Mexico, we don’t really care so much if chile is curved, but the Feds and grocery conglomerates do. If we want a chile relleno, we pick out a straight chile. curvy stuff is still great for chopping up and putting on a burger, in a taco, or even some mac & cheese! The tastiest varieties of chile are usually not very straight! That being said, some varieties such as Big Jim have a propensity to be big, straight, and meaty!
Buy chile online!
Whether you are looking for fresh green chile, frozen roasted chile, dried roasted chile, dried red chile pods, a chile ristra, new crop Estancia pinto beans, or something else, we probably have it available in our chile store. Although New Mexico is a great travel location, we will be here waiting for you next year too! In case you need your heat fix sooner than you can visit, you can scratch your chile itch by buying online! Even if you can’t find chile roasting near you in 2024, you can get fresh chile and roast it yourself. Happy roasting this 2024 chile season!
Hatch Green Chile roasting in Albuquerque About New Mexico Chile
What is New Mexico Chile?
New Mexico chile refers to the various types of chile peppers grown in New Mexico, primarily around the Rio Grande valley, with the Hatch Valley being the largest individual growing region. Although many farmers also grow varieties of chile such as jalapenos, typically we refer to Numex varieties as New Mexico chile. Numex varieties are developed at the Chile Pepper Institute, a part of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. In addition to developing new varieties of chile peppers alongside local farmers, they also host a teaching garden, where you can go to learn about how to grow chile. In case you are buying green chile for the first time in a store, check out this guide to choosing good chile!
Is it Hatch chile or New Mexico chile?
The answer to this question primarily depends on who you ask. Hatch is known as the chile capital of the world for a reason. Although it is a small town of only about 1,000 people, it is almost entirely dedicated to chile production and sales. The town really comes alive during the chile season, then slips into a quiet slumber once the harvest season is done. Hatch chile is certainly more easy to say than New Mexico chile, but there are many great chile growing regions around New Mexico. For this region, we primarily use the term New Mexico chile, as Hatch chile is quite specific, and not always the best chile available in New Mexico, depending on what stage of the chile season it is.
How to use New Mexico chile?
In New Mexico, we use our chile for almost every meal, from breakfast to a midnight snack. People buy different heat levels of chile based on their spice preference, then roast them and stick them in freezer bags to use throughout the rest of the year. Another popular way of storing roasted chile is to dry it, whether by the sun or using a dehydrator. Chile pasado is what this type of chile is called, and it is a great addition to green chile sauces and stews. Many people like making green chile sauce, but simply chopping roasted chile and using it as a topping works great too! With dried red chile pods, it is typically destemmed and deseeded, then boiled and blended. This red sauce is a favorite for making enchiladas.
What makes New Mexican chile special?
The growing regions are wonderfully suited to grow chile peppers, but what makes our chiles in New Mexico so unique is the flavor and size. They have a nice herbal earthy flavor, that really comes together when roasted. Chile varieties in New Mexico are also typically bigger than anywhere else in the world, with Big Jim, a medium heat variety, holding the record for largest chili pepper in the world. Because of the size and lack of insane heat, it is perfect for chile focused dishes, such as chile rellenos. In the world, many cuisines enjoy their spice, but nowhere uses chile as much as New Mexico. The question, “red or green?” is our state question for a reason, as it will be asked at nearly every New Mexican restaurant every day. Although I don’t have data, I imaging the average New Mexican eats chile with 2 meals a day, and eating green or red New Mexico chile with every single meal is not unusual at all.
Hatch Green Chile Roasting Near you in 2023
If you are looking for roasted chile this year, you’ve come to the right place! Hatch chile roasting is an incredibly important part of New Mexican culture. This delicacy has spread to surrounding states and even further as New Mexico’s delicious food touches the hearts of more and more people. If you are here, you have probably asked where to get roasted Hatch chile this year. Read on to find out!
Where to get roasted green chile in Albuquerque?
We roast chile at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87112. When it comes to roasted Hatch green chile in Albuquerque, the original is always worth checking out. We’ve been roasting chile since 1977, before anyone else in the city. Most other roasters were just kids or not born born yet back then. We open every day from 9-5 during the months of August, September, and October, the whole chile season. Check out our new post for 2024! In 2024, we will be roasting chile every day from Friday August 2nd, 2024! Farmers Chile Market is Albuquerque’s Original Chile Roaster, and 2024 marks our 47th chile season roasting in Albuquerque.
Every chile season, New Mexicans always consider where to get their Hatch chile roasted. Many people here prefer chile from other areas, such as Lemitar, San Antonio, or Chimayo. In the early season, we always start our green chile roasting with Hatch chile. Simply put, it is ready faster. As the plants get older however, the chile they produce becomes smaller and doesn’t roast as well. In this case, it is best to let the chile turn red and mature. The red chile pods they turn into make a delicious sauce, and is one answer to our state question, “Red or Green?”
Because the Hatch season is earlier, we change over to our farmers farther north later in the season in order to get the best quality chile available at the time. If the month is August, our green chile is almost certainly Hatch green chile. If it is around September or later, our green chile will likely be from Snake Ranch or another farm in the Socorro Valley area. There are many places here growing fantastic New Mexico chile.
Regardless of whether you are looking for Hatch chile, Lemitar chile, or somewhere else, we are confident that our chile quality is just as good, if not better. Our farmers use seeds bred primarily for flavor rather than yield per acre as a lot of “Hatch chile farms” use. If you want good quality roasted green or red chile, you can be sure to get it here. We pride ourselves on being a great chile roaster in Albuquerque.
If you are asking yourself where to get chile roasting near me in 2023, You can find your solution in the Northeast Heights at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE. We will also have plenty of red chile ristras, other chile products, and local produce available.
Hatch Chile Season 2023
Although it is still somewhat early to tell, the snow and rain we have been seeing over the winter is definitely a good sign. Although there are other factors than just water involved in growing and harvesting green and red New Mexico chile, water availability has been something which has been limiting the amount of farms able to grow. When we get a good snowpack, this means water will be less of a troubling issue. Hopefully winters like these become normal, as water concerns have become somewhat severe in recent years.
For more information on the stages of the chile season from August to October, be sure to read our post about the Hatch Chile Season.
Is there a green chile shortage?
Regardless of the bleak picture many media outlets love to paint, green and red New Mexico chile will always be available, even if the price rises due to various reasons, such as labor, water, fertilizer, or even age of farmers. Green chile production in Hatch, and most other areas of New Mexico is becoming smaller and smaller, but it will still be available. We at Farmers Chile Market are committed to finding good chile, no matter what happens in the future. You can believe that we will always support local farmers and try to keep the great chile tradition of New Mexico alive.
What Varieties of Chile we Roast
We roast many different varieties of Hatch chile, including but not limited to Numex 6-4, Big Jim, Sandia, Miss Junie, Barker, and even the xxx-hot Lumbre chile. More than just that, we often also carry red chile once it is ready too. In terms of heat levels, this means we sell and roast chile which is very mild, all the way up to xxx-hot. We have even had people special order fresh ghost peppers to roast alongside with other chile. If we roast it, you can be sure it is local New Mexican chile, though we also have a wide range of other chile peppers as well!
Just some different varieties, spice, and ripeness levels available at Farmers Chile Market Other types of chilies we sell
If you are looking for the hottest of the hot, we try to carry a wide assortment of both fresh and dried superhot chili peppers during the chile season. We typically always have plenty of Carolina Reapers, Ghost Peppers, 7 Pots, Scotch Bonnets and even Aji Charapita, the world’s most expensive chili pepper! We also carry a good assortment of chile from Mexico, such as Ancho, Chipotle, Guajillo, and more. In the future, I will prepare different recipes using these peppers. I love to cook and write, but often I become quite busy managing my chile roasting operation, and that must come first. Because of this, it may take me a year or two to come up with these recipes using various chile peppers. For now, here is a recipe overview for a New Mexican classic, stacked red chile enchiladas. Check out our Recipes Section for more ideas, as I’ve updated it a lot since this original post!
We have fresh superhots that pack a punch during the chile season Looking Forward to the 2023 NM chile season
The chile season is always different, but the same. During the months of August, September, and October, I work every day of the week, trying to not only provide the best customer service I can, but also find the best chile at the best time. The season changes drastically from the early season, where only a small amount of green chile varieties available. Two weeks later, we have plenty of extra hot and xxx hot chile, with more and more mature reddish chiles showing up in the burlap sacks. Once September comes, red chile comes right after. Once red chile is available, red chile ristras show up days later, as they are a great way for farming families to make more money. It is also a good way for older family members to make some money without having to break their backs in the fields. With red chile coming, it also means the season is approaching the finish line. The weather starts getting colder, and plants have less energy to keep making new green chile.
More and more farmers stop picking, and leave the red chile pods to dry on the plant, to be harvested once dry. These dried red chile pods are the base of one of the most important parts of New Mexican cuisine, the red chile sauce! Many of these Hatch chile pods are later further processed by some of the large chile processors in Hatch into red chile powder, which is a great spice with tons of uses!
Get chile at Farmers Chile Market
We hope to be your choice when you search for chile roasting near me 2023 this year. If you are living in Albuquerque, or just passing through for the Balloon Fiesta or something else, we would love to see you at 2010 Eubank Blvd Albuquerque, NM 87112 this chile season!
Our old sign is gone, but we still roast on! More info about New Mexico Chile
Check out our guide to roasting chile at home.
If you know anyone who will be roasting chile as a professional, our guide to roasting with a barrel roaster will be a great read for them.
Check here if you are curious about different varieties of chile.
Also, feel free to read through our blog if you want to learn other things about New Mexico Chile. I’m always trying to learn more about chile, both here and abroad, find out more about my story on the page About Me. We add new content regularly, such as our post about the Hatch Chile Festival, and will feature recipes along with other knowledge and opinions as the chile industry changes. It is a very different game than it used to be, with many new varieties available. We hope you enjoyed reading our blog, and hope to see you when you are looking for roasted green chile in 2023!
Hatch Chile in Pueblo Territory
In case you are in Colorado and looking for some great roasted Hatch green chile this Labor Day weekend, Summerland Gardens will be roasting up a storm. They have mild, medium, hot, and extra hot available, as well as their local Pueblo chile too!
We think that New Mexico chile is really special, and they are providing a great opportunity for people to enjoy both Pueblo and Hatch chile. The cultivars are different, with most New Mexico chile being derived from Numex no9, while Pueblo chile is a mirasol variety, more closely related to the guajillo pepper. We have more information about New Mexico chile vatieties as well as different Mexican chile as well! NM chile has a lot more varieties than Colorado, but there are also different varieties in Pueblo too.
Cats, plants, and chile
If you like cats, Summerland Gardens also has an adorable resident kitty named Marley! They support animals in need by fundraising to build an animal shelter in Teller County. Although it isn’t a local cause for us, it is definitely something that makes the world a better place! Good causes like that should be supported.
A garden center with spice
Summerland Gardens is a garden center located quite close to I-25, and is a convenient stop for anyone traveling between Albuquerque and Denver. Their address is 806 Arcturus Dr, Colorado Springs, CO 80905, which is on the corner of Arcturus Dr and S 8th St. Feel free to give them a call at 719-477-0267 if you have any questions! Get directions to Summerland Gardens here.
Albuquerque Chile
If you think about chile in Albuquerque, probably two names come up, Farmers Market and Fruit Basket. A large reason for that is that we both have a lot of history in Albuquerque.
When we first started roasting chile in Albuquerque in 1977, chile was already a large part of the cuisine, but roasting chile was definitely inconvenient. It would take people all day to roast and peel their sack of chile. Once people saw the convenience of our chile roasting, it became hugely popular almost immediately. Even though our Osuna store had a large parking lot, people would still park down the street and walk a long way to get the first fresh roasted green chile in Albuquerque. The first few years we were so busy that it was hard to keep up.
Chile in Albuquerque, then and now
Nowadays, things are a lot different. There are three main ways it differs, besides the obvious 45 year gap. For one, There are a lot more big businesses involved in chile. Competition is a lot more now, with tons of different new faces in the chile business here. The third difference is the varieties of chile. Read on to learn more about how chile has changed in Albuquerque.
Hatch chile = big business?
Green and red chile has become more and more about big business. Many companies sell boxed chile and processed chile products which look nice to grocery conglomerates, but generally aren’t as flavorful. That kind of chile is what happens when you use corporate techniques to apply math to farming. It certainly produces more yield and more profit, but you can’t put a number on flavor. In Albuquerque and all around New Mexico, grocery stores like Walmart and Smiths sell chile incredibly cheaply. If you want the cheapest chile you can find, I recommend you go to a large grocery store. You get what you pay for however, and every year we have hundreds of people come to us after being disappointed by the flavor of cheap chile at big stores.
New chile roasters
A nice Autumn roast When we were the only roasters in town, we had a captive audience. Nowadays, there are a lot of different chile roasters in Albuquerque like Sichler Farms, Chile Addict, and Rosales Produce. This is great for the average person in Albuquerque, because there are a lot of chile roasters in convenient areas. More than that, there are plenty of people that sell chile on the side of the road. With all places, there are pros and cons. I will say that shopping around is a good idea. A lot of places aimed at tourists charge way too much for their chile products. Farmers Market’s slogan has been “Where a fast nickel beats a slow dime” since 1963, and we operate under the same idea. We will always be one of the most affordable chile roasters who sell good chile, because we would much rather make less money and get loyal customers who come back to us every chile season. As a business running for nearly 60 years, we know that keeping customers happy and giving them good value is the key to long term success.
Varieties of chile
Many different varieties of New Mexico chile Finally, chile has a lot more varieties now. New Mexicans love chile, so any chile product you can find in Hatch can probably also be found in Albuquerque. When we started roasting in 1977, Big Jim had only been released for two years. Although Big Jim is now arguably the most famous New Mexico chile, back then no one even knew about it. Nowadays, there are many new varieties like lumbre and miss Junie that come on the market every year. More and more, growers and researchers are able to get more and more heat in bigger and bigger chiles. A pepper the size of Lumbre would never come close to being that spicy in the past. This is done through cross pollination entirely, as chile plants are not possible to genetically modify. More variety of chile means there are a lot more flavors available in Albuquerque’s favorite food.
Chile things to do in Albuquerque
Start by visiting Farmers Chile Market at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE. We are the original chile roaster in Albuquerque, and generally do a very good job with chile, satisfaction guaranteed. After that, drive south on Eubank, past I-40 and turn right on Central to see Route 66. This road will take you through Nob Hill and downtown, two interesting Albuquerque areas with plenty of local art, restaurants, bars, and things to do. Once you are done exploring downtown, Fruit Basket on 4th street is a good place to see. Their philosophy is similar to ours in terms of pricing, so you can be sure to get a good value there along with a good selection of produce. Not far from there is Big Jim Farms, a place where you can pick your own chile. I’ll warn you, picking chile is backbreaking labor, make sure to drink plenty of water.
Other things to do in Albuquerque
Although there are plenty more places to visit for chile in Albuquerque, by now you probably have more than enough chile products. Other interesting things are the zoo and botanic garden and Old Town, which are both in the same area. If you take a walk through old town, you will see lots of local stores selling expensive things to tourists. There is a nice plaza with the church San Felipe de Neri, built in 1793 after the original church’s collapse. In this area, there are tons of nice restaurants, so if you see a place that strikes your fancy, it will probably be very nice. If you are traveling with kids, I highly recommend checking out Explora. In December, the River of Lights is cool, but traffic in the area is abysmal. Finally, if you are visiting in October, the Balloon Fiesta is a must see event.
Other things to do in New Mexico
New Mexico is one of the biggest states in the US. There are a lot of places you can see, but be prepared to drive a while for it.
Things to do in Santa Fe
Only one hour from Albuquerque by way of I-25, Santa Fe is a great place to wander around for the day. If you find parking near the Cathedral of St Francis, just leave your car there and wander around. This area of Santa Fe feels somewhat similar to Albuquerque Old Town, but much larger. Many restaurants here are fantastic also, and I highly recommend eating lightly at a few different places while wandering down to the Santa Fe Railyard. This is one of the best things you can do on a date in New Mexico. If you are into art and audiovisual experiences, MeowWolf is a very interesting spot that is also great for kids. Finally, in September, Zozobra is a very unique event though crowds can be somewhat intense.
Things to do in Hatch
The Hatch Chile Festival is a great event for people who really like New Mexico chile. Sometimes people might be disappointed by the lack of variety in terms of superhots, but superhots are not terribly popular in New Mexico. We love spice, but we eat chile for the flavor and texture, not only the heat. You can’t make a meal out of a carolina reaper, but you sure can with green chile. It takes about 3 hours to drive to Hatch from Albuquerque, so consider booking a hotel in Las Cruces.
Outside of the festival, Hatch is a pretty small town. I recommend driving south from I-25 and stopping at any places that look interesting to you. You will find tons of places selling chile ristras, green and red chile, along with souvenirs for your visit. Check out Sparky’s for a green chile cheeseburger if they are open. Honestly, their prices are not cheap, and you probably will have to wait in line, but the burger is good. From there, go west on Hall street, and you can see a few markets, the Hatch Museum, Chile Fanatic, and Grajeda Farms. After you pass Grajeda farms, there isn’t too much. Hatch is a very small town that gets much bigger during the chile festival.
Things to do in Las Cruces
As we are a chile market in Albuquerque, we might have some sibling rivalry with our little brother, Las Cruces. That being said, the Las Cruces Chile Drop is arguably the most new Mexican way to spend New Years. It is held is the Plaza De Las Cruces, which also tends to have a nice Christmas market. New Mexico State University is the organization responsible for most of our delicious New Mexican chile. Be sure to pay the Chile Pepper Institute a visit to learn about all things chile. They have plenty of information about growing, lots of seeds, and plenty of sauces, books, and miscellaneous souvenirs. Mesilla Plaza is a nice spot, and the restaurant La Posta de Mesilla is a great restaurant which has been in business since 1939.
If you take Picacho Ave west, you will pass by the “World’s Largest Chile Pepper” at the Big Chile Inn. If you keep going, you will arrive at Picacho Peak Brewing, which is a cool hacienda with nice craft beer and a popular brunch.
And I thought Big Jim was a big chile Things to do in other areas
Chile farms are beautiful aren’t they? Alamogordo
If you are passing through Alamogordo, the Museum of Space History is interesting, along with Pistachio Tree Ranch, which is a great spot for snacks and pictures. Nearby there, White Sands is also a really cool spot that makes you feel like you are in a different continent. Alamogordo is about three and a half hours from Albuquerque, but it easy to visit if you are in Hatch or Las Cruces.
Truth or Consequences
Truth or Consequences is an artsy town with hot springs. It is a great spot to go and wander around the downtown area, drink a couple beers at T or C Brewing, then mosey on down for a soak in the hot springs. Nearby there, you can also check out Elephant Butte, the main water recreation area of New Mexico. It isn’t as big as other lakes in the US, but we take what we can get in the desert. Truth or Consequences is about two and a half hours from Albuquerque, and is a great place to stop and take a detour if you are driving from Albuquerque to Hatch or vice versa.
Silver City
Silver City is another town where one should wander around the downtown, and explore a lot. It was a town built by prospectors looking for silver in the 1870s. Due to the large population of Americans who arrived there around then, it has a lot of interesting American architecture from that time, giving it a somewhat unique look compared to most other cities in New Mexico. After all, New Mexico only became a state in 1912. Most of our old buildings were built by the Spanish, not the US. Tranquilbuzz Coffee is a great spot to get a cup of liquid energy, and Little Toad Creek Brewery serves up delicious beers and is a great spot for dinner too. Silver city is about four and a half hours from Albuquerque, but it is much easier to get to from Truth or Consequences or Hatch.
In all of these places, you can be sure to find plenty of green and red chile. Some areas, such as Chimayo have their own specialty chile as well.
Explore New Mexico
There are many many other great places to go in New Mexico. In fact, it is somewhat daunting to think about. I started writing expecting to write mainly about Albuquerque, but there are too many good places to visit here. Check out our travel section for more ideas. If you come, make sure to spend some time here, or you will miss a lot of great stuff.
How to choose good New Mexico chile
It’s June now, which means that chile has already been in the ground for over a month in all the major farming regions of New Mexico. We are around 2 months away from the 2024 chile season, and the time is right for a guide to how to pick out good chile.
First things first is to evaluate the retailer you are buying from. If they are a typical grocery store and their chile is cheap, it is probably a chile variety with less flavor than many varieties we and other local New Mexican chile roasters sell. Second, make sure they let you at least try the raw chile to know the flavor. Don’t expect to try Hatch chile already roasted, as it leads to food safety concerns. Spice and other flavors associated with different varieties is impossible to explain. In order to get the right product, you should be allowed to sample the product. If they don’t let you, consider a different place. At Farmers Chile Market, we always let customers try raw chile to get an idea of what the flavor of each chile variety we sell.
How to try raw chile
Tasting chile is very important if you want to get the ideal match of heat and flavor. As chile is a seasonal product, it means every season has different characteristics. Just like wine, tea, coffee and other agricultural products, chile’s flavor also varies based on the weather and other factors. More than just that, there are many different chile varieties to choose from.
Break the chile away from you or anyone else so the juices don’t fly in anyone’s face. No one wants a face full of extra hot chile juice! Try to break it around the middle, as this is where the heat from the chile is most indicative of the spice level of the chile. Raw chile has the majority of its spice centralized in the membranes near the seeds. This means the tip often has very little heat, while near the stem might be like fire. During roasting, the membranes break open, and the juices flow all around during the steaming process, which makes the spice level more uniform throughout the chile. Bite one side, and share the other side with a friend, or throw it in the roaster with your sack of chile if you like it. At Farmers Chile Market, we will gladly explain the differences in flavor and let you try whatever flavor you want. We even have free water, in case you try something a little too spicy. This is one of many little things we do to try to be the best place to get chile roasting in 2024!
Super spicy New Mexican Lumbre chiles. Be especially careful breaking these! How to see if fresh green chile is good
The easiest things to notice are wrinkling and decay. If a lot of the chile looks decayed, go to a different store, as wherever you are obviously doesn’t care enough to remove bad product. We put fresh chile out multiple times a day and always remove decay when we see it, as it can ruin nearby chile as well. Another thing to look for is wrinkling. While a little wrinkling is not too bad, excessive wrinkling can make a chile incredibly hard to roast and peel. In our raw chile section, we rotate out the chile several times, and roast it before it wrinkles too much. Not only that, but we get shipments 3 times a week, so our chile we sell is at most only 3-4 days since harvest. Good chile roasters pay very close attention to these details, and you can be assured to get a quality product. To summarize, a little wrinkling is ok, but don’t trust a place that puts out a lot of decayed chile. Ideal chile is plump and firm, with a flavor that suits you and the people you eat with. Don’t be afraid to try, as you know and understand what flavor is best for you much more than just trusting a sign that says mild, medium, hot, or extra hot.
What to do after buying Green Chile
Many different varieties of fresh New Mexico chile. Notice that there aren’t many wrinkles. Your chile needs to be roasted of course! If the place you buy from has a roaster, ask them to roast it for you. It will save a lot of time! That being said, many bigger grocery stores don’t do a great job at training their chile roasters. I have a guide to roasting chile written for both roasting as a profession chile roaster, and also for roasting at home. If the roasting area doesn’t look professional, odds are it isn’t. I hear complaints regularly from people who go to less professional chile roasting operations every year and are dissatisfied. It is sometimes better to just roast chile at home than get an inexperienced person to roast it for you.
Roasted chile should look like this when finished. Most of the peel is already gone, but it isn’t charred How to choose a good Hatch red chile ristra
To start things off, I should say that decorative things are very subjective, as everyone has different artistic tastes. That being said, there are some things I will recommend looking out for. First, make sure that the ristra is straight. If you see any obvious bends, it probably means the ristra was not properly stored, and will have a weak point, from which chile will easily break off. Second, look at how plump it is. Some ristra makers skimp out on chile, and while the length is correct, it shrinks down a lot once it is dried. A ristra should be quite full, with around 3 chiles per layer. Some ristras have a shape that curves outward a lot, and some have shapes that curl inward. What specific look you like is really up to you. As they say, “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” Look for breakage of chile if the ristra is not fresh. Generally you don’t see much decay on ristras. As they age, some ristras will have brown patches on some chile, this is just the color that green chile turns to when it dries. It just means that the chile originally was not completely red when it was tied to the ristra. It will still taste good, even if it isn’t the most pretty chile.
If you have more questions about ristras, our Ristra FAQ has plenty of answers for you.
October is a beautiful time here The New Mexican Chile Experience
If you are from New Mexico, you understand about what it is like to get chile roasted here. For people who are outside of New Mexico and have to rely on grocers in your area, I highly recommend making the chile season part of your reason to visit New Mexico. In October, we have the Balloon Fiesta, the worlds largest hot air balloon festival. It always occurs toward the end of chile season, but we will almost always still be roasting when it occurs, barring freak cold snaps, which do occasionally end the chile season early. One of the coolest things to do in New Mexico is visiting a chile roaster, as you can see the lifeblood of New Mexican food up close. If you come to our chile stand at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE in the northeast heights in Albuquerque, we will do our best to show you a delicious side of New Mexican culture. In case you are planning a trip to New Mexico specifically for chile, I highly recommend checking out the Hatch Chile Festival too!
Hatch Chile Roasting Near you in 2022
Hatch Green Chile roasting in Abluquerque Where to get roasted green chile
When it comes to roasted Hatch green chile in Albuquerque, the original is always worth checking out. We’ve been roasting chile since 1977, before anyone else in the city. Most other roasters were just kids or not born born yet back then. Our address is 2010 Eubank, and we open every day from 9-5 during the months of August, September, and October.
Check out our post for Hatch chile roasting in 2024 here! For the 2024 chile season, we will begin roasting on Friday August 2nd, 2024.
Check out our post for for Hatch chile roasting in 2023 too! We started roasting on Friday August 4th for the 2023 green chile season.
Every chile season, New Mexicans always consider where to get their Hatch chile roasted. Many people here prefer chile from other areas, such as Lemitar, San Antonio, or Chimayo. In the early season, we always start our green chile roasting with Hatch chile. Simply put, it is ready faster. As the plants get older however, the chile they produce becomes smaller and doesn’t roast as well. In this case, it is best to let the chile turn red and mature.
Because the Hatch season is earlier, we change over to our farmers farther north later in the season in order to get the best quality chile available at the time. If the month is August, our green chile is almost certainly Hatch green chile. If it is around September or later, our green chile will likely be from Snake Ranch or another farm in the Socorro Valley area. There are many places here growing fantastic New Mexico chile.
Regardless of whether you are looking for Hatch chile, Lemitar chile, or somewhere else, we are confident that our chile quality is just as good, if not better. Our farmers use seeds bred primarily for flavor rather than yield per acre as a lot of “Hatch chile farms” use. If you want good quality roasted green or red chile, you can be sure to get it here. We pride ourselves on being a great chile roaster in Albuquerque.
If you are asking yourself “where to get chile roasting near me in 2022,” You can find your solution in the Northeast Heights at 2010 Eubank. We will also have plenty of red chile ristras, other chile products, and local produce available.
More info about New Mexico Chile
Check out our guide to roasting chile at home.
If you know anyone who will be roasting chile as a professional, our guide to roasting with a barrel roaster will be a great read for them.
Check here if you are curious about different varieties of chile.
Also, feel free to read through our blog if you want to learn other things about New Mexico Chile. We add new content regularly, and will feature recipes along with other knowledge and opinions as the traditions of the chile industry change. It is a very different game than it used to be, with many new varieties available. We hope you enjoyed reading our blog, and hope to see you when you are looking for roasted green chile in 2022, 2023, 2024, and beyond.
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!
Green Chile
As we are a chile market in New Mexico, green chile is our bread and butter. We’ve been roasting chile in Albuquerque since 1977, and selling it since 1962.
In New Mexico, green chile will be put into everything, even candy and drinks. Over the years, there have been many varieties of green chile grown in New Mexico. The most famous two, Sandia and Big Jim are often called for by name when people order their chile.
If you go to a New Mexican restaurant, you can be sure that everything come with an option: red or green. Most restaurants will also have at least one thing with green chile on it. Even McDonald’s sells green chile cheeseburgers.
We make a point to offer good quality chile. It is a lot more expensive than boxed chile sold in grocery stores, but it is definitely worth it. The chile we sell is bred for flavor, not just looks and mass production.
As green chile is a product which ripens as it ages, we change our growers farther north as the season progresses. This way, we can be sure to provide a distinctly green chile to contrast with the red chile we also sell in the later season. More than just that, New Mexican chile is a lot bigger than just Hatch.
Hatch, New Mexico has a great farming tradition. There are tons of farms there which grow a great variety of produce. There are some amazing chile growers there. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of growers who are only there for the name value. Terroir is important for many agricultural products, but the importance of good seeds and farming technique cannot be overstated.
New Mexico has a varied landscape, but there are many regions which are perfect for growing chile. Valleys such as Hatch, Socorro, and Chimayo are all well known for growing chile. If you find chile from these areas, it is likely as good or better than Hatch chile. In Albuquerque, we have been roasting chile for 47 years. We’ve roasted more chile than anyone in Albuquerque, and it’s not even close. Thank you Albuquerque for choosing us as your convenient place for roasted chile again in 2024!
During chile season, we roast chile in Albuquerque at 2010 Eubank NE every day from 9-5.
The End of the 2021 New Mexico Chile Season
This season has been an interesting one to say the least. It started out incredibly slow. Part of the reason might be that other chile roasters started roasting in July, while we begin in August. The heat waves this year did contribute to an earlier chile season than normal. Regardless, we won’t sell chile that early, as immature chile doesn’t roast well, and doesn’t have the bountiful flavor which we come to expect from New Mexico chile. Waiting for quality is more important to us than being the first to sell chile.
The late summer months also brought with them monsoons, which definitely harmed a lot of crops. Chile was more insulated, as the plants grew so well early in the season, so were able to weather the rains better. Other crops, such as melons were greatly affected.
A change to seasonal business
Although we started as a produce market back in 1962, for the last 3 years, we have been a seasonal business based around the New Mexico chile season, opening in August and closing at the end of October. There are pros and cons to this business model. One positive is that it frees us up to work on other projects, such as developing this website.
A negative aspect is that it can be difficult to build momentum sometimes. It is difficult to judge how busy we will be and plan for it. When we ran Farmers Market year round, there was always a natural increase in business in the summer months, culminating in the chile season. When different fruits came into season, we would always become more and more busy, as customers would come in to get whatever they were looking for. We continue to sell various seasonal fruits, but don’t have the space to have as much variety.
Instead, we try to focus as much on quality local produce as possible. This year, we were able to sell local apples, cantaloupe, watermelons, onions, posole, and more. We have a lot more than just chile.
The 2021 New Mexico chile season
Going back to chile, overall it was a decent year for the crop. For some reason, it didn’t seem as hot this year as some years. The Big Jim chile variety seemed to be the most affected. It still had great flavor and size, but the Big Jim we received from both Hatch and San Antonio, New Mexico seemed to be fairly mild this year. That is just the way it goes sometimes. Agricultural products can vary immensely year by year. There is a reason why certain wine or tea vintages can be so expensive while others can be very cheap.
This year was also a year where many new chile varieties came on the market. The super hot Lumbre made a large leap forward this year, becoming much more available than in the past. In addition, plenty of farmers have been testing new varieties this year. The most famous recent chile varieties are definitely Lumbre and Ms Junie, but there are a lot more styles that we sampled this year. It takes us a while to settle on selling a new chile variety, as we want to be sure both the product and the farmer can produce a quality product consistently.
Looking forward to the 2022 chile season
We have a lot of plans to improve our chile stand for next year. There are several different major improvements we are working on, so keep us in mind when you think about where to get chile roasting in 2022. Increasing our variety of products we sell, as well as improving your customer experience is a priority. We care a lot about providing a great time while you are here, and will have a few new things to experience about New Mexico chile. We are the original chile roaster in Albuquerque, but we strive to be the best roaster in Albuquerque as well.
Going forward to 2024
We will start roasting this year on Friday August 2nd, 2024. Thanks for making us your favorite place to get chile roasting near you for 47 years! This 2024 Hatch chile season, we will work hard to be even better than before. Keep us in mind for the next 50 years too!
Chile Roasting in Albuquerque
Where to get chile roasted in Albuquerque
If you are looking to get some green chile roasted in Albuquerque, there is only one place that has been doing it since 1977. Farmers Chile Market, located at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE, or just Farmers Market back then, started the Albuquerque chile roasting tradition when the owner Jhett was just 19 years old. That means as of this 2024 chile season we have been roasting green chile for 47 years. Altogether, we have over 100 years of experience roasting chile in New Mexico!
Since then, roasted chile has overtaken the city, and it seems like you can find chile roasters on most major street corners these days. In New Mexico, whether you spell it chile or chili, it isn’t hard to find roasting. Even large grocery chains set up roasters, but generally the chile and roast quality is not as good. Just like most other industries, the more local it is, the better. As a business started in 1962, we are as local as it gets for Albuquerque. We’ve been roasting Hatch chile since before it was world famous, and probably helped many people discover what really makes New Mexico the Land of Enchantment. Something we do that most places don’t, is we also roast fresh red chile too! Whether you want roasted green chile, red chile, or both, we can do it for you!
A New Mexico Tradition
The fact is, green and red chile are part of the fabric which makes up Albuquerque. Whether you want to roast it yourself in the oven, or have us roast it on our barrel roasters, chile roasting is a staple of life in Albuquerque. There is a reason we always ask the question “green or red?” when it comes to our favorite spicy food. Chile, both green and red are fundamental to every kitchen. If you don’t like spice, we have mild, and if you love spice, we have super hot kinds of chile like Lumbre. Every New Mexican is able to find a perfect chile for them.
Often, chile roasters become almost like a town hall, with many people coming together and discussing chile, life, and making new friendships as they watch their chile being roasted. It is one of the things that really unites New Mexicans. Everyone has the experience of getting fresh roasted chile, whether they buy it themselves or get some from their friends and family.
If you are looking for chile roasting in Albuquerque, you can find us from August to the end of October at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE Albuquerque, New Mexico 87112. If you have any questions about flavors or varieties of chile, or other local produce which we carry, you can call 505-362-3058 or message our facebook page. More than just fresh roasted chile, we also have plenty of other chile products, such as chile ristras to choose from. More than just that, we carry plenty of local produce when it is in season. Because local produce arrives only one day after harvest, it allows our farmers to let the fruits vine ripen longer than the massive agricultural operations in other states are able to.
A commitment to quality roasted chile
We aim to please, and always offer the highest quality chile we can find. There is a reason our chile is priced higher than major grocery stores. It costs more to grow and handle. Chile for us isn’t some afterthought loss leader. We are chile specialists, and sell specialty chile products.
We care a lot about your satisfaction. If you have any requests, we will try to accommodate them. You are always welcome to sample the chile we sell before you buy, and can mix flavors if you want a spice level that better suits you. We can even roast garlic or onions with your chile, which takes the fragrance up a notch. When it comes to delicious spicy food, New Mexico chile is a wonderful ingredient. Why not prepare it exactly how you want it?
So next time you are wondering “where to get chile roasting near me,” just remember Farmers Chile Market at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
If you are interested in unique ways to prepare green chile, try fermenting it.
Hatch Green Chile roasting in Abluquerque Albuquerque’s Original Chile Roaster
As the original chile roaster in Albuquerque, we have a duty to uphold our long tradition of serving up quality local produce at a good price. When we were known just as Farmers Market, we were the best value grocery store in Albuquerque for decades. People knew us as the place where “A Fast Nickel Beats a Slow Dime.” Although that phrase has lost its meaning over time due to inflation, we still strive to provide a great value for our customers. We are not some simple souvenir shop like some chile businesses around Albuquerque who charge tourists ways more than they ought to for chile products. We are not the cheapest around, but if that is what you want, Wal Mart and other grocery conglomerates have plenty of inferior chile for cheap. What we offer is excellent chile products and high quality local produce at good prices. We hope that you can see for yourself this 2024 chile season at Farmers Chile Market, Albuquerque’s Original Chile Roaster.
If you want more information about New Mexico chile products, you can be sure to find it on our blog. Read more about the history and culture of NM chile. Our blog has a lot of content, and will have more regularly throughout the chile season. We even have a decent FAQ in case you have any questions about chile ristras. As you can see, Farmers Chile Market has a lot of information about New Mexico chile products. We know so many different local farmers and work very hard to have the best knowledge about different local produce every single season. All of this work is to ensure we provide our customers with the best possible product at the best value we can. The original brick and mortar Farmers Market is gone, but our philosophy continues on for over 60 years. Nickels and Dimes aren’t worth much anymore in 2024, but we will still do our best to give you the best value New Mexican produce in Albuquerque.
Roasted Lumbre green chile Remember us for chile ristras in Albuquerque too
Find us in the Northeast Heights, north of I-40 in Albuquerque
How to cook with Hatch Chile
Be sure to check out our recipes section for ideas on what to cook with New Mexico’s favorite food!
The Many Varieties of Chile
Many types of New Mexico chile
Although we sell green chile by temperature, Mild, Medium, Hot, Extra Hot, XXX-hot, etc, the differences between New Mexico chile varieties run deeper than that.
Chile has been a big thing in New Mexico for a long time, and as a result, many different varieties exist. Many are bred for their size and meatiness, such as Big Jim. Some are bred to bring the heat, like Lumbre. Some chile is bred to mass produce, like Arizona 88. We don’t sell that one, as it is an inferior product, but most giant grocery stores do. Everyone has something different they look for in New Mexico chile, and that is why we let people see and try the chile before they buy. It is important for us to make sure you have the best possible chile experience.
The purpose of Different chile
Every chile serves a purpose, which includes much more than simply heat level. For our hot green chile, we generally get Miss Junie. Our ristras are made with Sandia, a chile variety developed by Roy Harper in 1956. Both are a solid “hot” temperature, but the Miss Junie a is slightly spicier, more meaty variety, which means it will roast better. Sandia is less so, which leads to better drying.
There are many different things that consumers look for in chile. Sometimes they need chile that is long and straight, so they can make chile rellenos. Big Jim, a cultivar developed by Roy Nakayama in the 1970s is typically the best for this. The mild 1904 and 6-4 varieties also work, as well as the hot Miss Junie.
Sometimes, people want as hot as possible. Traditionally, Barker was the choice for spice-lords, but Lumbre has overtaken its throne in recent years. Barker remains as the primary extra hot variety at Farmers Chile Market and most other chile stores. Lumbre is our XXX-hot variety.
The original New Mexico chile pepper was Numex No. 9, developed and released by Fabian Garcia a little over 100 years ago. Although it is not as common as other famous varieties of New Mexico chile in modern times, its purpose as the forefather of Hatch chile will always be significant.
Differences in the same varieties
Red or Green?
Red chile and green chile is another factor which is important. Green chiles have many differences with red. Red fruits are more mature, with a lot more sugar. They take longer to roast, and the peel is more resilient. They also dry much better, and hold their shape well, where green typically shrivels and doesn’t look great.
Red Chile
New Mexico chile typically ripens up to become red chile. Fresh red chile is quite sweet, but most people don’t eat it when it is fresh. Instead, most red chile is sun dried. These sun dried red chile pods are then ground into red chile powder by processors in Hatch New Mexico, or sold to consumers as whole chile pods. These pods are the base of New Mexico’s mother sauce, the red chile sauce. The arrival of fresh red chile is also a big milestone in the chile season, as it means that chile ristras are available. Although ristras are often used as just a decoration, they are also edible if they are untreated, and many fantastic chile sauces are made with chile ristras!
Green Chile
The arrival of green chile marks the beginning of what people refer to as the chile season, which typically goes from the start of August to nearly the end of October. Green chile is almost exclusively roasted and peeled before eating, but green chile powder has also become more and more popular in recent years. After roasting, it is typically bagged up in freezer bags and frozen for consumption at a later date. Chile Pasado is another way to preserve roasted green chile by drying it. Green chile is much less sweet than red chile, and I would argue that its flavor is somewhat more grassy and herbal than red. Due to it needing to be roasted to peel it off, I recommend finding a good chile roaster, or reading our guide to roasting green chile!
Common New Mexico Chile Varieties
Mild Chile Types
There are many chile varieties such as R Naky which are primarily grown as paprika type chile, and not meant to be roasted. As we are a chile roaster, we will primarily focus on chile commonly used in roasting or making New Mexican food.
New Mexico 6-4
This variety was developed as a team effort at NMSU based on Numex No 6, which was released by Dr. Roy Harper back in the 1940s. In Modern times, the NuMex Heritage 6-4 variety has become more common. It’s heat level is typically around 1,500 Scoville Heat Units, SHU or less.
NuMex Joe E. Parker
Another mild variety which was released in 1990, this chile is typically around 1,000 SHU.
Medium Chile Types
Big Jim Chile
The Big Jim chile variety was developed by Dr Roy Nakayama in the 1970s at NMSU in collaboration with famed chile farmer “Big Jim Lytle”. This chile went on to be labelled by Guinness as the world’s largest chile pepper. Possessing a medium heat, this is by far the best chile variety to be used for chile rellenos! In modern times, NuMex Heritage Big Jim has become more common. Big Jim is somewhat notorious for being a bit inconsistent in heat level, with some peppers being rather mild, while others are up to 9,000 SHU. Along with something I like to call “spiceflation,” or the perceived heat level going down as people desensitize themselves with hotter and hotter chile, more and more people are regarding Big Jim as Mild. We still classify it as medium, because it has been for the past 50 years. Maybe we will change this at some point, but we also have a long history and want to respect our New Mexico traditions!
Hot Chile Types
Sandia Chile
This is the traditional “hot” New Mexico chile, and has been since it was release in the 1956 by Dr. Roy Harper. Sandia is the primary chile used to make red chile ristras in New Mexico. A more modern version of Sandia, known as Sandia Select is also a great chile for roasting, as it is bigger and thicker.
Ms Junie
This relatively new chile variety was developed by Solar Dry Chile in Hatch. Named after the late, June Louise Franzoy Lytle Rutherford, this chile is somewhere between Big Jim and Sandia in size, while also being hotter than Sandia too! Although some chile vendors will mark this as an extra hot chile, it still is lighter in heat level than a Barker variety. Miss Junie is an amazing chile for roasting as it is big, thick, and juicy! It even works great in chile rellenos too. One major downside to it, is that because it is so juicy, it doesn’t dry as well in the sun. This is why ristras are usually made with Sandia chile over Ms Junie still.
Extra Hot Chile Types
Barker Chile
Barker chile has been the typical extra hot variety in New Mexico for as long as I can remember. It is quite a bit smaller than either Sandia or Miss Junie, but is almost always a decent amount spicier than either. Barker is more difficult to roast than other varieties of chile, as it is more prone to burning. It is not as juicy as many types of chile, so a roaster needs to pay attention when roasting this variety.
Hotter than Extra-Hot Types
Lumbre Chile
As of now, the most consistently hot New Mexico chile variety I know of is the Lumbre chile. It was developed in recent years by Jimmy Lyttle, son of “Big Jim” Lyttle. This veins of this chile are yellow, orange, and red, which should frighten you if you are afraid of spice. When we roast this chile, even the air around the roaster becomes spicy. We call this chile XXX-hot, because it is dangerous how spicy it is. Although it won’t be too hot for someone who eats ghost peppers like candy, when you eat a dish with a green chile sauce made of lumbre chile, you will feel the heat! We also try to carry this in dried red chile pods, but it often sells out within a day or two. If you see lumbre red chile pods, buy them right away!
Super spicy New Mexican Lumbre chiles Other types of chili Peppers
Superhot Chili Peppers
Superhot chilies are a new trend in chili pepper cultivation. twenty five years ago, the hottest peppers you might find would be things like habanero and scotch bonnets. Although the red savina pepper was the hottest in the world, few people really knew much about it at the time. The first superhot pepper to really kick off the modern spice craze was the bhut jolokia, or ghost pepper as it is most commonly known. Dr Paul Bosland of NMSU’s Chile Pepper Institute said this pepper “kind of opened the floodgates.”
Since then, other peppers emerged, with a new one taking the crown every year or two. Trinidad moruga scorpions were the top dog until they got overturned by the Carolina Reaper, which as just recently been overtaken by Pepper X. The amount of superhot chile varieties available now is immense, with tons of growers and researchers trying to make their own mark. One popular chile variety is the 7 pot, which has many different strains. You might have heard about a California reaper, which is a yellow version of the red Carolina reaper.
New hottest peppers
Although unconfirmed by Guinness, there are some new peppers that are rumored to be even spicier than the Carolina Reaper. If you ever hear of Dragons Breath or Pepper X, be prepared, as they are supposedly much hotter than even the Carolina Reaper. These new chile peppers are pure fire.
Sweet peppers
Along with a boom in superhots came a boom in the sweet pepper department as well. For decades, you could find a few colors of bell peppers at any old grocery store. These mild peppers give a good flavor and juiciness to any dish they are in, along with tons of health benefits. There are a lot of different sweet peppers available, such as the Corno di Toro. The Hamik pepper is one of the sweetest peppers you can find, with sweetness that makes it comparable to many fruits.
Famous peppers around the world
Many countries have their own chile traditions and cultures, just like us in New Mexico. In Japan, their most famous chile is the shishito pepper, which goes really great flame roasted and paired with beer. It is a very common bar food in Japan. In southeast Asia, the Thai or birds eye pepper reigns supreme, but stroll down any market, and you will see tons of different types of chile that you can never find in the US. If you get pho in the US, it typically has jalapenos, but in Vietnam, it typically comes with a local green chili and lime wedges. Mexico, has some of the most famous chile varieties in the US, so we have an entire post about different types of Mexican chile peppers!
India and Sri Lanka are famous for spicy food, which explains why the ghost pepper and naga chile varieties came from there. Trinidad is also quite famous for both the Trinidad Scorpion and the 7 pot varieties of chile. Cayenne pepper is another super famous pepper, and arguably the most used for spice powder which adds heat. Paprika is of course more common, but mild.
The world is a big place, and although I do consider myself a chile expert, my field is primarily related to chile in New Mexico. Because of that, I can’t list off every single pepper, but I can say that the amount of different pepper cultivars is simply astonishing. You will find different chile everywhere you go, as long as the cuisine is one that appreciates spice.
New Mexican Spice
Although there are many different types of chile peppers in the world, New Mexico is unique in a major way. We eat chile with literally everything. In a day, you might have three different meals and a snack, all containing chile. Whether it is green chile scrambled eggs for breakfast, a chile cheeseburger for lunch, some red chile beef jerky for a snack, or something else, we eat more chile than anywhere. Hatch is the Chile Capital of the World, but we love our chile everywhere in New Mexico. In fact, we love it so much, that even our neighbors can’t resist! Chile roasting season is a very important thing for us in New Mexico. It is especially important to us at Farmers Chile Market. We hope to be your destination to get your roasted chile in 2024!
