Hatch chile roasting in Alameda and San Ramon

[Melanie Wong]

Nob Hill stores in Alameda and San Ramon are selling and roasting Hatch chiles on Friday and Saturday.

http://raleys.com/www/events.jsp?sear...

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Nob Hill Foods
2531 Blanding Ave, Alameda, CA 94501

[lexvegas]

Does anyone know of chile roasting taking place in the bay area this weekend Aug 29 and 30? any suggestions much appreciated.

[Melanie Wong]

The San Ramon Nob Hill store was considering it. If you call and find out, pls post here.

[rworange]

It is not looking hopeful. I called San Ramon, but the produce manager wasn't there. I'll call back tommorrow... or anyone interested can call after 8am 925-866-1022.

Then I called the customer service dept at Raley's corporate to see if any other store might be roasting this weekend and the answer was no.

I told the CSR that it would be nice if more stores did it. She agreed, but said that last year they didn't sell many so this year not as many stores wanted to particiapte.

Well, says I, last year I was told the Hatch pepper crop was small and that's why they didn't roast and even if they did, it wasn't announced on the flyers. As dedicated a Raley's shopper as I am, it is rare that I log onto the website.

This year if this post wasn't on Chowhound, I wouldn't have known at all.

Anyway, there wasn't much response back. I think I;ll drop a letter or an email to Raley's to see if next year they will annouce this in their flyer.

I wonder why Lucky doesn't do this in NOCAL like they do in SOCAL.

[lexvegas]

thanks melanie. i'll see if i can get in touch with them,

[SteveG]

Talked to a Nob Hill down in San Jose; they still have the chilis, but no roaster and no plans to roast. Prices are no longer as good, raw chilis are $1.47 / lb or something

[lexvegas]

Talked to Nob Hill San Ramon and they also said No, sadly.

[cakebaker]

fyi...I picked up a case of mediums last weekend from Alameda and roasted them on a gas grill in under 30 min and have never roasted so easily. They almost peel themselves and if you roast yourself you can control how black they get as opposed to the ones I saw in Alameda late Saturday which were mush.
re: availability...San Pablo Raley's has a limited amount of hot's at .79lb. I was told that Martinez, Benecia and Vallejo had both medium and hot at .97lb. I think some of the stores had less response than they thought so they are marking them down based on the store. If you want a box you might be able to negotiate with the produce mgr at the store. hope this helps. Not sure if Alameda has any left.

[cheesecakeking]

They are great roasted. I also like them sauteed with shallots.

[anyhow]

Peninsula or South Bay news of Hatch Chile Roasting sites?

I hope someone has a location, day and time to suggest. Thanks in advance.

From the LA board, a reply describing why Hatch chiles are special:

<<< i'll give it a try. the hatch chiles are meaty and very flavorful--a more nuanced flavor than other roasted chiles, i think. (they are kinda like san marzano tomatoes, in that the conditions and growing expertise in hatch make a perfect climate for growing these chiles. like the volcanic soil in san marzano, paired with that specific varietal of tomato make those legendary. you can grow a san marzano type tomato elsewhere, but it won't taste the same. just like these chiles.)
when i got my 30 lb. last year, i froze them in dozens. (i think i ended up with 14 glorious zip-locks full!) i've been portioning them out through the year, for chile verde, burgers, soups, casseroles (hatch chile mac n cheese is not to be missed) and more. i'm ready for my next batch in a few weeks. btw, the smell of your car on the way home from the roasting is an amazing thing!

chez cherie Jul 16, 2009 06:16AM>>>

[Melanie Wong]

Even though they're not roasting, you can pick up a case of chiles at the Mountain View or Redwood City Nob Hill store at the special price, which ends today.

[anyhow]

Thanks, I will roast the chiles at home tonight. Ahh, what will the neighbors think?

[Ruth Lafler]

Probably not the same thing mine thought when I made a triple batch of black bean chili from the Greens cookbook, which calls for toasting the oregano. The whole house smelled of burned herbs for days!

[emily]

The Mt. View Nob Hill was roasting last weekend, which I just happened to discover during a visit to the 99 Ranch Market next door.

[Melanie Wong]

What a shame the store didn't put that on the website.

[anyhow]

Just returned home with a box of ROASTED medium Hatch chiles. I called to order a box this afternoon because I could not get to the Mtn. View Nob Hill until after 8 p.m. These are tasty and in great condition. 25# for $29.

When I arrived, the produce man asked if I wanted roasted or raw. He didn't know how many of the remaining boxes were available, so I can't help on that. Here is the contact info:

Nob Hill Foods
www.nobhill.com
1250 Grant Rd, Mountain View - [phone]

[Melanie Wong]

That's great! My heart sort of sank when I read that Mtn View had been roasting over the weekend. So glad you didn't miss out on the convenience.

[robertb]

Please, please forgive my ignorance, but I would like to ask here what exactly makes a hatch chile so extraordinary? I've heard the name spoken of loads of times, but I don' t think I've ever tried them myself. Would these be the chile equivalent of, say, what poulet de bresse is for chicken?

[rworange]

If available, I plan to buy a 25 lb box this weekend and I can't answer your question. There's a je ne sais quoi about them. I can only say, buy a few pounds and try them in 2 - 3 recipes.

I did ask on the general board where you would get more replies.

What makes Hatch chiles special? Roast Hatch chiles=human catnip?
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/647038

[chilihead2006]

You absolutely have to roast them. My wife roasts them on a baking tray in the oven at 500F till the skin starts to blacken. Then, while hot, put them into plastic shopping bags and tie them off to let them steam. We then put the chiles with skin-on into freezer containers and freeze for the year. You can dehydrate the roasted chiles and add it to all kinds of dishes...awesome! Or layer it atop pizza, make green chile stew, etc. Peel them prior to use.

[patrick]

I wrote about "Hatch chiles", which are more correctly called New Mexico chiles, on my blog. There are some links, too, if you want to spend a lot of time reading about it!

http://www.henwaller.com/

[Allfrog68]

Thanks all for sharing. I'm a native NM and will have to check out Raley's. One of the best ways to eat roasted chile I think is to just put it on a tortilla that's been toasted on the stove top w/ butter. If the chile is a little sweet this is a wonderful breakfast. In NM we get frozen tubs of red & green chile year round. I've been using some "imported" green chile in a corn chowder that I've been making. You can find a lot of chile recipes on the Bueno chile website. http://www.buenofoods.com/recipes.htm

[Melanie Wong]

A friend went to the San Ramon store yesterday and talked to the guy ahead of him in the roasting line who was from NM. Your homeboy had bought 125#s Friday and came back for another case because he still had some room in the freezer! My friend got inspired to buy a 25# case instead of the couple pounds he'd intended and spent his afternoon peeling and vacuum sealing. He said the staffer said the sales of these chiles had doubled over last year and they might do the roasting again next weekend, call to find out.

[chilihead2006]

We order 60-80 lbs of Hatch green per year. We roast it in the oven and then freeze it. Been ordering it online every year for the past 4 years. We still have some dried roasted green chile we made about 10 years ago which STILL has all its flavor. NM green is magic.

Something to try: green chile pizza with dry peppercorn jack cheese, pine nuts and anchovies.

Gonna have to swing by Raley's just for the aroma. The aroma of roasting green chiles in the autumn and pinon smoke in the winter are classic New Mexico.

[Melanie Wong]

Roasting event was only scheduled for this past weekend. But maybe it was popular enough that stores will add more times.

I made rellenos tonight, filled w/ turkey, and walnut sauce. These were quite mild.

[pcdarnell]

I have been anticipating the arrival of the Hatch chiles, so was happy to be reminded by your post. Although there was no roasting going on, the Raley's in Vacaville near my office had them prominently displayed in several locations in the store. They are on sale for $0.97/lb, just as your link noted. I bought a case to roast this weekend.

[Melanie Wong]

How many lbs in a case? I've reserved 12 lbs roasted to pick up in alameda this afternoon.

[pcdarnell]

25 lbs.

[SteveG]

Is this for an event, or do you freeze or otherwise process them to use during the rest of the year?

[Melanie Wong]

Well, 2# for my sister who's planning to make chile rellenos, the rest just for me. I missed last season, but the prior year, I went through 5# in two months making rellenos (for 12 people), salsas, and chile verde braised pork belly. So, I'm doubling it this time. I will stuff some this weekend, set aside some in the fridge for use in the next week, then freeze the rest of the roasted peppers.

Here are the photos from my excursion to Alameda this afternoon. I wish I could share the heavenly aroma with you!
http://twitpic.com/er3nk
http://twitpic.com/er5i5
http://twitpic.com/er6rh
http://twitpic.com/er738
The cool thing is that much of the skin falls off tumbling in the roaster.

[Ruth Lafler]

I noticed the box in the photo was marked "medium." Did they have all three kinds? Did you have a choice, or were they just roasting the mediums?

[Melanie Wong]

The three boxes I saw there were all marked "medium". Tasting one, it's medium to me. I didn't ask about any others. On Wednesday I bought some from the store in Salinas. These were out of the crate but the produce clerk said they were marked "hot" but were mild to his taste.

[sosdiaz]

I second you on the "heavenly aroma" ! I went to the Alameda store as well and picked up some fresh ones. Went home and roasted them on my grill. I have them frozen for when I get the chance to make chili rellenos

[rworange]

The freeze beutifully. A whole box roasted isn't too little IMO. Here's my post for what I made the year I was Hatch happy
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/434370

I liked green chili stew, calabacitas, and adding them to fruit compotes the best ... but Ipretty much liked them in everything. They do smell swell right out of the roaster.

[rworange]

I'm glad to see further down in this thread that there could be more roasting activity going on next weekend. I couldn't make it so I bought some fresh today to roast ... a major drag for moi.

Anyway, reading that long thread was a bit much so I condensed all the great tips into this new thread.
Hatch Chile Happy
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/646917

One of the most valuable tips if you roast your own ... select chiles that are as straight and flat as possiblie to maximize exposure to the pan/grill. Raley's had quite a lot of perfect ones for this purpose.

[pcdarnell]

I just freeze them to use through the year, mostly in braises like pork or chicken, then I make tacos or something with the meat.
I just roasted my 25# box of peppers this morning, cooled, bagged and just got them in the freezer. 25# of raw chiles netted me 16# of roasted.

[Ruth Lafler]

Sounds like it's actually cheaper to have them roast them, since they weigh them after roasting. I went by and bought ten pounds today -- don't know what I'll do with them, but I have them!

[mikeylikesit]

I hope someone in the city will offer freshly roasted Hatch chilies. Anyone seen any?