these. are. awesome.
About three weeks ago, the lovely people at The Hatch Chile Store reached out to me all the way from Hatch, New Mexico. They wanted to know if I would like to cook with their Hatch Green Chile. An enthusiastic, HECK YES!, was my response. I think they noticed last Fall’s chutney and enchilasagne posts, both made with Hatch chile. The Hatch chile is so special, typically you can only buy them fresh in Nashville during the month of October. I get my Hatch fix from my friends Mindy and RB. They host a Hatch roasting and peeling party every October and I was lucky enough to be invited last year. I was paid for my “free” peeling labor with coveted bags of Hatch chile. I used the last of my chile in early December, so I was extremely happy to have more brought to my doorstep by my FedEx man. The Hatch chile arrived whole (you can also order chopped) in vacuum-sealed plastic, and still frozen in a cooler.
easy-peasy
The chile arrived roasted and peeled, so it was nice to have all that laborious work already completed. The Hatch chile freezes beautifully, break one or two apart when you need them, put the rest back in the freezer for another day. When I attended the peeling party at Mindy’s, we wore gloves to prevent burning our hands while peeling the Hatch chile. Even through latex gloves, I found my fingers still tingled from the capsaicin in these beauties! If you manage to get your mitts on fresh Hatch chile, here’s a quick lesson on how you can roast and peel them from The Kitchn. See below pic of RB roasting Hatch this past Fall.
Happy Hatch Day, RB!
I have been racking my brain for the past couple of weeks, trying to come up with a recipe using The Hatch Chile Store’s Hatch chile. Since tomorrow is SuperBowl Sunday, what could be more perfect than wings!?! Nada. So, here we go!
In a blender, puree together the de-stemmed and de-seeded Hatch chile, onion, 3 peeled garlic cloves, 1 fistful fresh cilantro, lime zest, lime juice, reduced sodium soy sauce, salt and fresh ground pepper.
so pretty and colorful!
Puree until smooth. Place the wings in a gallon-sized ziplock bag, and pour the pureed mixture overtop of the wings.
no fuss no muss!
Zip the bag and massage the marinade into the wings. Place the bag in the fridge for at least 30 minutes but for up to 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 425. Place cookie racks on foil-lined baking sheets. This helps to elevate the wings off the baking sheet, allowing air to circulate for a more even cooking process. Put the wings on top of the cookie rack.
foil lined sheets make for easy clean-up!
Bake at 425 for 30 minutes, turning halfway through.
turn ’em, yo!
With 2 minutes left, crank your oven up to broil, place the wings on your highest oven rack, and cook just long enough to get a nice golden char on the outside of the wings. Watch carefully, as the char happens quickly!
yummmmm
Serve with a celery, a side of ranch dressing, or just lime wedges. The marinade is so complex, the Hatch Chile really has a distinctive taste. Paired with limes, cilantro, onion and garlic, it’s a savory, spicy home run! The Hubs said he could have withstood a little more heat (he can handle A LOT), but it the Hatch Chile Store‘s medium Hatch was plenty enough heat for me. These wings cleared my sinuses… so much so, I required a tissue after consumption!
Hatch Green Chile Wings
- 3/4 cup rough chopped purple onion (half a medium sized onion)
- 3/4 cup blended (de-stemmed & de-seeded) Hatch chile (about 3-4 chile)
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3/4 cup packed cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4-5 cranks fresh ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
- Zest of 1 lime
- Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 lbs chicken wings
1. Preheat oven to 425. Puree onion, chile, garlic, cilantro, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and lime zest and juice until liquified.
2. Rinse the wings under cold water and pat dry. Place in a gallon-sized ziplock baggie, and pour marinade over all. Zip the bag and massage marinade into the wings for a few minutes. Place the bag in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
3. Roast for 30 minutes at 425. Place wings on racks atop foil-lined baking sheets, turning halfway through cooking time.
4. When 2 minutes remain, turn oven up to a broil, and place the wings on the highest oven rack. Cook just long enough to get a nice golden char on the outside of the wings. Watch carefully, as the char happens quickly!
5. Garnish with torn cilantro leaves. Serve with a lime wedge and celery, or a side of ranch dressing, if you must. Enjoy! And go Broncos!
Oh my! Hatch Chili Fest is my favorite time of year at Chuy’s. These wings look so good it got me to thinking, “this would make an awesome kolache”! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks Bill! Having only found out about them this past Fall, I’m pretty much a Hatch newbie. However, I’m now definitely a lifer! Good luck with your Hatch kolache! Let me know if you need any chile. I still have 2.5 lbs left! -M
Michele…thank you for this idea. I am a former New Mexican living in Missouri but I still manage to buy, and yes, roast 100 lbs. of Hatch green chile every year right here in Missouri. I have never seen a recipe for wings using green chile. Needless to say, since wings and chile are two of my most fave foods, I WILL be making these. Thanks again.
Hi Laura, we roasted 5 cases at the roasting/peeling party I attended last Fall. I think it was also close to 100 lbs. I hope you have lots of help with the process!
Are these peppers etremely hot! I’d like to try them. Great for super bowl!!!
Hi Margie, you can buy the Hatch green chile in mild, medium, or hot. I would say the medium was half as hot as a jalapeño pepper.
I’m sure medium would be good
thanks!
margie