Hatch NM green chile roaster

[pmcgrady]

Plan on growing lots of peppers this year (150-200 plants). I've been thru Hatch NM a couple times when the whole town was roasting their green chiles, that smell of smoky green chiles is everywhere... Getting hungry for a green chile cheeseburger just thinking about it. I've been thinking of building a small roaster for myself, most in Hatch are propane fired, some are wood fired which I think would also smoke the chiles and make them taste better than they already do. A Weber grill would work, but for lots of peppers a roaster would be much quicker.

[Father'sDaughter]

I've roasted them both on the grill and the oven, and I agree--with that many plants it would take you forever!

And don't forget to line up help if you plan to peel them after roasting. I've read about some of the roasters in Hatch just spraying them down with water after roasting which others say causes flavor loss. I did peel my first batch one year under running water, and while it was easier, I did notice a difference in flavor intensity compared to others I peeled without water.

I wonder what other uses the roaster has. I bet Chestnuts would work great in it.

[pondgardener]

Here in Southern Colorado, especially during the Pueblo Chile Festival, the aroma of roasting chiles is intoxicating. My nephew made a small roaster with a hand crank that worked very well, but parts of it would involve some welding skill. We just take our 3-4 bushels that come out of the garden to one of the vendors to roast. Watching the process I noted that they have water sprays that are turned on to spray the peppers before the drum is stopped. And that seems to react to the hot surface of the chiles to knock a lot of the skin off. Our roasted chiles are placed in a heavy plastic bag and we keep the bag in a separate container for a couple of hours, which works very well to allow for easier peeling.

George

[pmcgrady]

Breaking in the "Grow for Market" this year, and I bet with a roaster setup at the market, that wonderful smell they put off from the peppers would sell themselves.
When I was in Hatch I didn't see them watering them down, but I did see a few using spray bottles of water, which I think probably makes the peppers "blister" more, making them easier to peel.
It probably would make a good chestnut roaster (if we had any growing around here), with a smaller mesh, you might be able to roast coffee beans in it. It would be a disaster trying tomatoes in it though!

[biscgolf]

Originally Posted by pmcgrady

Breaking in the "Grow for Market" this year, and I bet with a roaster setup at the market, that wonderful smell they put off from the peppers would sell themselves.

Selling roasted peppers would be a whole lot more difficult from a regulatory standpoint than selling fresh.

[pmcgrady]

Originally Posted by pondgardener

Here in Southern Colorado, especially during the Pueblo Chile Festival, the aroma of roasting chiles is intoxicating. My nephew made a small roaster with a hand crank that worked very well, but parts of it would involve some welding skill. We just take our 3-4 bushels that come out of the garden to one of the vendors to roast. Watching the process I noted that they have water sprays that are turned on to spray the peppers before the drum is stopped. And that seems to react to the hot surface of the chiles to knock a lot of the skin off. Our roasted chiles are placed in a heavy plastic bag and we keep the bag in a separate container for a couple of hours, which works very well to allow for easier peeling.

George

Where the roasters gas fired or wood fired?

[pmcgrady]

Originally Posted by biscgolf

Selling roasted peppers would be a whole lot more difficult from a regulatory standpoint than selling fresh.

Good point! I need to check with the health dept. They do require that you take a food handler course when you sell some items, this would probably be one of them. There
are sometimes vendors making huge kettles of Carmel Popcorn which would be about the same thing.

[pondgardener]

Originally Posted by pmcgrady

Where the roasters gas fired or wood fired?

gas fired(propane)...

[Worth1]

Tumbling the peppers in the roaster also knocks the skin off.
The whole point of these contraptions is to get the tough skin off these types of peppers and not cook them too much in the process.
The only way I would build one is charcoal fired.

Now what came first, the raffle ticked tumbler or the chili roaster?

Worth

[pmcgrady]

Originally Posted by Worth1

The only way I would build one is charcoal fired.

I was thinking the same thing.

[Salsacharley]

The only skin that comes off during roasting in a tumbler is purely accidental. It takes tedious effort to peel the skins after roasting regardless of the roasting method. I've found the easiest...or least difficult peeling procedure is to leave the freshly roasted chiles in a sealed plastic garbage bag for an hour after roasting, and allow the heat and steam in the bag to help separate the peels from the meat. Then you can sit down and peel, transferring peeled peppers into quart freezer bags without seeding or rinsing. Seeding and rinsing dilutes the flavor (in my opinion). I do pull the stems out unless I'm saving whole peppers for rellenos. It takes me a couple of hours to peel and bag a bushel of peppers. If nitrile gloves aren't worn you can "feel the burn" for over a day.

[TressJ]

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

The only skin that comes off during roasting in a tumbler is purely accidental. It takes tedious effort to peel the skins after roasting regardless of the roasting method. I've found the easiest...or least difficult peeling procedure is to leave the freshly roasted chiles in a sealed plastic garbage bag for an hour after roasting, and allow the heat and steam in the bag to help separate the peels from the meat. Then you can sit down and peel, transferring peeled peppers into quart freezer bags without seeding or rinsing. Seeding and rinsing dilutes the flavor (in my opinion). I do pull the stems out unless I'm saving whole peppers for rellenos. It takes me a couple of hours to peel and bag a bushel of peppers. If nitrile gloves aren't worn you can "feel the burn" for over a day.

Once I get to the point that I refuse to peel anymore I put the whole pepper as many as will fit in a quart bag (3-4), single layered and freeze them. When it's time to use them the peels slip right off as they start to defrost. mmm, I need some marinated grilled chicken with green chile and cheese on top.

[pmcgrady]

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

The only skin that comes off during roasting in a tumbler is purely accidental. It takes tedious effort to peel the skins after roasting regardless of the roasting method. I've found the easiest...or least difficult peeling procedure is to leave the freshly roasted chiles in a sealed plastic garbage bag for an hour after roasting, and allow the heat and steam in the bag to help separate the peels from the meat. Then you can sit down and peel, transferring peeled peppers into quart freezer bags without seeding or rinsing. Seeding and rinsing dilutes the flavor (in my opinion). I do pull the stems out unless I'm saving whole peppers for rellenos. It takes me a couple of hours to peel and bag a bushel of peppers. If nitrile gloves aren't worn you can "feel the burn" for over a day.

God I love Tomatoville, a wealth of information!
I'll give this method a try and I plan on vacuum packing them after they are peeled,
then sold fresh or freeze them.

[pmcgrady]

Wood fired peanut roaster, in the off season...
Now I need to learn how to grow peanuts...

[pmcgrady]

Originally Posted by TressJ

Once I get to the point that I refuse to peel anymore I put the whole pepper as many as will fit in a quart bag (3-4), single layered and freeze them. When it's time to use them the peels slip right off as they start to defrost. mmm, I need some marinated grilled chicken with green chile and cheese on top.

Two thumbs up!