[orca17]

I was over at Carlito's Burritos on Sunset last weekend, and they were roasting a bunch of them.

[MediocreButArrogant]

This year I had to buy Hatch chiles in CA. Went to a roasting event an upscale local grocery chain. They charged $50 for a 25lb box and $25 for a 10lb box. Obscene. The only good thing was that they were mostly uniformly large - 90% of them were large enough to be chile rellenos. Melissa's Produce ran the roasting event, the same people who run Glazier's roasting events in Las Vegas (next year you can check their website for the dates they will be roasting at Glazier's). They don't have any control over the price the store charges. I imagine that 25lb box that cost $50 at Mollie Stone's was $20-25 at Glazier's. I recall paying about $20 for a full box at Smith's.





Next weekend they have roasting events in San Mateo and Palo Alto. That's it for this year as far as I know.

[OmegaSupreme]

Thanks for the updates. I'm buying mine fresh for $.89/lb at the grocery store

Roast on the grill and peel and deseed them the same day. Makes it easier when they are still hot/warm.

[WestieJeff]

Smith's was roasting them last weekend. $20 for a box.

Originally Posted by MediocreButArrogant

I imagine that 25lb box that cost $50 at Mollie Stone's was $20-25 at Glazier's. I recall paying about $20 for a full box at Smith's.

[OmegaSupreme]

Originally Posted by WestieJeff

Smith's was roasting them last weekend. $20 for a box.

Wish I would have known that, did they advertise it?

[WestieJeff]

I don't know, it's the one on Boulder Highway in Henderson. They've been roasting for about four weeks now, much longer than I recall in the past.

If I see they are still doing it I will PM you. I'm there at least once per week.

Originally Posted by OmegaSupreme

Wish I would have known that, did they advertise it?

[MediocreButArrogant]

Here are some tips on freezing Hatch Chiles (gleaned from a couple sites plus reading the box from Melissa's Produce, plus my own experience)

1) Hatch Chiles should be refrigerated within two hours of roasting and frozen within 24 hours

2) In order to prevent mushiness, chiles need to be frozen quickly. Do not attempt to freeze a thick block of chiles, they need to be packaged in thin layers (ideally one layer, two at the most) in order to freeze quickly. If the chiles freeze slowly, larger ice crystals form and destroy cell walls, leading to mushier chiles. Not an issue for a casserole, but might be a problem for a chile relleno.

3) Freezer burn is much less likely, and takes much longer to occur if you vacuum bag the chiles, rather than just put them in Ziploc bags.

4) It's pretty much impossible to vacuum bag freshly roasted chiles in a non-commercial vacuum bagger, as the amount of moisture drawn out prevents a good seal from being made. So you pretty much need to bag them, seal the bag once w/o a vacuum and freeze it. Then after the chiles are frozem, cut the seal off and reseal the bag, this time with the vacuum turned on. You really want to avoid drawing liquid out across the part of the bag where you're going to seal it, unless it's just a very small amount.

5) The number of bags you need if you bag just a single layer of chiles in each bag is so high you won't want to make your own bags from a roll. Buy pre-cut bags on Amazon - they aren't much more expensive than those in a roll (and much cheaper than Foodsaver-brand bags). I buy the 11" bags and put about a dozen chiles in each one.

[OmegaSupreme]

It's that time of year again!

[annieosage]

Originally Posted by OmegaSupreme

It's that time of year again!

I know and I am SO excited!!

[esas]

Bought 2 bags at sprouts and already roasted, house smells great