In the last few weeks we have received lots of Hatch chile peppers in our baskets as well as the 25 lb. case add on. There have also been red and green bell peppers for those who contributed for the fajita pack add on. The question I have heard over and over again is, “How do I roast these peppers?”
As with all the produce we get; wash them in a 10:1 vinegar bath, rinse and let them air dry. While you are waiting you can fire up your outside grill, or line your baking sheets if you are roasting them under the broiler (be sure that the rack is on the 2nd level so we don’t over roast the peppers). I prefer the broiler. Place the peppers on the baking sheet; put the pan in the oven.
It will take a few minutes, and it might get a little smoky, but you will start to see the skins char.
Using tongs turn the peppers over and return to broiler. When they have roasted on both sides remove the pan and place on a heatproof surface.
Using tongs, place peppers in a large heat proof bowl
and cover with plastic wrap and let them steam.
Once they have cooled for 30 -45 minutes, remove the plastic.
You many want to put on gloves to protect your hands from the pepper oil, even though these peppers are mild they have a tendency to burn a bit. Over the cooled baking sheet, gently pull the skin from the peppers,and remove the seeds.
From this point they can be pressure canned, or frozen either whole or chopped. Follow the same steps for grill except place the peppers directly on a clean grill. Now see that wasn’t too scary!
Miranda S.
Home cook and wife.
Thanks for the tip in the oven. I have a propane stove on our boat and I usually take a skewer and roast my peppers over the flame. I was doing some canning on an electric stove and this was much easier and quicker. I just put them in a saucepan with a lid on it to steam them after. Worked well!
I roasted them in the oven, but cut them in half and cleaned them out (used a grapefruit spoon!) first. Ready for enchiladas now!
I just blanched them right along with my other peppers, onions & tomatoes and then cut everything all up after removing the skins from the tomatoes, tossed it all together, added some salt, pepper blend mix, onion powder and sugar. Packed into freezer bags (4 Cups each) and then froze them for when I make Chili or spaghetti sauce or any other dish that I would normally put this in.
I roasted the peppers in the oven pretty much the same way, except I chopped off the top ends and shook out the seeds, ran my thumb down the side to split them & clean out the remaining pith & seeds, and broke them open & laid them flat. This is for the people who don’t like dealing with the sliminess of cleaning whole, roasted peppers. 🙂