Taking Care of Chile Business
Sunny's got the chile blues. Find out why.
CHILE BLUES
I'm furious with myself. Had I roasted and frozen just one extra batch of fresh chiles last fall, I wouldn't be singing the blues today. Sunday evening I used my last precious package of Sandias to anoint 4 grilled quarter pounder cheddar cheeseburgers, which my espouso and I shared. Per week, we devour about three frozen chile quart packs per week to spirit such American-style dishes as potato and pasta salads, meat and veggie casseroles, steaks, spuds, and ham and tuna sandwiches. (A juicy grilled T-Bone, by the way, tastes especially delectable slathered with melted cheddar cheese and topped with two hot chile slabs.) The chile stock also goes into our our favorite Mexican meals - crock pot pinto beans, fat burritos, chubby rellenos, chunky stew, and salsas and sauces. Fortunately, harvest is just weeks away and our fertile valley will soon dance with the aroma of fresh-toasted and charred chile fruit, a sweet fragrance that reminds me of my youth in Michigan when Dad ushered in autumn by burning wheelbarrows-full of fallen leafs.
FACTS ABOUT NEW MEXICO CHILE
- New Mexico sprouts more acres of chile than any other state.
- So, it's no surprise that we also take the lead in devouring more chiles per capita.
- Sixty percent of U.S. chile grown is produced in the Land of Enchantment, generating nearly $300 million.
- The chile harvest lasts from August to October.
- We may boast that our chile is the hottest but this chilehead will tell you it's also the most flavorful.
- Sandia, Espanola Improved, Big Jim and New Mexican 6-4 varieties are, by far, our favorites. Each of these long, green pods was developed in New Mexico. We also produce piquin, poblano, cayenne, and jalapenos.
- Major food companies favor New Mexico's tongue-tingling cayenne chiles for their hot sauces. According to one report, more than 1,000 acres of cayenne was planted in New Mexico in 1995.
KNOW YOUR SCOVILLES
The more capsaicin in a chile pod, the hotter it is and the Scoville Unit indicates the amount of capsaisin. The following is a clip n' save list of favorite pods and their Scoville Units and corresponding heat rating, which goes from 0 to 10. Keep this handy when visiting our local supermarkets. When a recipe calls for "hot," you'll know what to look for! Keep in mind, however, that a pod's heat rating can vary. For example, one Sandia may be hotter than another.
Bell Pepper. The bell pepper, so-named because of its shape, is also known as a sweet pepper. Its rich, juicy green flesh is crisp and bears mild, sweet flavor. Since bell pepper has no capsaisin, its rating is 0.
Mexi-Bell is similar to the standard bell pepper but offers a slight pungent bite, which gives it 1 Scoville Unit and 1 rating.
New Mexico 6-4 and NuMex Big Jim. The six-inch New Mexico 6-4 is the most popular New Mexican variety. Twice as long is the NuMex Big Jim, which is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the world's largest pod. Both the New Mexico 6-4 and the NuMex Big Jim fall between 500 and 1,000 units and are rated at 2.
Ancho/Poblano. Chile ancho, meaning "wide chile pepper" is a broad, flat heart-shaped dried pod. Its fresh green appearance is called poblano. With 1,000-1,5000 units, this chile delivers a pleasant, tolerable bite rated at 3.
Sandia is one of my favorites. I use it in the majority of my homemade fixings. (I leave some of the heated seeds in the pod as it renders just enough zip to satisfy my daily habit. At 1,500-2,500 units, its rated at 3.
Jalapeno, Serranos and Yellow Wax Hot. I reserve these little hot numbers mostly for salsas and egg dishes. They boast between 5,000 and 15,000 units and rate a 5/6. Keep dairy products handy to help quell the fiery bite. Serrano means "from the highlands."
Piquin and Cayenne. In most cases, the smaller the chile the hotter and the piquin and cayenne don't disappoint. These three-tissue affair pods, rated at 8, have between 30,000 to 50,000 units.
Thai, rated at 9 with 50,000 to 100,000 units, and Habanero peppers, rated at max 10 with 100,000 to 350,000, are for diehard chileheads. Habaneros are the hottest chiles known to man. Legend has it that this fiery fruit has been scorching tongues and sweating brows for 85 centuries!
ROASTING CHILES THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY
The first year I moved to New Mexico, I roasted fresh green chiles the old-fashioned way. Although it can take hours to toast, steam and store 40 pounds, but with time permitting, I believe the aroma alone is worth it. Now I mostly depend on the commercial rotating wire roasters to do the blistering. On occasion, and for small batches, I still roast my own, however, which I did this week since my supply is depleted. At this time of year, store-bought chile is fair to middling but they still taste better than canned. There are several ways to roast chiles: over hot coals, on a screen over a stove burner, and by broiling. My choice is to broil. It's a breeze.
To roast by broiling:
Heat oven to broil. In the meantime, pierce chile flesh with a fork or cut a small slit by the stem. This lets the steam escape and prevents the pod from bursting. Lay pods evenly on a baking sheet and place in oven. (I set stove fan to high to lessen the heady effects of the fumes.) When the skin is blistered uniformly, remove the pods and place in plastic bags and allow to steam for about 15 minutes. (To prevent hand burns, wear rubber gloves.) Cool. Store in zipper-style plastic bags and freeze. (Or strip the skins off and use immediately.) Skins slip off easily after thawing. CAUTION: Never touch your eyes when handling chile.
