[tomasz207]

Thank you for sharing this. You've opened me up to a whole new world of experiences! Do you typically buy the hatch chile in the grocery store, then have them roasted outside? Or will it be available for sale in the parking lot already roasted? Thank you again!

[nkurz]

In New Mexico at least, you buy them inside the store in large quantity, take your shopping cart full of them out to the propane fired roaster set up in the parking lot, help the attendant dump your chiles in the barrel, watch them tumble and crackle in the flames, then finally tell the attendant when they are roasted/charred to the degree you want them to be. Every grocery store does this, and during the roasting season, the entire town will smell like roasted chiles. It's possible that other places with less of a chile culture might use a modified routine.

[code_duck]

In season, I usually go to one of the roasters set up in a parking lot. They’re all over Albuquerque and most of NM but also Denver and Pueblo and probably other cities in the southwest. There are several stands on Federal in Denver, for instance.

You choose your variety of chile (and the heat) and buy it in 25 lb increments. They fresh roast it for you at that time. 25 lbs is a lot of chile and it’s perishable, so you have to take it home and process it. Ideally will last most of the year. I peel and eat as much as I can while it’s fresh, and for the rest, it’s best to freeze it with the skins still on, as they’re easily removed when it’s thawed.

[happyopossum]

It can go either way - just ask the people manning the roaster what to do, they’re happy to help.