Hatch Chicken Chile Verde

Keep an eye out for Hatch chiles in your local markets over the next few weeks and try to grab some!  

You can make a big batch of this Hatch Chicken Chile Verde and you'll be in Hatch Heaven over the coming days. 

This is a delicious, all-purpose recipe and you can use it for tacos, tostadas, burritos -- or even just served up next to some rice and beans for a quick, satisfying meal. 

 

How To Make Hatch Chicken Chile Verde

Keep in mind that Hatch chiles come in different varieties, sometimes labeled as Mild, Medium or Hot.

If you want a milder batch then consider seeking out the Mild variety, but don't sweat it too much as the "hotter" varieties still come in quite low on the Scoville Scale.   How Hot Are Hatch Chiles?

You'll need somewhere around 2-2.5 lbs. of Hatch awesomeness for this recipe.  

I used 14 of the Hot variety (Sandia) and that came in just under 2.5 lbs. 

If you're new to Hatch chiles you'll find that they look quite similar to Anaheims. 

But when you roast them they develop a unique buttery flavor that has given them a cult-like status in the Southwest. 

So we'll start by roasting these in the oven for a half hour or so.  Sure, you can roast them on a grill or over an open flame, but I default to the oven for big batches as it seems to be more efficient. 

Give your Hatch chiles a good rinse and add them to a baking sheet. 

Roast them for a half hour in the oven (400F).  I usually check on them halfway through the baking period and give 'em a flip.

As the chiles roast I usually brine the chicken.  You'll need 2 lbs. of chicken for this recipe -- I used 3 boneless chicken breasts but feel free to use any chicken that you have available. 

A half hour swim in a simple saltwater brine will dramatically improve the flavor of this dish.  Try to do this step if you have time!

Add 2 quarts cold water to a mixing bowl along with 1/2 cup Kosher or sea salt.  Stir to dissolve the salt, then add the chicken, cover, and let it brine in the fridge for 30-60 minutes. 

I usually let the chicken brine until the Hatch chiles are done roasting, then pat the chicken dry and bake it in the oven for about 20 minutes.  Again, you can cook the chicken how you see fit, but I find that this brine-and-bake method works great for big batches that expect to be drenched in sauce. 

Here's how the Hatch chiles looked after 30 minutes of roasting:

Not pictured is the heavenly Hatch aroma  🙂

Once they cool a bit you can de-stem and de-seed them, but don't worry about getting rid of every last seed.  You can also discard any puffy bits of skin. 

Add the chile pieces to a blender along with:

1 cup stock
1/4 onion
2 peeled garlic cloves 

Combine well.  You may need to blend the first half before you can fit the rest of the chiles into the blender. 

In addition to blending onion and garlic with the chiles, I like to dice some up for the sauce.   So I chopped up the remaining 1/4 onion and cooked it in a glug of oil over medium heat. 

When the onion has softened add 2 minced garlic cloves and cook briefly. 

The add the blender full of Hatch awesomeness along with:

1 tablespoon Mexican oregano  What is Mexican oregano?
1/4 teaspoon cumin (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt 
freshly cracked black pepper

Bring it up to temp over medium heat, stirring regularly. 

When the chicken is done baking -- usually around the 20 minute mark -- remove it from the oven and let it rest for a couple minutes.  Then shred it with two forks and add it to the Hatch sauce. 

Combine well and take a taste!

The brined chicken is loaded with the rich, buttery flavor of the Hatch chiles -- so good!

You can salt to taste but I find that when you're using brined chicken you really don't need to add much salt to this dish. 

And now you've got a huge batch of Hatch awesomeness that will provide an endless stream of Hatch meals over the coming days.  Perfect!

There are lots of tasty ways to serve this up, but first I want to mention the most important characteristic of Hatch chiles I've learned...

They like to be in charge!

If there is too much competition the Hatch flavor will disappear into the background. 

I learned this the hard way with the Hatch Enchiladas.  I tried multiple versions of that enchilada sauce using tomatillos, but the Hatch flavor would get buried by the tomatillos.  I found that a simple, Hatch only enchilada sauce was always the tastiest as it kept the flavor of the Hatch chiles at the forefront.  

As another example, I made tostadas with this batch using:

a thin layer of refried beans
Queso Fresco  What is Queso Fresco?
freshly chopped cilantro
a squeeze of lime

And they are a real treat!

But as the meal progressed I found myself using less cheese and less beans because I wanted more of the Hatch flavor at the forefront. 

So it's worth starting with a tostada like this and building from there:

That's just a warm, crispy tostada with a thin layer of beans and plenty of the Hatch chicken.  This simple tostada is absolutely delicious because it lets the unique Hatch flavor be the boss!

So please keep this in mind when you are building your Hatch masterpieces over the coming weeks.  Start with simple concoctions that let the Hatch flavor shine, then add any additional fixings that you think will complement that flavor without overwhelming it.

 

You can even serve your Hatch Chicken Chile Verde over white rice and I think you'll still be in Hatch Heaven and loving it.  That's the beauty of cooking with Hatch chiles -- just let them do most of the heavy lifting and it will lead to some happy faces at the dinner table. 

Okay, I hope this post inspires you to cook with some Hatch chiles!  For reference, here are some additional Hatch posts on the site:

How Hot Are Hatch Chiles?

Hatch Chile Enchiladas

Hatch Chile Soup

Hatch Green Chile Cornbread

Where To Buy Hatch Chiles Online

Buen Provecho. 

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