RE: [CH] Roasting Chiles Question
T. Matthew Evans (matt.evans@ce.gatech.edu)
Thu, 31 May 2001 11:35:48 -0400
Ahhh, the chile roaster -- a landmark of fall in New Mexico. From early
September through early November, you see these babies on every street
corner in the state. How I miss New Mexico, let me count the ways....
But, enough of the reminiscing. These can be purchased in New Mexico and
also online (the name of a web site escapes me now, but it shouldn't be too
hard to find). The point of roasting the chiles is to remove some of the
green, grassy taste of the larger (e.g., New Mexico chiles, poblano chiles,
or Anaheim chiles) pods. Further, the roasting facilitates removal of the
skin which can be tough and bitter. Finally, the roasting process imparts a
nice smoky flavor to the chiles. I currently roast even some of my smaller
chiles (e.g., jalapeno, serrano, habanero) on the grill or on a dry cast
iron skillet (with smaller chiles, I do not peel them after roasting).
As for packing them in oil, this is entirely possible, but it's not
something I ever saw while living in NM. Typically, one purchases a 50-lb.
sack of chiles from a grower and then has someone (often the grower) roast
them. They are then packaged in freezer bags (seeds, skin, and all) and
frozen for use until the next chile season. The bags can be thawed a few at
a time, and the chiles are skinned and seeded prior to eating.
Hope this helps.
Matt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
T. Matthew Evans
Geosystems Group, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
790 Atlantic Drive
Atlanta, GA USA 30332-0355
Telephone: 404-385-0070
Facsimile: 404-894-2281
URL: http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gte964w
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-----Original Message-----
From: owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com
[mailto:owner-chile-heads@globalgarden.com]On Behalf Of Mike Shimek
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2001 10:36 AM
To: chile-heads@globalgarden.com
Subject: [CH] Roasting Chiles Question
I hope you don't think I am an idiot for asking this: I visited a farm
market in San Martin, CA and they had a "chile roaster", a large cylindrical
screen that rotates, and is fired by gas or propane. The owner of the market
said they roasted around 100,000 lbs of chiles a year. My question are
these, why roast the chiles? Are chile roasters available commercially, or
all of them homebrew? They roasted chiles and then put them in plastic bags
with oil, I believe.
Mike
D & M Farms
Chardon, Ohio