Hatch, NM Green Chile Order

This may be a bit different than the usual food storage order, but as native New Mexicans, green chile is a vital part of our food storage! We usually eat about 90 lbs a year, but we have almost blown through it and we just got it in late August, chile harvesting season.

If you have ever eaten in northern NM -- Santa Fe, Taos, Albuquerque -- you likely had your food "smothered" in green or red chile. We put chile in/on everything -- sandwiches, soup, enchiladas, cornbread, pizza, you name it! -- or just green chile stew. Yes, this is the same "4 oz. can of green chiles" you see in your recipes. It's incredibly high in Vitamin C. When we were sick, growing up in Santa Fe, my mom made sure we ate plenty of chile!

I usually buy it at Central Market in late August, where they roast it, and you are in charge of peeling, de-seeding, and chopping it. This process takes hours. I freeze half of it, and with the other half, I make green chile "sauce" and pressure can it to later make stew or to smother those burritos.

I have found a company in Albuquerque who sells green chile wholesale to restaurants. Because I'm wanting to order so much of it, they are willing to sell it to me at the wholesale price. I can get five 5 lb frozen bricks for $55. It is already de-seeded and chopped! One brick is about the equivalent to one of the boxes from Central Market.

The shipping is more expensive than the chile itself because they send it on dry ice. We will save at least $10 to have it sent to Ft. Worth instead of Mansfield, so David will be picking it up on his way home from work! The shipping on one box of five bricks is about $60-$70. I'll pay about $20 more than I would for the same amount at Central Market, but this is not a bad deal because the work is already done.

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. Just leave a comment. Others might have the same questions. I will leave this open for about a week. We'll just have all orders due next Sunday, Feb. 21.