Hatch Chile Verde

It's Hatch Chile time in New Mexico and Texas. Restaurants and grocery stores go crazy for these little chile peppers with special menus and roasting events. So, I felt obligated to put something together since I skipped Hatch Mania last year. 

To me, the easiest thing to make with these chiles is chile verde. It's such a simple recipe and there are not that many steps.  I like to serve this with either chicken or pork, today I chose chicken because I had some in the fridge. 

Roasting the chiles

First off you have to prepare the chiles by roasting them.  Since I no longer have a gas stove top I do most of my chile roasting in the oven under the broiler. If the weather is nice and I have a fire going on the grill I'll do them over wood or charcoal.  The oven is an easy and clean way to roast and doesn't really take too long.  You will need a Chile peppers, a large sheet pan, foil, medium sized bowl and a couple of seal able plastic bags.  Here are the steps to roast the chiles:

• Turn on your oven broiler and set it to high
• Set your oven rack so that its about 4-6 inches from the broiler
• Line a full size sheet pan/jelly roll pan with foil
• Rinse and dry the peppers
• Take a knife and poke a couple of holes into each pepper
• Spread chiles out on the sheet pan, don't over crowd.
• Place the sheet pan with chiles under the broiler until the chiles are browned almost all over.
• Carefully flip the chiles over to brown on the bottom side.
• Remove from the oven and place the chiles in a locking plastic bag.
• Seal the bag and let sit for 30 minutes. This steams the skins right off the chiles.
• Fill a medium sized bowl halfway with warm water...set aside.
• Carefully peel the skins off each chile.  Also remove the stems, seeds and any stringy     pieces.
• To easily remove the seeds, tear off the stem end, split open the chile and dip into the bowl of water.  The seeds will rinse off and sink to the bottom of the bowl. There will be a couple remaining that you can just pick off. A couple of seeds left on is not a big deal.

     That's it!

At this point you can either use the chiles in a recipe or freeze them for future use.  During Hatch season people buy boxes of these to roast and freeze. 

The Chile Sauce

8 Hatch Chile Peppers - roasted, peeled and rough chopped (7 mild, 1 hot)
     (if you can't get these then use Anaheim peppers and add a jalapeno)
1 lb Tomatillos, husked and roasted (same method as the peppers but you don't have to peel them)
1 large white onion, rough chopped
1 bunch of cilantro
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp Mexican Oregano
2 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp Kosher salt
2 cups chicken stock
Either 4-5 corn tortillas (shredded) or 1 tbsp masa harina (or flour) mixed into 1/4 cup of water until smooth.

Optional:  1-2 Jalapenos, roasted, seeded, chopped

• Heat up a Dutch oven or covered casserole dish over medium high heat.  Add olive oil.
• Add the onions, cumin, oregano, salt & pepper and saute until onions are soft.
• Add the chopped chile peppers, mix around and let cook.
• In a blender, add the tomatillos, garlic and cilantro.  Blend until smooth.
• Pour the blended mixture into the pot.  Stir to incorporate.
• Bring to a boil then add the chicken stock. 
• Bring to a boil again then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. 
• Add in the tortillas/masa-water mixture a little at a time to thicken.  You may not need to add all of it.



"Hatch" Chicken Chile Verde

At this point add in your chicken or pork. I used 3 chicken breast halves that I roasted in the oven
then with tongs broke it into big pieces. As the chicken cooked it just falls apart into the sauce. After you add the chicken or pork cover the dish and place in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. 

This made enough for 4 people to have a decent size serving over rice.  I'm using the leftovers for burrito filling.

Enjoy!



    

BBQ Chicken - My Way

Pretty much every time I see or hear someone is doing BBQ chicken its usually a bunch of misc chicken parts drowned in bottled BBQ sauce and grilled. Just not my kind of dish really. The idea for this recipe came from some recent inspirations from Rick Bayless, Bobby Flay and Grady Spears.  Not bad company I say. 

I like chicken breasts.  On the bone, skin-on chicken breasts. Its like a blank canvas. You can impart any flavors that you want with it. There is also more meat to work with (most of the time).  I brined the chicken for 4 hours and it made a huge difference.  I was concerned about them drying out in the smoker but no, these were very moist.  Leaving the skin on also helps hold in some moisture.

I had not used pecan wood much in the smoker. Actually, I can't remember the last time I used it.  I love the aroma that fills the neighborhood. It's like a manly aroma therapy. Sitting there smelling that smoke will get you very relaxed. Maybe that's just me.  I wasn't too worried about the temperature of the smoking chamber. I know it never gets over 350 when i use wood. I was more concerned with the smoke.  It seemed like it took forever to get the smoke level where i wanted it. You can't get good flavor from billowing white smoke.  You have to let the wood burn down a little to where you barely see the smoke.  They call it "Blue Smoke". Sometimes you just have to be patient.

I made a quick dry rub for the chicken, took them out of the brine, dried them, worked in the rub really well and let them sit out while the fire was burning down.  After they went into the smoker I re hydrated some ancho chiles and made my BBQ sauce so it could sit and let the flavors intermingle.  The chicken smoked for an hour before i checked on it. It looked pretty good so I went ahead and basted it with the BBQ sauce. I wanted the sauce to cook into the skin, absorb a little smoke and burn(caramelize) just a little.  After 30 minutes I pulled the chicken from the smoker and put it into a 350 degree oven to set the glaze. and firm up the skin.  Worked perfectly. The internal temperature was up to 185 but it it was oozing clear juices when I pulled the probe out so I knew it was gonna be moist.

You have to let this cool a little before you dig in to it. All that moisture will continue to steam on the inside.  You'll want to use your fingers to pull the chicken apart so let it sit and cool to save your fingertips.

On to the recipe....

Ingredients

6 Large Bone-In, Skin-On Chicken Breasts

Brine

1 Gallon of water
1 cup of ice
1 cup of kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns


Dry Rub

1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt


BBQ Sauce

5-6 dried ancho chile's (stem & seeds removed)
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon chile powder
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Agave nectar
2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce (optional)



Method

First you need to brine the chicken.  Add sugar, kosher salt, peppercorns and water to a large stock pot. Heat the water just enough to dissolve the sugar and salt. turn off the heat and add the ice to cool it down. Stir around until the ice melts and the water is cool.  Add the chicken to the water being sure that all the chicken is completely submerged. Put a plate or pan lid on top of the chicken to help keep it submerged.  Put the pot into the refrigerator and let it sit for 4 hours or more.

Get a good pecan wood fire going in your smoker and let it burn down until most of the white smoke subsides.  Remove the chicken from the brine, dry it off and set aside.  In mixing bowl combine the dry rub ingredients and mix with your hands to get rid of any lumps.  Coat the chicken liberally with the rub and set aside on a foil lined baking sheet.

Once the smoker is ready, place the chicken in the smoker, close it up and don't touch it for an hour. 
While the chicken is smoking, make your BBQ sauce. 

Put the ancho chiles in a medium sauce pan and cover with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Transfer the re hydrated chiles (not the water) to a blender with 1/2 cup of the cooking water.  Blend until smooth. You might need to scrape the lid and sides a few times and you might need to add in up to another 1/2 cup of the cooking water.  This needs to be very smooth and no chunks of chile pod left behind.  Pour the cooking water out of the pot and add in the ancho puree and remaining BBQ sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Let sit.

After the chicken smokes for an hour, generously baste the tops of the breasts with the BBQ sauce and close the smoker. Cook for another 1/2 hour.  Preheat your oven to 350(F).  After the 1/2 hour is up place the chicken on a foil lined baking sheet and place into the oven. Insert a temperature probe into the largest breast. Pull the chicken once the internal temperature is 170(F) degrees. Let cool for 15 minutes before you try to cut or dig into it. 

Serve with some of the BBQ sauce on the side and a big pile of napkins.

One Pot Rosemary Chicken & Vegetables

Here's one that's a hit every time. The aroma of rosemary fills the air and the chicken comes out moist and tender.  Good on a rainy day, a cold day or any day really. I never really had a written recipe for this meal. I usually just cut up whatever amount of vegetables I had and put it all together on a whim.   Once you make it once its easy to repeat. 

The chicken broth will basically steam the chicken and infuse it with the rosemary and herbes de provence.


Ingredients

4 large chicken breasts, with skin and bones attached
1 large white onion, diced
5 celery stalks, diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
5 large carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
5-6 medium/large red potatoes, quartered
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
3 - 2 inch sprigs of rosemary
3 cups of flour
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
Salt & Black Pepper


Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large dutch oven or deep covered baking dish heat the oil over medium-high.
Mix together in a large bowl add flour, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Mix around. 
Dredge each chicken breast in the flour, coating all over.
Place chicken in the hot oil, skin side down and cook until brown. You are not cooking the chicken completely with this step, only looking to get some color on the skin.
Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. 
Add the celery, onion and garlic to the oil and saute for 10 minutes then add the carrots and potatoes.
Cook for another 10 minutes.  Season with a little salt and pepper.
Sprinkle half of the Herbes dre Provence on the vegetables.
Assemble the chicken breasts on top of the vegetables and pour the chicken broth over the chicken.
Sprinkle the rest of the Herbes de Provence on the chicken, season with a little salt and pepper.
Stick the rosemary sprigs down in between the chicken breasts.  These will be removed after cooking.
Cover the pot and place in the oven and cook undisturbed for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit covered for 10 minutes.  Place 1 chicken breast on a plate and with tongs or a slotted spoon plate the potatoes and carrots. A little butter on the veggies is a good idea.