Update 5/3/16: My Green Chili recipe is in my second cookbook “One Dish Wonders”. This is the recipe that I’ve developed over the years of trying different things to get an amazing version of green chili using shredded chicken. It can be eaten in a bowl, used as filling for burritos, or to smother burritos or other Mexican dishes. Also in the book, Green Chili Mac & Cheese that can be made with the leftover Green Chili. You may purchase my second cookbook here!
Original Post:
In the past couple of days, I’ve been participating in, and watching a discussion about Green Chili over on my facebook page. Put simply: People love green chili. Several of you even had photos handy of different batches you’d made. I’m no exception. Long before starting this blog I began documenting food with photos. Everything from phone snaps to beautiful, hi-res shots taken on my husband’s SLR camera with a variety of lenses. The picture below is a batch of my Chicken Green Chili that I took to a Superbowl party in 2014.
I love Green Chili. In fact, it may be in my top five favorite foods of all-time. Every cook makes it a bit differently, but one thing remains clear amongst my friends who cook and eat it: Roasted Hatch’s Green Chilies are the way to go for the best flavor and lots of spice.
I will finish this article with photos and comments left here regarding your experiences cooking or eating Green Chili. What ingredients or techniques do you use? What is the best restaurant to get it where you live? Did you grow up eating it, and if so, where were you raised? Share your thoughts and photos and once the discussion winds down, I will re-publish this article with my photos and in-depth coverage of Green Chili!
Reader Contributions! — Feel free to send me your photos and comments with permission to use them within my posts! Cooking improves with collaboration, and I love learning from you! I’ve included some photos, comments, links and suggestions from a discussion on my facebook wall on the subject.
Update: 2/1/15
In a fascinating discussion about Green Chili on my facebook page, Tom also recommended ordering fresh or frozen Hatch’s Green Chilies online. He likes http://diazfarms.com/ for their better prices. This works well for people in areas where Hatch’s are unavailable, or if you grow your own and need supplemental chilies seasonally.
Once you get your hands on some Hatch’s chilies, be sure they’re roasted. If not, here’s a great link about roasting them at home.
Another way to get Hatch’s seasonally is at Whole Foods. In September they roast and sell them in a wide market, including the Pacific Northwest.
I will update this post again with your comments on vegetarian green chili, the cut of pork recommended, and my trick for replacing pork without losing the smoky flavor. Stay tuned!
Resources for further learning:
- Hatch Chili Fest
- Denver Green Chili
- Order Green Chili Sauce Online (Thank you Tom Fouch)
- Order Hatch’s Green Chilies Online
Now you have my interest. To be quite honest, I have had green chile before, but couldn’t say it stood out in my mind. We have a restaurant here in Hillsboro, Oregon called Amelia’s. The natives of Mexico say its the best. I’m going to stop by and give this a try. Thanks for enlightening me, and keep this blog going. Looking forward to reading up on your other culinary delights.
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Linda, it is a seemingly obsessive dish in Colorado. More of a stew here in TX. I will make some for you one day. You’ll be hooked.
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Let me know about Amelia’s.
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Mark Schlereth, who played for the Denver Bronco’s during the Elway years, fell in love with green chili while in Colorado so he started to make it for his family and friends. It became so popular with them that he began marketing it to the public as “Stinking Good Chili”. His nickname as a player was “Stink”. Go to http://www.stinkingood.com to find out if it is sold near you. It is in all the Costcos in the Western states in addition to most of the Krueger chain grocery stores (Fred Meyer, King Soopers, etc.) and Whole Foods. I have not tried it but I hear it is good.
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Thanks Tom! I added that link into the “Resources” section of this post.
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Melissa, I love your blog! Such an inspiration as I have fallen in a cooking rut. Personally, I love green chili and would eat it at every meal, everyday if I could!
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I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying this blog! I know what it is like to get into a routine that begins to bore you. I hope you find some good ideas and resources here to inspire your home cooking adventures!
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Yum, I love green chili, too – especially with roasted chiles, though I usually use poblanos, anaheims, and/or jalapenos, just because it’s rare that I can get my hands of hatch. This sounds delicious!
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Hi Heather! Here in Texas, it is pretty easy to get Hatch. But if you check out the links at the end of the post, you might find that you can order them, depending on the time of year.
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Yum, I am about all things spicy. Not too much, though, because I want to taste the food! Love the blog.
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Thanks Terri! I find that if it is too spicy, a bit of sour cream stirred in can help, but yes, I hear that!
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I love green chili! I’ve had several versions while living in Texas from the surrounding states. I prefer the stew like version you’ve created here.
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Yes this is how I prefer to make it. But I do love that in Colorado the sauce version is often used for smothering huevos rancheros or breakfast burritos. YUM!
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Delicious! I love green chili!
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I have had Melissa’s green chili. It is DELICIOUS. Perfecto. I cannot wait to get that recipe and make batches and batches of it.
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