I had no idea what they were roasting

We had just moved to Austin from Seattle, and I was going into Central Market one day when I saw these big black iron drums set up outside the doors, roasting tons and tons of chiles. Who roasts anything outside a grocery store?

You could smell them across the parking lot, and they smelled really good, so I stood there for a minute wondering what they were and started dreaming up all the ways I could use them. Of course I had to buy some.

They were unlike anything I’d ever tried. Smoky and spicy in a way I hadn’t run into before.

We asked some friends who’d been here a while and got the whole rundown. The chiles get roasted outside because roasting them in your house is a pain (your whole place smells like chiles and your eyes burn). So people buy them already roasted and go from there, and you can get mild, medium, or hot, same as salsa.

And Texans will put them in anything. During the season you’ll see Hatch in the guacamole, the salsa, the chips, the dips, the crackers. I’ve had them in soup and in salad dressing, and I’ve seen Hatch chile cereal. I don’t know about chiles for breakfast!

We'd been cooking with them for a while by then because we had a Hatch chimichurri steak sandwich on the menu, plant-based of course. One afternoon there were extras sitting in the kitchen, looking really good, and we were eyeing them when someone said we should try these in the cheddar. Our cheddar already has that little smokiness to it, so it seemed like it would work with the spice.

The first batch wasn’t right. It was too spicy and the Hatch dominated everything else, so we went to a blend of chiles instead of Hatch alone and tested it a bunch of times to get the heat where we wanted it. The blend also gave us the color and the different textures running through the wedge, which took a few more rounds on its own. When we finally got it, we were blown away.

Last time I ate it, I grated it over tacos. Living in Austin, tacos dominate the menu: breakfast tacos, lunch tacos, dinner tacos. I made mine with a crispy shell, seasoned plant-based ground beef, lettuce, tomato, avocado, and Hatch Chile Cheddar over the top. So good.

Here’s the catch. Hatch chiles are only around for a few weeks a year, and right now is it. People ask us to make this one year round, and who could blame them, but we can’t get the chiles when they’re out of season. So grab it while you can.

Thanks for being on this journey with us,

Kirsten
Co-founder, Rebel Cheese
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