Chile Fever
Pungent pods a long-standing New Mexico tradition

Albertson's Employee Darrell Tsosie scoops out green chilies from the chili roaster on Saturday afternoon. Tsosie estimates that he roasts 400 pounds of green chilies a day during the Albertson's Annual Green Chili Roast. [Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

Albertson's Employee Darrell Tsosie adjusts the heat while roasting some green chilies on Saturday afternoon. Tsosie estimates that he roasts 400 pounds of green chilies a day during the Albertson's Annual Green Chili Roast. [Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

GALLUP — The Maldonado and Smith families stood in line for hours this Labor Day weekend, waiting their turn to roast green chile they purchased from a local grocery store.

But nobody seemed to mind the wait, because the process is a long-standing tradition for the family whose members were born and raised on the uniquely New Mexico flavor.

As part of the sale, the local Albertson’s agreed to roast each bag of chile at no additional charge, which subsequently resulted in a line of customers backed up along the store sidewalk.

But little grumbling could be heard, just the voices of people discussing the plans they have in store for their newly-roasted chile.

“It goes with everything,” Storm Smith said.

However, Mary Maldonado shared more specific plans for the 10 bags.

She prefers chile rellenos, which utilizes longer chile, and the combination of green chile and pork.

The family stores chile in quart size freezer bags and uses small servings throughout the year. Storing chile with the skin preserves the flavor, Maldonado said.

A crowd favorite is chile that is turning orange, allowed to boil for an hour or so and then blended.

“It’s healthy,” Maldonado said. “It’s a vegetable and a fat-burner.”

Anny Smith said the best chile comes from Hatch, New Mexico, and is available at several location throughout the city. She warned of other, less tasty brands.

“It may look pretty, but it’s not going to taste good,” Anny Smith said.

The family also prefers the second batch of the chile season, as opposed to the premiere batch they call “long and stringy.”

“The second pick is always the best,” Maldonado said.
Linda Hekman also waited in line to attain fresh, roasted chile. She’s noticed a small, delay in the availability of the New Mexico favorite.

“I’m wondering if the rain affected the crop,” Hekman said.

TJ Runyan, the general manager for SkyLine Produce in Hatch, said this year’s chile crop is wonderful in terms of quality, but several complications have affected the harvest.

Runyan said it is difficult to find enough labor to work the fields during harvest season and a cooler July has also left a bit of a damper on some of the crop.

“It’s decent, just a little more sporadic than we hoped for,” Runyan said. “We’re having to pick through it a lot.”

These factors haven’t affected business and the crop is certainly better than last years.

“We’ve shipped more chile than we ever have,” Runyan said. “ ... There was no chile to be had last year.”

The business sells eight to 10 varieties of chile, which include flavors that range from mild to hot. The most popular variety is the “Big Jim” and is described as really lean and flavorful, he said.

The peak season begins on Aug. 15 and last through about Labor Day Weekend. Although, Runyan prefers crops harvested around Labor Day and in the days after the holiday.

“Right now, there’s a lot of chile,” he said.