How to Roast Your New Mexico Chile
There are three ways you can roast your chile at home:
Using an oven (esp if your oven gets VERY hot and/or has a broiler)
Using a gas or charcoal grill
Or you can use a blow torch
We don't actually recommend this method, the two above are MUCH more efficient. But if you're in a pinch and don't have a grill or oven handy...use at your own risk!
Tips:
- Leave the skin on when freezing, this will leave a firmer chile when you eventually thaw it out and use.
- You want to blister and blacken the outer membrane, but not the pepper. High heat is needed, but make sure you turn the chiles so it's even.
- Removing the seeds before roasting is best if you don't like the seeds in the final product. Removing the seeds after roasting/thawing is much more work!
- The heat from the chiles is in the placenta/veins, not the seeds. Be careful when removing the seeds to not scrape too aggressively. There's big flavor in that lighter-colored part between the seeds and meat of the pepper!