Stocking Up on Chiles for Winter
Here is a quick little snapshot of my trip to DiSanti farms in Pueblo Colorado! I've never had my chiles hosed down at the end. They are virtually peeled & the flavor is still fantastic. These are Pueblo chiles. If you're a chile person, they may remind you more of a big jim than an anaheim. Spicy, thick skin & a little more yellow in color. Flavor - amazing.
Late August - mid September is the best time to stock up on roasted chiles! For several years, I went to a farm outside of Denver, but this year I ventured down to Pueblo, Colorado.
There's a few things I learned...
1. A Bushel should be close to 16 lbs of roasted chiles. I have for YEARS bought bushels with 9-11 lbs. This is when I learned that people with stands go to these farms, bring them back & sell a CITY bushel. A city bushel can be 9-11 lbs, $32+. DiSanti is top notch. They taught me that a bushel is a bushel. Its a volume measurement. I got 16 lbs out of each bushel, for $24. Hope you followed all of that! I'd rather go where they're growing them, meet the people, give them my love, a big tip & encourage them! $24 for 16 lbs from the farm where they've been harvested since 1861. YES!!!
2. Freeze in 3 lb bags instead of 1 lb bags. Why have I, all these years been freezing them in 1 lb bags & then defrosting 3 bags at once. HELLO. Not sure why that light bulb just flipped on, but it did! YAY!
Here's how to tackle it!
Now, as you go to prepare your meal. Set your chiles in the fridge the night before, or defrost in the sink under cold water. Cut off the stems & give them a gentle quick rinse. You'll rinse just to remove any blackened spots on the skin, but don't saturate in water & lose flavor!
ENJOY!!!