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Best Chili Powder for Tacos
In case you’ve landed on this page, odds are that you love some tacos! Well, in New Mexico, we love tacos too! If you can get a type of taco in Los Angeles or Mexico City, odds are you can also get an authentic version in Albuquerque or Las Cruces too! One thing that makes New Mexican tacos unique is that most people will use flame roasted green chile in them. In Mexico, spice lovers will often eat a flattop roasted jalapeno or serrano pepper alongside tacos.
Red Chile Powder in Tacos
A fundamental part of New Mexico kitchens is the bag of Hatch red chile powder that goes into most recipes to add a little spice to many different recipes. This powder typically comes in 5 different heat levels, ranging from mild all the way to XXX-Hot! Many pantries will have a couple different heat levels in order to satisfy eaters with varying tolerances to spice. Personally, I have about 20 different heat levels in my pantry, but most people don’t run a chile store like me! Red chile powder is a fundamental spice here, along with garlic and onion powder. If you get a taco made by a New Mexican cook, odds are they put red chile, onion, and garlic powder into their seasoning for whatever dish.
Using Hatch Red Chile Powder in Tacos
Get the right spice level
First, ensure that you have the right spice level for you and your family. This takes a little trial and error, as the Mild to XXX-hot scale is somewhat subjective. If you are the kind of person who eats hot sauces with demons or tombstones on it, even XXX-hot Hatch chile powder will be light for you. In that case, consider Habanero Powder. For reference, Mild powder is typically around 0-500 Scoville, similar to Paprika. Medium is around 1500-3000. Hot is around 5-6000. X-hot is around 8-10,000. XXX-hot lumbre powder is typically around 10-12,000. There are some variances in this, as every season runs slightly different, similar to wine vintages.
How to Use chile powder in Tacos
A great way to do this is include it in your marinade! Take any basic recipe for marinating meats or vegetarian options like tofu or jackfruit and throw in some chile powder. It’s really that simple! In case you prefer seasoning while cooking, I recommend a teaspoon when you turn the heat down and are mixing things around a final time before serving. This prevents the powder from burning and preserves the heat and natural flavor profile of the chile.
New Mexican Flavor
I should point out that using chile powder extensively is more of a New Mexican thing than a Old Mexican thing. Of course people in Mexico also use various chile powders, the extent of its availability is less than in New Mexico, and it also has different regional variations that aren’t found everywhere. In New Mexico, 90% of households will use chile powder in their cooking, primarily from Hatch, but sometimes also chile from Chimayo, or wherever their local chile grower is from. There are small farms supplying towns all throughout New Mexico, and often they also have chile powder from the prior season available.
More Ways to use Hatch Chile Powder
I love using Hatch chile powder in many different recipes, not just tacos! Chile powder is a great way to add spice and flavor to many different recipes! I have another post about using chile powder that goes over some of the ways I use it! There are many ways to incorporate New Mexican flavor into your food, even in international foods!
So What’s the best Chile Powder?
Maybe I’m biased, but I think it’s New Mexico chile powder. The versatility is unmatched, and it is hard to get a chile powder with the variety of heat levels as Hatch chile powder. The most common types of chili powder used are paprika powder and cayenne pepper. Paprika has pretty much no heat, and cayenne is significantly hotter than even XXX-Hot NM chile powder. This means you can use more New Mexico chile powder for flavor without ramping up the spice too much. If you like spicy flavors, just add more powder. It’s really that simple. The chile powder flavor won’t overwhelm your recipe, because it tastes nice to begin with.
chile powder for sale online
Below I have both red and green chile powder options for purchase! Thanks for making us your favorite spot to order chile powder online!
Hatch Red Chile Powder
$8.99 – $50.00
Hatch Green Chile Powder
$9.99 – $55.00
Roasted Hatch Green Chile Powder
In case you are interested in trying a relatively new type of chile powder, we also have chile pasado powder for sale! Chile pasado is roasted and dried New Mexico chile. It has a smokey spicy flavor profile, and goes great on tacos among other things. It has been my go to chile powder when I want the essence of roasted green chile without having to deal with peeling and chopping it!
