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Tag: chile farm
The 2024 Hatch Chile Festival
People around the world love New Mexico chile, because it has a good manageable amount of heat and a lot of meatiness that can be used to pack a lot of chile flavor into any food you can imagine. Of New Mexico chile, Hatch chile is the most famous by far. In fact, Hatch chile is a more popular way of saying New Mexico chile, though the chile varietals are named Numex at NMSU’s chile breeding program. One of the main reasons Hatch is so famous, besides the excellent terroir, is the Hatch Chile Festival. This annual festival takes place on Labor Day weekend every year, and is as big to Hatch as the Balloon Fiesta is for Albuquerque, Zozobra is for Santa Fe, or the Chile Drop for Las Cruces. Visiting a chile roaster is a great travel idea, and Hatch is the epicenter of chile roasting in New Mexico during the chile festival in 2024, and beyond!
This is what you came for Hatch Chile Festival History
The original Hatch Chile Festival was held in 1971, with just a few local growers. It was a small event for a small town, but but it was special and more and more interest developed over the years. In modern times, the festival has become quite popular, with people traveling from all over to visit. As a year had to be cancelled due to covid, 2024 marks the 52nd Hatch Chile Festival.
Welcome to Hatch! When is the Hatch Chile Festival in 2024?
The Hatch Chile Festival always takes place on Labor Day Weekend, which is August 31st and September 1st this 2024 chile season. As Labor Day is very early this year, I wouldn’t expect a huge amount of chile ristras available unfortunately. There will certainly be some farmers who purposely let their green chile ripen early instead of harvesting in order to sell ristras however, so you will definitely be able to find some nice ristras still.
If you see this water tower, head east to the festival or west to the fields! Layout of the Hatch Chile Festival
The festival has several distinct areas, with the epicenter being around the intersection of Franklin and Hall Streets. The high school pecan orchard is one major area, from there, there is a lot to do going west and south. It is overall fairly walkable, but there is a shuttle bus that you can ride that has a stop in front of the orchard on Franklin Street too. In case you are planning to go to shops on Franklin street north of the Circle K, I recommend going by car, as the shops on the road towards I-25 are more spread out and lack shade.
Where to park for the Hatch Chile Festival?
Most years, the best place to park is at the Hatch Valley High School. If you are coming into Hatch off of I-25, turn left just after the Circle K onto Herrera Rd. The pecan orchard at the high school is used to host some events, like auctions, shows, and competitions. I’ve parked there for free the last few years, but they may charge for parking at some point. From the school, you can proceed southwest to the downtown area on foot.
What to Eat at the Hatch Chile Festival
Sparky’s is located at the biggest intersection in Hatch. It’s packed around lunchtime, so expect to wait Walking southwest from the Pecan Orchard, you can find restaurants like Sparky’s to get a green chile cheeseburger. You might have to wait a while, as the lines run around the block during chile fest weekend. In case you are looking for quicker food that can be consumed on the go, make a quick stop at B & E Burritos. For those of you looking for a place to sit down, Pepper Pot is also a nice option! Valley Cafe is also nearby and has great reviews, but I can’t comment from personal experience. I will try to go this when I visit Hatch! In addition to restaurants, there are also plenty of vendors selling small foods and refrescos! You are never far from a snack or drink during the Hatch Chile Festival!
This is a stacked red chile enchilada plate from Pepper Pot! A Mostly Walkable Festival
Going further west along Hall Street, you will see more restaurants and grocery stores. When you see Village Market, if you go north on School Street, they often have a carnival with various rides and games to play at the lot on the corner of School and Hill Street. In case you are walking, there isn’t too much reason to walk much past Chile Fanatic on Hall Street, as the town gets very spread out around there. In case you want to visit the Grajeda Farms store, it’s better to go by car.
Hatch isn’t a big city, so you can walk from one side of town to the opposite side in about half an hour. As Labor Day weekend is still summertime, be sure to drink plenty of water, and rest in the shade if you need to. Stop in a grocery store or restaurant for air conditioning and refreshments if you feel overheated. The vendors here have the chile roasters blasting all day, so it can be somewhat hard to cool down without making a specific effort to do so.
The gazebo in the park is also a nice spot to sit down out of the sun! What to do at the 2024 Hatch chile Festival
Feel the pulse of New Mexico chile
This is an event that encompasses the entire town. If there is a business in Hatch, you bet it will be open during the event. I don’t really recommend driving around town unless you have somewhere specific to be. It’s way more fun to walk around and see all the sites, different stores, vendors, and artists in the community. Although Hatch is a small town, it is lively during chile season. During this event, it becomes a whole city devoted to chile. Whether you want food, candy, earrings, or fashion related to chile, you can find it. You will even find people dressed as chile, as well as people with hats decorated like ristras, chile roasters, or some other chile related thing.
You can find this sign right in the middle of Hatch! Learn to tie a chile ristra
During the festival, you will be able to see people tying chile ristras in many different places throughout the village. If they aren’t too busy, feel free to ask them to show you how to tie a ristra, and maybe you can even make your own! In case they are too busy to teach you, I have a brief guide on tying a ristra on my page about chile ristras.
You can find ristra tying classes in the Hatch Valley High School Pecan Orchard! Buy a Ristra
Hatch, New Mexico during the chile festival has more types of ristras than literally anywhere in the world! If you want to take back a chile souvenir, shopping for ristras in Hatch is a great idea. From the normal large straight sandia chile ristras, chile wreaths, chile pequin ristras, these yellow chile guerito ristras, or even garlic and onions, you can find them in Hatch during the festival!
Learn How to Roast Chile like a pro
The same thing goes with roasting chile, if the roasters are busy, try not to ask too many questions and just observe. The competition for chile roasting in Hatch is very fierce, which means the roasters need to be on point. In case you come at a very busy time and are unable to ask your questions about roasting, I have a guide to roast on a barrel roaster too! Roasting at scale is very different than roasting on a BBQ grill or an oven broiler. The heat levels need to be much higher to properly blister the chile before evaporation of water lowers the temperature. The guide above goes in depth about roasting both at home and with a giant barrel shaped pepper roaster! It has plenty of ideas for those who are roasting a little, or even those who want to set up their own chile operation!
You will have plenty of chances to see these chile roasters up close! Make a silly Chile hat and dress up!
Part of the fun at the chile fest is to be creative, and do what you can to enjoy all things chile with different people! Every year, there are competitions related to chile related fashion! You can see people dressed up in clothes that make them look like a chile pepper, or even see chile roasters made into hats!
I like his fashion! Check out a Firetruck
As a chile roaster in Albuquerque, we rely on the fire department to keep us safe, as roasting chile is dangerous. We have a first responders discount as one way of showing our appreciation to them. Hatch is no different, and there are many chile roasters who know that the fire department will be there in minutes if there is a roasting mishap. During the festival, they show off their firetrucks, and show kids how they work! My son loves firetrucks, and is always super happy to see all the different technology involved in them. He got a great explanation about it from the Hatch Fire Department!
Be sure to show your kids how cool these firetrucks are! Cool off at Icebox Brewing
Across the street from Sparky’s at the main intersection of Hatch, you can find Icebox Brewing. Next to here is often a stage with live music performances that go until about 10 pm. During the chile fest, you can find many different people enjoying a cold beer here, and there are often specialty beers which are made specifically for the Hatch Chile Festival!
This beer was spiced up by a rim of chile powder! You can find some interesting stuff at the Chile Festival A word of caution to the superhot lovers
Don’t come to the Hatch Chile Festival looking for superhots New Mexico chile is a great chile, but it isn’t going to blow you away in terms of heat if you eat ghost peppers like candy. Our chile is a huge part of our culture, but we use it for much more than just the heat. It is the soul food for us in New Mexico. Heat is important, but not the only thing we are looking for. Even our Lumbre Chile, which is arguably the hottest chile, and certainly the most consistently hot chile we grow a lot of in New Mexico only ranges around 10,000 Scoville. When you compare it to Carolina Reapers or Pepper X, it is less than 1% of the heat level. That being said, there are way more ways to cook with our chile than superhots. Additionally, you can always make a chile relleno and put ghost pepper powder in the cheese to kick it up about 10 notches. Good luck making a chile relleno with a 7-Pot. Don’t come to the festival expecting the hottest chili peppers, it isn’t about that.
Roasted green chile is the real magic of the Hatch Chile Festival The Hatch Chile Festival is a celebration of New Mexican culture and cuisine that goes far beyond just spice. If you are looking for the hottest stuff around, there are plenty of other events which may suit you better. If you want to see the celebration of many small local New Mexican businesses and enjoy the warmth of both the food and the people, the Hatch Chile Festival is for you. Welcome to New Mexico, and see you on Labor Day Weekend, 2024!
And these red chile ristras are a welcome bonus too! Hatch Chile Festival FAQ
What is the Hatch Chile Festival?The Hatch Chile Festival is the largest event in Hatch, New Mexico the Chile Capital of the World. It is an event that encompasses the whole town, with carnival rides, shows, competitions, many different vendors, and much more! 2024 is the event’s 52nd iteration!
When in the Hatch Chile FestivalThe Hatch Chile Festival is on Labor Day weekend every year, with the dates in 2024 being Saturday, August 31st and Sunday, September 1st this year. There is also a carnival and music which starts on Friday evening, the day before the main events start.
How much does the Hatch Chile Festival cost?As the festival encompasses the entire town, the base cost is free! Parking has been free in recent years, but is not guaranteed every year. If you plan to go shopping, the roasted chile will likely be about $40 a sack this year, but small amounts are also available for purchase. Additionally, there are many vendors selling different decorations, fashion, jewelry, and much more. This is an event where someone could spend $5 or $1,000 depending on what kind of shopping they do!
Is Hatch, NM worth visiting?In case you like New Mexico chile, it absolutely is worth a visit during the chile season! The Hatch Chile Festival is an especially good time, as it becomes very lively with lots to do and see. Hatch is also a great place to stop in case you are taking an I-25 road trip in New Mexico! Outside of the chile season, it is a small town without too much to do if you aren’t related to the chile business. Many local businesses are closed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
Hatch Green Chile Roasting Near you in 2023
If you are looking for roasted chile this year, you’ve come to the right place! Hatch chile roasting is an incredibly important part of New Mexican culture. This delicacy has spread to surrounding states and even further as New Mexico’s delicious food touches the hearts of more and more people. If you are here, you have probably asked where to get roasted Hatch chile this year. Read on to find out!
Where to get roasted green chile in Albuquerque?
We roast chile at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87112. When it comes to roasted Hatch green chile in Albuquerque, the original is always worth checking out. We’ve been roasting chile since 1977, before anyone else in the city. Most other roasters were just kids or not born born yet back then. We open every day from 9-5 during the months of August, September, and October, the whole chile season. Check out our new post for 2024! In 2024, we will be roasting chile every day from Friday August 2nd, 2024! Farmers Chile Market is Albuquerque’s Original Chile Roaster, and 2024 marks our 47th chile season roasting in Albuquerque.
Every chile season, New Mexicans always consider where to get their Hatch chile roasted. Many people here prefer chile from other areas, such as Lemitar, San Antonio, or Chimayo. In the early season, we always start our green chile roasting with Hatch chile. Simply put, it is ready faster. As the plants get older however, the chile they produce becomes smaller and doesn’t roast as well. In this case, it is best to let the chile turn red and mature. The red chile pods they turn into make a delicious sauce, and is one answer to our state question, “Red or Green?”
Because the Hatch season is earlier, we change over to our farmers farther north later in the season in order to get the best quality chile available at the time. If the month is August, our green chile is almost certainly Hatch green chile. If it is around September or later, our green chile will likely be from Snake Ranch or another farm in the Socorro Valley area. There are many places here growing fantastic New Mexico chile.
Regardless of whether you are looking for Hatch chile, Lemitar chile, or somewhere else, we are confident that our chile quality is just as good, if not better. Our farmers use seeds bred primarily for flavor rather than yield per acre as a lot of “Hatch chile farms” use. If you want good quality roasted green or red chile, you can be sure to get it here. We pride ourselves on being a great chile roaster in Albuquerque.
If you are asking yourself where to get chile roasting near me in 2023, You can find your solution in the Northeast Heights at 2010 Eubank Blvd NE. We will also have plenty of red chile ristras, other chile products, and local produce available.
Hatch Chile Season 2023
Although it is still somewhat early to tell, the snow and rain we have been seeing over the winter is definitely a good sign. Although there are other factors than just water involved in growing and harvesting green and red New Mexico chile, water availability has been something which has been limiting the amount of farms able to grow. When we get a good snowpack, this means water will be less of a troubling issue. Hopefully winters like these become normal, as water concerns have become somewhat severe in recent years.
For more information on the stages of the chile season from August to October, be sure to read our post about the Hatch Chile Season.
Is there a green chile shortage?
Regardless of the bleak picture many media outlets love to paint, green and red New Mexico chile will always be available, even if the price rises due to various reasons, such as labor, water, fertilizer, or even age of farmers. Green chile production in Hatch, and most other areas of New Mexico is becoming smaller and smaller, but it will still be available. We at Farmers Chile Market are committed to finding good chile, no matter what happens in the future. You can believe that we will always support local farmers and try to keep the great chile tradition of New Mexico alive.
What Varieties of Chile we Roast
We roast many different varieties of Hatch chile, including but not limited to Numex 6-4, Big Jim, Sandia, Miss Junie, Barker, and even the xxx-hot Lumbre chile. More than just that, we often also carry red chile once it is ready too. In terms of heat levels, this means we sell and roast chile which is very mild, all the way up to xxx-hot. We have even had people special order fresh ghost peppers to roast alongside with other chile. If we roast it, you can be sure it is local New Mexican chile, though we also have a wide range of other chile peppers as well!
Just some different varieties, spice, and ripeness levels available at Farmers Chile Market Other types of chilies we sell
If you are looking for the hottest of the hot, we try to carry a wide assortment of both fresh and dried superhot chili peppers during the chile season. We typically always have plenty of Carolina Reapers, Ghost Peppers, 7 Pots, Scotch Bonnets and even Aji Charapita, the world’s most expensive chili pepper! We also carry a good assortment of chile from Mexico, such as Ancho, Chipotle, Guajillo, and more. In the future, I will prepare different recipes using these peppers. I love to cook and write, but often I become quite busy managing my chile roasting operation, and that must come first. Because of this, it may take me a year or two to come up with these recipes using various chile peppers. For now, here is a recipe overview for a New Mexican classic, stacked red chile enchiladas. Check out our Recipes Section for more ideas, as I’ve updated it a lot since this original post!
We have fresh superhots that pack a punch during the chile season Looking Forward to the 2023 NM chile season
The chile season is always different, but the same. During the months of August, September, and October, I work every day of the week, trying to not only provide the best customer service I can, but also find the best chile at the best time. The season changes drastically from the early season, where only a small amount of green chile varieties available. Two weeks later, we have plenty of extra hot and xxx hot chile, with more and more mature reddish chiles showing up in the burlap sacks. Once September comes, red chile comes right after. Once red chile is available, red chile ristras show up days later, as they are a great way for farming families to make more money. It is also a good way for older family members to make some money without having to break their backs in the fields. With red chile coming, it also means the season is approaching the finish line. The weather starts getting colder, and plants have less energy to keep making new green chile.
More and more farmers stop picking, and leave the red chile pods to dry on the plant, to be harvested once dry. These dried red chile pods are the base of one of the most important parts of New Mexican cuisine, the red chile sauce! Many of these Hatch chile pods are later further processed by some of the large chile processors in Hatch into red chile powder, which is a great spice with tons of uses!
Get chile at Farmers Chile Market
We hope to be your choice when you search for chile roasting near me 2023 this year. If you are living in Albuquerque, or just passing through for the Balloon Fiesta or something else, we would love to see you at 2010 Eubank Blvd Albuquerque, NM 87112 this chile season!
Our old sign is gone, but we still roast on! More info about New Mexico Chile
Check out our guide to roasting chile at home.
If you know anyone who will be roasting chile as a professional, our guide to roasting with a barrel roaster will be a great read for them.
Check here if you are curious about different varieties of chile.
Also, feel free to read through our blog if you want to learn other things about New Mexico Chile. I’m always trying to learn more about chile, both here and abroad, find out more about my story on the page About Me. We add new content regularly, such as our post about the Hatch Chile Festival, and will feature recipes along with other knowledge and opinions as the chile industry changes. It is a very different game than it used to be, with many new varieties available. We hope you enjoyed reading our blog, and hope to see you when you are looking for roasted green chile in 2023!
Will travel for New Mexico chile
Something nice about visiting chile farms, is that they tend to be in valleys with beautiful scenery all around. This is a picture of one of the fields at Snake Ranch in San Antonio, New Mexico, where we get most of our late season green chile from, as well as tomatoes and cantaloupe.
Every season, I travel around to different farms to see what people are growing, how things are growing, and to find out what is new. It is an important part of improving the variety of what we sell. It also gives me a great excuse to get out my camera and go on adventures. Honestly, it is probably one of my favorite things about running a chile stand.
There’s a lot of beauty in New Mexico, and chile farms are a great example of it. I’ll post pictures of Hatch farms in the future as well. Most major chile farms in New Mexico are not terribly far from I-25, as it runs nearby the Rio Grande for long stretches. This river is the source of water for chile farmers and the lifeblood of our chile growing industry in New Mexico.
Be sure to check out our article About New Mexico Chile to learn more about our state’s favorite food and why it is worth traveling for.
