Hatch chili enchiladas

[u/Buga99poo27GotNo464]

Wanting to make cheese enchiladas with roasted hatch chili's. Wondering if I should incorporate them into sauce?or add as filling and cover in red chili sauce?

EDIT- they were so amazing as sauce and topped in filling, amazing, I need more!:):) thank yall for your help:):)

[u/PlumaFuente]

I made some last week with chicken and cheese with frozen Hatch chile from last year (had to use up some bags). I blended them in the blender and also included a few cooked/blanched tomatillos in my sauce. I did not use any red chile sauce or red chile powder -- the green was enough. Although I did add Mexican crema to the chile sauce because I wanted it to be on the creamy side. Also add about 1/2 an onion and about 5-6 cloves of garlic. To the sauce, I added a bit of chicken broth.

[u/Buga99poo27GotNo464 → u/PlumaFuente]

So when you freeze them do you roast first and pull off skin, or just thaw unroasted and pull off skin? Thanks for your help!:):) I LOVE creamy pepper sauces/soups... saving for winter:):)

[u/PlumaFuente → u/Buga99poo27GotNo464]

Yes, roast first, pull the skin off or as much of the charred parts as you can (you can use a butter knife or soak it in some cool water to help get the skin off after it has been roasted/charred). Usually if you are buying a lot of Hatch chile in the fall, the grocery stores will have roasters, but you can also do it in the oven or on a grill. Freezing Hatch and other chiles always involves roasting first.

[u/Buga99poo27GotNo464 → u/PlumaFuente]

I've always roasted peppers first before freezing (except some bells from garden I just chop to add to cooked italian/asian food), I was just curious if like say tomatoes, you could put in whole. Thanks! My pablanos this year are SO HOT, I think I'm going to stock up on Hatch. The pablano plants came from a friend, and he gave me some of his peppers last year, and they are like 4 times hotter than my jalepenos, if I pick them really small, they are fine. No grocery store roasters where I live, though I've seen them in other places. Thanks so much for helping:):)

[u/PlumaFuente → u/Buga99poo27GotNo464]

Nobody I know freezes chiles without roasting and peeling off the charred skin first. You can do it in the oven or on a grill, and then put those chiles in a big paper bag or even a large plastic bag for awhile to loosen the skin and then start the peeling process. Paper bag is probably less toxic. You will also need a large bowl of cold water to help ease that skin off.

[u/Buga99poo27GotNo464 → u/PlumaFuente]

I'm sorry, ive confused you, I should've said "I've always roasted and peeled peppers before freezing." I was just curious if I could freeze whole, peel off skin upon thawing then roast some. All good! :):) roasting peppers is a great excuse to cook on the grill:):) but yes, I usually do them in bulk in the oven. I like to tightly seal a bowl, no plastic for me, but YES fabulous:) if i can get more Hatch peppers, I'll be back for more ideas! Pablanos are usually what I keep in freezer, but mine are Sooo Hot!:):):):)

[u/PlumaFuente → u/Buga99poo27GotNo464]

Yeah, you don't have to use plastic. I'm sure before we had plastic bags and plastic wrap that people were roasting them and covering them in kitchen towels or in paper bags to help with the steaming process.

Great that you have always roasted and peeled the peppers before freezing them -- that's typical.