IT’S HATCH CHILI SEASON, BABY!

Hatch Season Has Entered the Chat: A Love Letter to New Mexico’s Favorite Flex.

Somewhere in southern New Mexico right now, a chili is living its absolute best life. It’s basking in 100-degree desert sun, sipping mineral-rich water from the Rio Grande, and getting absolutely no attention from anyone outside of a 30-mile radius called the Hatch Valley — until, suddenly, it’s the most famous pepper in America.

What Even Is a Hatch Chili?

Here’s the plot twist: “Hatch chili” isn’t technically one specific variety of pepper. It’s more like a title — a geographic flex, if you will. Any chili grown in the Hatch Valley of New Mexico, using the specific soil, altitude, and swampy-hot desert climate of that region, can earn the Hatch name, regardless of which particular pepper cultivar it started as.

What you do get, no matter the variety, is that unmistakable Hatch flavor — smoky, earthy, a little sweet, with heat that ranges anywhere from “polite handshake” to “why is my face doing this.” Hatch chilies run the whole Scoville spectrum, from mild to blistering hot, which means there’s a Hatch chili for the spice-averse and one for the “I put hot sauce on my hot sauce” crowd alike.

When Is Hatch Season, Exactly?

Hatch chili season is a short, glorious window — typically late July through September, with the harvest peaking in August. Blink and you’ll miss it, which is exactly why the internet loses its collective mind every year the second those roasters start rolling out. This isn’t a “grab it whenever” ingredient.

The tradition of roasting is basically sacred at this point. Fresh Hatch chilies get tumbled in big wire drums over open flame until their skins blister and char, which makes them easy to peel and unlocks that deep, smoky flavor that canned or dried chilies can only dream about. If you’ve never stood next to one of these roasters, the smell alone will make you want to buy a case, freeze half of it, and build your entire autumn around the other half.

Okay But Let’s Talk About This Seafood Platter

Now, most people meet Hatch chilies in pretty traditional territory — stuffed into rellenos, smothered over a burger, folded into a pot of green chili stew that your neighbor swears has a “secret ingredient” All completely valid life choices.

But you know what nobody tells you about Hatch chilies? They moonlight beautifully as a bright, herby sauce for raw seafood, which is exactly the plot twist this platter delivers.

The move: grill fresh Hatch chilies right on the BBQ until they’re blistered and smoky, then chop them up and fold them into a chimichurri — all that garlicky, herbaceous, olive-oil-forward brightness, but now with a smoky green chili backbone doing the heavy lifting instead of just plain chilies. That chimichurri then pulls double duty. Half of it goes full mignonette, drizzled over ice-cold fresh oysters for a briny-meets-smoky bite that absolutely hits. The other half gets draped over silky yellowtail sashimi, where the char and heat of the chili cuts right through the buttery richness of the fish.

It’s smoky. It’s bright. It’s a little unexpected. It’s the kind of dish that makes people at your dinner party stop mid-sentence and go “wait, what IS that.” Which, frankly, is the whole point of cooking with Hatch chilies in the first place — they don’t do subtle, and they don’t do boring.

Quick Tips for Riding the Hatch Wave

• Buy more than you think you need. The season is short and your future self, deep in a chili-less November, will thank you.

• Freeze roasted chilies in flat bags. Skins on or off, doesn’t matter — future you can peel them later.

• Taste before you commit to “mild” or “hot.” Even chilies from the same batch can vary wildly in heat, because nature loves chaos.

• Let the char stay. When grilling for something like a chimichurri, don’t scrub every bit of blackened skin off — that char is flavor, not a mistake.

• Pair the smoke with something cold and clean. Raw oysters, sashimi, a squeeze of citrus — anything that lets the chili’s smokiness shine without piling on more heat.

Hatch Chili Chimichurri Seafood Tower

A vibrant, smoky-fresh chimichurri made from charred, chopped Hatch chilies, parsley, cilantro, garlic, and olive oil, served two ways: spooned over fresh raw oysters like a spicy mignonette, and draped over silky yellowtail sashimi and ceviche. The grilled chilies bring smoke and gentle heat, while the herby, garlicky sauce keeps everything bright and fresh. A cold, elegant seafood platter with a bold Southwestern twist.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar

• 3 garlic cloves (minced)

• 1 shallot (finely chopped)

• 2-3 Hatch Chilies (roasted, peeled, chopped) (**deseed to adjust spice level)

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 black pepper

• 1 cup Fresh Parsley (chopped)

• 1/2 cup Fresh Cilantro (chopped)

• 1/2 cup Good Quality EVOO

• 6-12 Fresh Oyster Shucked

• Hatch Chile Smoked Finishing Salt

• 1 lb. Yellowtail (sushi-grade)

• 1 teaspoon dried Oregano

Preparation

Step 1

Fire Up Your BBQ or grill and preheat to high heat at 400-450 degrees.

Step 2

Rinse Hatch Chilis, Dry, and lay on a baking sheet. Spray with avocado oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.

Step 3

Place chilis on the grill to roast. Turning over every 2-3 minutes until charred. Approx. 10-15 minutes total.

Step 4

Using tongs, place charred chilis back on the baking sheet and wrap in plastic wrap to help loosen up the skin. For 15-20 minutes total.

Step 5

While thats sitting, chop fresh herbs, parsley and cilantro, set aside.

Step 6

Remove plastic wrap from chiles. Using kitchen gloves or tongs, so you avoid touching the peppers, remove the skin, stems, and as many seeds as you want to adjust spice level. The seeds contain all the spice so adjust accordingly.

Step 7

Chop the chiles, set aside.

Step 8

In glass mixing bowl add red wine vinegar, garlic, shallots, hatch chiles, salt and pepper. Fold together ingredients to combine. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Set aside to let the flavors marry.

Step 9

Start working on the oysters, dump the brine and meat in a shot glass or small cup. Rinse the shell in a bowl of clean water. Dip the rim on a plate of hatch chile smoked salt. Then Pour the brine and oyster meat inside. Set oysters on a plate of ice to keep them chilled while you finish the recipe.

Step 10

Next remove wrap from chimichurri base, add parsley, cilantro, and oregano. Roughly fold mixture together and add olive oil. Keep mixing and folding mixture with a rubber spatula until everything is combined. Cover, and set aside.

Step 11

Rinse, pat dry and slice fish. Always cut against the grain. Use half the fish for sashimi and cube the rest for a small yellowtail ceviche moment. Put the cube pieces in a small bowl, drizzle with olive oil and chimichurri. Place on the platter with tortilla chips. Place a martini glass in the center to act as a base for the seafood tower.

Step 12

Place yellowtail slices on other half of the platter, and top pieces with more chimichurri.

Step 13

Add a small plate to the top of the martini glass. Add ice cubes to the plate. Add the oysters. Top Oysters with chimichurri. Serve with chimichurri for additional topping on the side.

Step 14

ENJOY!