Summer cookouts call for green chile — even as we await this year’s crop
While harvest doesn't start until July, you can add some delicious flavors now with frozen, roasted chiles.
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(Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best that Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more. We’ll also let you in on some hidden gems.)
Summer calls for bright flavors, and for many of us that means adding fire-roasted green chiles to our paper-plate meals. From July through October, they’re ubiquitous at roadside stands, farmers markets, garden centers, and on retail shelves stocked by people with good sense.
But since the annual harvest — and most of the state’s green chile festivals — don’t run until the July-October period, devotees have the option of picking up bushels of frozen, roasted green chiles that still spark dynamite flavors at backyard cookouts.
Denver’s best green chile stew, of course, belongs to Brewery Bar II, according to our April Denver Post bracket results, and green chile stew is always a party hit with chips and tortillas. Buying hot, toothsome Pueblo green chiles (my pick over New Mexico’s almost-as-great crops) that you haven’t cooked by yourself may be verboten for some who pride themselves on the ritual of it. Certainly, that intoxicating, earthy aroma of blistered chile skin justifies the effort.
But at a Memorial Day cookout, I was reminded of the joys of pre-roasted green chiles that can hibernate in your freezer, then reemerge as incredible snacks and toppings. This party happened to offer green chiles from Nick’s Garden Center, which The Denver Post wrote about last fall.
You can and should pick up any frozen, roasted green chiles there right now, at least until they open Nick’s Farm Market in July, which peddles fresh produce every day through October (and starting in July, chile peppers roasted 7 days a week).
Nick’s is one of dozens, of course. The Chili Guys (thechiliguys.com), who purport to be the state’s largest distributor, have multiple locations in their 25th year, and they still get fresh-farm shipments every couple days. ($22.90 for a half bushel; roasting included). Full bushels at other stands run between $40 and $55, but the quality in my experience is typically high across multiple purveyors. (Particularly along Federal Boulevard, although not all of them will roast for you.)
Whether you covet freshly roasted green chiles for your burger or as a fiery snack, a summer of spicy goodness awaits.
Visit denvergreenchili.com for a list of metro area green chile stands. Nick’s Garden Center is located at 2001 S. Chambers Rd. in Aurora. 303-696-6657 or nicksgardencenter.com
