How to Roast Green Chili Peppers

Summer is waning and you have an abundance of green chili peppers to harvest from your garden. Or perhaps you came across a deal on green chili peppers at a local farmers’ market that you simply could not resist. Now what do you do with them? Try roasting them yourself! They can then be used immediately or frozen for later use. Why should you roast chili? Roasted green chili peppers have a deeper, more robust, green chili flavor. It is easy to roast chili and the wonderfully deep, smoky, mouthwatering aroma that is created makes roasting chili yourself more than worth the effort.

To Roast Green Chili Peppers, You Will Need…

• green chili peppers
• a heat source (a broiler, grill, stovetop, or open fire)
• a broiler safe pan (if roasting in the broiler), a metal grill or steaming basket (if roasting on stovetop), or a cooking grate (if roasting over an open fire).
• a paper bag (or bags if you plan to roast a lot of chili)
• tongs
• a sharp paring knife
• plastic or latex gloves to protect your skin
• freezer bags (if you plan to freeze the roasted chili)

To Roast the Green Chili Peppers…

Wash the green chili peppers and dry them well.

Prepare the heat source for your roast chili. Preheat your grill or broiler to about 450°F, prepare the fire for roasting, or place the metal basket over the stovetop with the flame level at medium. If you are using a broiler to roast the chili, place the green chili peppers in a single layer in a broiler safe pan. Place the chili under or over the heat source. As the green chili peppers roast, they should be watched carefully and turned every minute or so. (Think roasting marshmallows!) The skins of the chili will begin to char and blacken as they roast. The skin should be should be charred about seventy-five percent for a good roasted chili (the skin does not need to be completely blackened). It should take 5 to 8 minutes to roast the chili.

Remove the roasted green chili peppers from the heat source using tongs. and carefully place the chili peppers in a brown paper bag (or bags). Close the bag tightly. As the roasted chili sit in the bag, they will steam. This makes the skins easier to remove. Let the roasted chili sit in the paper bag for about 15 minutes. Put on the gloves to protect your skin and remove the roasted chili peppers from the bag one at a time. As you remove them, peel the skins away from the roasted chili. If the chili are properly roasted you should be able to do this by hand. If a little skin sticks, you can use a sharp paring knife to remove it. Never touch your eyes, face or other sensitive areas of your body when handling the chili peppers!

Once the roasted chili peppers have been peeled, they can be used immediately for optimum flavor or they can be frozen for later use.