Happy Labor Day, friends! We hope you have enjoyed a weekend with friends, neighbors, and family. We have been with Blind Piglets #2 and #3 at hockey and soccer. That is why this post is coming to you a little late. We also cannot believe that August has come and gone and this weekend is the unofficial end to summer. Sigh! In fact, August came and went with such a speed that we realized that we did not post a bonus post for the month. We will try to make it up to you in the future.
Have you noticed all of the lovely hatch green chiles in your grocery produce section? We couldn’t resist looking for a Blind Pig match up with the chiles. Lo and behold, our friends at the Dallas Morning News did not disappoint. They featured a whole section on great recipe with hatch green chiles. We adapted a chicken recipe they featured to bring you Hatch Tequila Chicken.
Don’t be overwhelmed by this recipe. At first glance it looks a little daunting, but if you just follow the steps, you will see that it is not complicated and well worth the effort.
To get started on Hatch Tequila Chicken you need roasted hatch green chiles. We had never roasted green chiles before, and it was nearly a deal breaker. However, after a little research with our friend, Google, we realized there is nothing to be intimidated about.
First rinse the chiles and pat dry. Place chiles on a baking sheet or broiling pan. The chiles can touch but you do not want them on top of each other.
Turn the broiler on high and move your rack up to the second notch from the top. Place pan of peppers in the oven on the top rack. Keep a close eye on the peppers. We let ours cook for about 5 minutes. When the peppers start to blister and turn brown, remove from the oven and flip over with a pair of tongs. Return to the oven and keep a close eye on them. When the other side begins to blister and turn brown, remove from the oven.
Once the peppers are blacken, add to a large plastic bag. We placed ours back in the produce bag from the grocery store. Seal the bag and let the peppers cool for about 30 minutes.
Remove the peppers from the bag and peel the skin. It should come off relatively easily. Slice the peppers down the middle, cut off the tops and remove the seeds. You can store your peppers in the fridge for about a week.
For the chicken portion of the recipe, you will need 4-6 chicken breasts, kosher salt, olive oil and Hatch green chile tequila marinade.
The marinade seems daunting when you look at the list of ingredients, but you just throw it all in a food processor and hit go. It’s that easy! To make the marinade, place roasted Hatch green chiles, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic, cumin, kosher salt, coriander, Mexican crema, tequila (We used Corralejo Reposado.), and lime juice in a food processor. Pulse until desired consistency.
Place chicken in a glass bowl or dish and cover with half of the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. (We prepped ours the day before.)
Remove chicken from the refrigerator. Remove chicken from marinade and scrap off the majority of the marinade. Drizzle with olive oil. Discard used marinade. Place on a medium heat grill or under the broiler roasting the chicken for 35 minutes. Remove from grill or broiler and top with reserved marinade.
We were pleasantly surprised with how juicy and flavorful the chicken was. The marinade flavor was a nice complement to the chicken. We are even thinking about making this marinade to go along with fish or fish tacos.
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Let us know if you try our Hatch Tequila Chicken recipe. We think it is a hit, and hope that you do, too!
